Providing a change of scenery is one of the best ways to get everyone to start bonding and getting to know each other on a personal level or to develop trust within the team. Team-building exercises are effective for both new and seasoned teams. Teams advance their problem-solving abilities and show the value of cooperating to achieve a common goal through a series of these challenges.
It’s very simple to assume that someone’s identity is solely defined by their role and responsibilities when we repeatedly see them in the same context and circumstance. A teambuilding exercise or series of exercises aims to make participants aware of their greater role in achieving more.
Benefits of outdoor team-building activities
Taking your team’s team-building exercises outside can provide them with many benefits that they wouldn’t get in a typical office or workplace setting. Including outdoor activities in your team-building exercises can have a number of important advantages, such as:
What are team-building activities?
Projects, games, and other exercises that allow coworkers to develop stronger bonds and learn to collaborate make up team-building activities. Depending on what you hope to gain from the event, team-building exercises can be conducted in almost any environment and with any topic. Companies can arrange formal team-building exercises during required training sessions or hold informal team-building exercises for employees who want to interact more with their coworkers outside of the office.
Team-building exercises frequently involve pre-planned games or tasks that call for cooperation from all participants. Some team-building exercises might be less structured and concentrate on providing participants with a common experience they can bond over.
14 outdoor team-building activities to try
Here are some examples of team-building exercises you can carry out outside with your group:
1. Scavenger hunting in nature
Organizing an outdoor scavenger hunt where your team can engage with nature can promote teamwork and communication. The ability to observe and think critically will be required of coworkers in order to follow hints to interesting landmarks, find plant specimens, and take pictures of local wildlife.
2. Geocaching
Similar to a scavenger hunt, geocaching involves using your smartphone’s GPS to find interesting treasures and containers filled with unusual items. As a team, you can try to find the hidden container using the coordinates and hints obtained from a geocaching website. You can sign the cache log with your names and replace it for the following search. Since geocaches are typically well hidden, you’ll need to search for them together as a group.
3. Competing in field day
Your team can have the chance to compete in friendly games and work together toward common objectives by organizing games at a field day event. Relay races are a great field day game for building teams because everyone contributes to the race’s success. Other enjoyable team-building activities include tug of war, three-legged races, water balloon fights, and egg-and-spoon competitions.
4. Building a structure
You can encourage everyone to be both inventive and methodical by breaking your team up into groups and having them try to construct something using unorthodox materials. Teams can compete to build the sturdiest bridge, the tallest tower, or the farthest-flying paper airplane.
5. Camping
Your team will have the chance to get to know one another while taking in the tranquility of nature by going camping for the weekend or even just one day. When setting up camp, staff members can put their problem-solving skills to use before bonding over campfire tales or time spent hiking and fishing.
6. Untying the human knot
The human knot is a well-known team-building exercise that is best performed outside because it needs a lot of space. Your group forms a human knot by crossing their arms, reaching out, and grabbing the hand of another participant in the circle. Then, they attempt to completely untangle the knot without releasing their hands. Your team will learn how to respect one another’s ideas and work as a team as they plan their next move.
7. Paintballing
A thrilling outdoor activity for groups looking to have some adventure is playing paintball. Try playing multiple rounds and varying the composition of each team to help everyone become adaptable and get to know other members of the group.
8. Playing blindfold games
By playing a game with blindfolds where one participant must follow instructions to complete a task while the other gives them verbal instructions, you can teach your team how to communicate more effectively. Blindfold games are popular because they teach participants how to listen and trust others on their team. Popular tasks include navigating obstacle courses or solving puzzles.
9. Having a potluck
Because people enjoy sharing food, outdoor potlucks are a common activity for team-building. Have a live cook-off to add a competitive element, or just ask everyone to bring their favorite picnic dish to share while having a relaxing afternoon away from the office.
10. Beautifying a park
By volunteering together, your team has something to be proud of both as individuals and as a whole. Your team can practice task delegation while improving the appearance of a park by picking up litter, planting flowers and trees, mowing the lawn, clearing trails, and making minor repairs.
11. Stargazing
Plan a stargazing activity where your group can look for constellations, observe meteor showers, and other astronomical phenomena if your team-building day lasts into the night. This special outdoor team-building activity can introduce your group to novel situations and give them engaging conversation starters to foster relationships.
12. Attending a sporting event
Being a spectator at a sporting event is a fantastic activity for team-building because you can support the same team together and foster a sense of camaraderie. This type of high-energy environment encourages friendly conversation. The three enjoyable outdoor sports that you can watch with friends are baseball, football, and soccer.
13. Playing human foosball
A creative outdoor game that calls for cooperation, strategy, teamwork, and creativity is human foosball. On a field, players line up in teams and face each other in a line. Next, each player attempts to control the ball while only being able to move in a small area around them, similar to a foosball table game. Ultimately, each team must pass the ball from player to player toward the goal line of the opposition.
14. Orienteering
Orienteering is the practice of using natural landmarks, a compass, and a map to navigate from one checkpoint to another. Taking your group to a natural area and having them navigate their way back can exercise their collective leadership and problem-solving abilities. You can hire orienteering guides to supervise your team as you navigate through genuine wilderness environments if you want more challenging experiences.
FUN OUTDOOR TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES | Youth Group Outdoor Party Games
FAQ
How do outdoor activities improve team-building skills?
- Communication activities.
- Problem solving and decision-making activities.
- Adaptability and planning activities.
- Trust-building activities.
What activities can help to build a team?
Taking your team outside gives them more room (literally) for socializing and creates the ideal neutral environment, which transforms a group of people’s perception of one another from coworkers to friends. The purpose of planning a team-building activity is to replace the organic processes that lead to group bonding.
What are soft team-building activities?
- Zombie Escape. For: Creative Problem Solving & Collaboration Exercise. …
- Battle of the Airbands. For: Team Bonding. …
- A Shrinking Vessel. For: Creative Problem Solving. …
- Back-to-Back Drawing. For: Communication Skills. …
- Office Trivia. …
- Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower. …
- Community Service. …
- Salt and Pepper.
