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Our Research Committee

Our Research Committee

Members of the Research Advisory Committee have a wide range of expertise and come from universities and businesses across Canada. The Research Advisory Committee serves Outward Bound Canada in three important ways. First, it acts in a consulting capacity to provide guidance regarding program evaluation and research. Second, the Committee conducts studies and provides support in data collection and analysis. Finally, the Committee reviews any research proposals from external investigators seeking to invite OBC instructors, programs or students to participate in their studies.

Many members of the Research Advisory Committee are former OBC instructors. All members have an interest in furthering the understanding of participation in outdoor adventure education programs and examining the various impacts of OBC programs on students, instructors and society-at-large. Members of the Committee benefit through the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded colleagues and further the mission and vision of OBC. In return, OBC gains valuable insight into program evaluation and research strategies and techniques.

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Research Committee

Co-chair: Patrick T. Maher, PhD, Dean of Teaching and Professor, Physical and Health Education, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON

As a former instructor with the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School (COBWS), I already knew the practical value of the organization and its work.  Wearing the “hat” of my current “day job”  as an academic, joining the research advisory was just a natural fit. My research over the past 20 years has focused on outdoor and environmental education, sustainable nature-based tourism and narratives from the Polar Regions; again, pretty aligned with OBC.  By joining the Research Advisory, I can stay connected to the field practically, and then also infuse it with my international research connections and expertise.

Co-chair: Timothy S. O’Connell, PhD, Professor, Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON

Working with the Research Advisory Committee provides me with the opportunity to connect with other researchers and help further our understanding of the impacts of participation in outdoor adventure education programs from both a practical and theoretical perspective. I was attracted to working with Outward Bound Canada in this capacity as I believe in the mission and vision of the organization and hope, in some small way, to help OBC reach its goals through this committee. As a university professor, this is a great way to stay connected to cutting-edge practices in outdoor adventure education and bring those back to the classroom.

Past Chair: Nevin Harper, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, BC

As a practice-based researcher with a career in outdoor adventure education, connecting with Outward Bound seemed a natural and obvious fit for me. With a long history and international iterations, Outward Bound has been instrumental in the development of outdoor leadership and education practices across many nations, and my involvement aligns well with my research and writing on these topics.  I am a past Chair of the Research Advisory Committee and a member since 2010.

Blair Niblett, PhD., Associate Professor, School of Education and Professional Learning, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

Outward Bound is a thought and action leader in the global outdoor education arena, and I am excited to participate in supporting OBC’s ongoing program development through research and evaluation. As my own work has shifted from frontline program delivery to research and policy scholarship, maintaining a relationship with OBC helps me to stay connected to the trends and issues that matter in outdoor education programming. My work is positioned at the intersection of social justice education, environmental education, and experiential education–right in the pocket of the Outward Bound program model. Working with OBC informs my undergraduate teaching, graduate student mentorship, and my own research program. With my colleagues on the research advisory committee, I hope that I can offer effective research consultancy to OBC that is reciprocal to the inspiration that I take from Outward Bound’s innovating outdoor education initiatives.

Elizabeth (Lisa) K. Nisbet, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Trent University, creator of the Nature Relatedness scale (naturerelatedness.ca)

Increasingly, people are seeking ways to (re)connect with the natural environment, to improve their health, well-being, and competence outdoors. The mission and programming at Outward Bound Canada are aligned with my research focus on individual differences in connection with nature (‘nature relatedness’) and how this can enhance human happiness and the motivation for sustainable behaviour.

Janet Dyment, PhD, Director, School of Education, Acadia University, NS.

I fell in love with Outward Bound as a concept in my early 20s and was so keen to work at COBWS that I applied for, and was successful in becoming, the equipment manager at the Sturgeon Lake site.  This experience essentially changed the trajectory of my life!  I knew I wanted to be an outdoor experiential and sustainability educator.  I loved learning about the work of the philosophers whose original ideas first prompted Outward Bound to be developed.  I have continued to love the evolution of the pedagogies and practices of Outward Bound.  I have been so grateful for all my years in the field and all the incredible students and colleagues that I’ve encountered. Since working at Outward Bound Canada, I’ve worked for a number of post-secondary institutions in the area of outdoor education, outdoor learning, and teacher education, including Lakehead University, Boston University, the University of Tasmania and Acadia University.  I have a strong research portfolio, looking at a variety of themes, including reflective journaling in outdoor education, sustainability education, and green spaces and outdoor learning.

Philip M. Mullins, PhD., Associate Professor, Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management, Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia, BC

I was attracted to working with Outward Bound Canada because of OB’s long and important history of leading and establishing practice and pedagogy in outdoor education, while at the same time exploring, critiquing, and innovating these practices for current and future realities and needs.

My research explores how outdoor travel and skill development enact and depend upon diverse social and ecological relationships through which students, leaders, and organizations learn about, grow in relation to, and contribute to shaping their world.

Natashia Singh, BSC., Research Assistant, Outward Bound Canada

I was drawn to work at Outward Bound Canada because it seemed like the perfect combination of my love of the outdoors and my interest in research and evaluation. I previously worked in mental health research and witnessed firsthand how evidence-based research could improve program delivery and patient health outcomes. I’m especially excited about the opportunity to collect and analyze data on the impact of Outward Bound courses on participants, as well as ways to use that data to inform programmatic decision-making. I find it personally meaningful to work for an organization like Outward Bound Canada that strives to continually improve to meet the needs of the diverse communities it serves.