Gnoweess: The Gnowees had a very successful and rewarding week. At the beginning of the week, the Gnowees experienced a shift in group culture as new members joined and others transitioned on to their next adventure beyond outBACK. The students handled the transition beautifully, and ended the first night with a welcome ceremony for the new Gnowees who entered the group and a token ceremony as well. The Gnowees completed many hikes this week, persevering through long pushes and steady inclines, as well as completing a trail name ceremony while on the trail. The Gnowees honored one another consistently throughout the week, giving out many tokens and honoring group culture by completing a Gnowee patch gathering at sunset. Overall, the Gnowees communicated effectively this week and enjoyed meaningful gatherings, rewarding hikes, and powerful ceremonies.
Ulurus: The Ulurus began the week in the midst of a new group culture still finding its footing. A discussion was had early on about establishing a new cultural value of support as a founding principle. This value was tested on the second day of hiking when one Uluru member struggled and was not in a place of wanting to push forward for several hours. Despite feeling overwhelmed, the Ulurus were able to gather and hold an amazing conversation, airing tensions and coming to resolution on how best to move forward as a group. Ultimately, due to this organic process, the group was able to find greater cohesion throughout the week. Later in the week, with the addition of new members, the group continued to experience more opportunities for the Ulurus to expand and move through the process of forming into the latest version of the group. In the midst of uncertainty and challenge, the group found tremendous resilience. One Uluru was honored with a Flexibility token later in the week to honor his great growth and character in the midst of strife. As well, Musical Macaw and Solid Salamander were honored with their new trail names. The week was filled with much challenge with multiple unanticipated challenges, and the group fulfilled their commitment to support one another through all things. Countless laughs were heard in the Ulurus through the music of a guitar and many stories and riddles. Ultimately, the Ulurus demonstrated their steadfast commitment to the value of support and the group spirit was grown in the midst of adversity.
Goannas: The Goannas had an awesome week filled with lots of adventure and really meaningful talks during the gatherings. Some of the Goannas headed out to participate in their Peak Week; adventure therapy week at outBACK. This opened up an amazing window for the remaining students to experience an intimate group setting that gave way to them being vulnerable with each other and the staff. The hikes went really well and we even got to the top of what we called Goanna Peak. We actually did not know what the name of the peak was hence our decision to name it after our group! We left a note on the top for future adventures who want to peak the mountain. The group ended on a high note with every student having smiles and left with good thoughts and questions for them to work on their progress.
