Card Games and Resources

Robin’s annual and much appreciated creative teachers, facilitators and group leaders six day residential intensive course will be held from 19th to 24th May and will be a little warmer than the mid-winter course last year. The fire will still be going when needed and the food will be delicious and nutritious as always, when Donna is in the kitchen. Robin often gets asked the question “Is this an appropriate course for me as I haven’t done any teaching or facilitation and I’m just starting out. Will I be out of my depth?” In response, the 6 days builds skills and experience slowly so everyone is on the same with the foundations, methodology and culture of group work and learning. There’s enough new or cutting edge information to keep experienced teachers and facilitators engaged and adding to their notes and tool boxes. In fact, all contribute to the shared learning …

It is said by Futurists that Facilitation skills will be one of the Top 10 skills required in the future. Robin has been training facilitators, teachers and group leaders for 32 years now and after a time, formed up her observations, experiences and thoughts into a Learning Methodology. She’s floated it out into the world with the help of ELFy, the magician. ELFy is a Jigsaw Puzzle where each piece is part of what she suggests is required for the group and each individual to be successful, engaging with the subject, motivated and having fun. ELFy is also an acronym for Educator, Leader, Facilitator and helps me address all of us who facilitate groups, train, educate, teach, lead, chair or mentor. Key pieces of the puzzle are Creativity, Group and Personal Empowerment, Interactivity and Collaboration along with grounding by meeting Needs and establishing shared Values, Ethics, Principles, Agreements and setting …

Robin’s ‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ which will be a whole chapter in her upcoming book ‘Dynamic Teaching and Facilitation’ will most likely be featured as an article in the UK ‘Permaculture Magazine’ sometime through the middle of this year. Delvin Solkinson from Canada and ‘Visionary Permaculture’ encouraged the article and drafted the first version and after slight edits from Robin and a Yes from the magazine editors and publishers, it’s ready to go. A wonderful tree illustration for the book chapter has been created by the very talented Permaculture artist and illustrator Brenna Quinlan and this will be used in conjunction with the article. ‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ gives a map to journey through to plan and design anything, be it a land based design, a project or event, a business plan, a life design or the creation of a new group, organization or …

Here’s a lovely unsolicited email received last week with great things to say about attending Robin’s Creative Facilitators course from back in the mid 90’s. “Hi Robin,It was great to see you again and to be at Crystal Waters.It’s amazing how many years ago it was since we did the courses with you.After I saw you it occurred to me to say how much influence the ‘Dynamic Groups’ course had on the way I came to eventually facilitate groups myself. In 1994 I had no expectation of ever doing that but since 2007 I guess I have been facilitating groups!!! Always therapy or spiritually based, including for a while I taught at the counselling college where I myself trained, Sophia College and I taught Bush Flower essences for Ian White for a while too.On reflection my surprising ability to do this was certainly inspired by what we did with you …

In September it will be 30 years since Robin and Skye offered their first ‘Advanced Permaculture Creative Teachers Facilitation Course’ as a result of many people asking them how they managed to present a whole 2 week Permaculture Design Course without using lecturing and other non-participatory learning methods. The pair spent the next 12 years or so supporting people to facilitate learning rather than ‘teach as an expert’ and published ‘The Manual for Teaching Permaculture Creatively’ in 1995 to address people’s requests for written documentation of their approach to education. Since the early 2000’s Robin has evolved the bones of this early work with Skye into a Learning methodology called ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ and offered it to a broad audience from trained teachers, NVC Practitioners, CD workers through to Art therapists, Healers, Genders workers and also corporate people. View a related post to see some recent testimonials. You can …