This is an unusual article in that it brings together the perspectives of many on this journal's editorial board, around the issue of contending with COVID-19. Twenty statements showcase a range of thoughts and experiences, highlighting the differences and similarities in the way the pandemic is impacting on the educational practice of outdoor and environmental education. The future is not yet written, of course, so it is worth thinking about how the current moment may impact on the months and years to come. The aim of this article is to influence and support such thinking.

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Limited research exists that considers the usefulness of outdoor learning as a legitimate pedagogical approach for the delivery of a mainstream secondary school curriculum. To address this shortcoming, we investigated the ways in which mathematics and geography teachers and students from three secondary schools in Scotland responded to the Outdoor Journeys programme, which is a schoolbased teaching approach that enables pupils to learn about the people and place in which they live. Data collection included participant observation, short questionnaires and interviews with approximately 150 students (11-14 years old) and 10 teachers. In most cases, pupils enjoyed the opportunity to guide their own learning experientially and beyond the familiar classroom context. Teachers acknowledged that such an approach presented an opportunity to develop pupils' critical thinking skills and that these skills can, in some cases, be overlooked in early secondary education. Following these findings, we discuss the pedagogical implications arising from the inclusion of critical thinking as a key outcome of outdoor learning, and as part of the Outdoor Journeys programme, within a secondary school context. We continue by adding our voice to the nascent literature addressing outdoor learning approaches that seek to gain traction within the broader social ecology of established school cultures.

Youth expeditions are associated with a range of benefits for participants. More young people are participating in overseas expeditions than ever before as vacation and gap year choices are diversified by a rising number of expedition providers. To date there has been no systematic research effort to draw together and evaluate the evidence that underpins the benefits, or otherwise, for youths participating in overseas expeditions. This paper reviews empirical and philosophical literature which has been published in a range of journals and themes emerging are placed into a personal growth model. This review (or mapping exercise) focused on post-1990 literature and found 35 key publications which met the criteria: youth expedition; duration exceeding 14 days, self-propelled, and based overseas or out-of-state. The 35 publications (UK 26; USA 4; Australia 3; Japan 1; South Africa 1) were subjected to a thematic analysis using Greenaway's (1998) 'Four Arrows' model of personal growth. Outcomes associated with overseas youth expedition participation included (1) upward personal growth (realising potential) including increased confidence; physical and social resilience; self-reliance and ability to overcome challenges, (2) outward personal growth (learning about & relating to others), (3) inward personal growth (learning about self), and (4) downward personal growth (learning about environment). The processes that were valued in overseas expeditions and which, with some caution, may be linked with some of the aforementioned outcomes include: genuine independence; group isolation and selfsufficiency; person-centred leadership; positive responses to stress and physically demanding activity. Suggestions for areas for further meaningful research are offered.