Challenge course developed at Easterseals campus in Franklin offers experiential learning, team-buidling

FRANKLIN — The Werner Mazda Challenge Course, an experiential, team-building resource now at the Easterseals Veterans & Military Campus, was created in partnership with the Browne Center for Innovative Learning at the University of New Hampshire, who help facilitate the challenge course.

The course consists of low-element activities, such as a bull ring where teams practice collaborative, problem-solving skills. High-element challenges, such as the vertical ropes course and climbing wall, help teams through experiential learning and reflection.

On the vertical ropes course, one person is harnessed and goes through the obstacles as four members of their team hold a long rope on the ground, giving the participant slack and working as a team to get them up and down the course.

“Your task of moving a ball with a bunch of strings is not something you would do in the day-to-day, right? And there's a lot of rich conversation around, like, you know, 'Give me a little bit of slack,' or 'I'm not seeing things from your perspective. Can you help me understand how you're seeing things?' 'We got to navigate this problem or challenge. How are we figuring out a solution do to do that?'" said Josina Garnham, executive director of the Browne Center. "So, that's really the vehicle for how we do our work as just through these activities.” 

The Browne Center collaborates with Easterseals to offer access to the course for employees, Easterseals stakeholders, and community members.

Last week, Easterseals employees, along with employees of Eversource and Yankee Publishing, and four firefighters from Franklin, took a run on the new course.

Before tackling the high course, participants shared goals to work toward and develop through the experience. Then, each participant took a turn walking on a thin, tightrope-like, triangle-shaped wire, to reach a large, wooden triangle platform in the middle. Participants walking across the wire had to constantly hold onto those in the middle for support, and ask for what they needed from their team.

“This was a chance to certainly connect this community and work towards goals, supporting each other, and so on,” said Nate Folan, program manager at the Browne Center. “And that directly translates onto the high course, and the climbing wall in particular. They’ll have an opportunity, individually, to work towards climbing as high as they can, as they want to.”

Folan said participants set a goal based on what they are striving to achieve, as their teammates are on the ground supporting them, holding the rope and giving slack, along with words of encouragement.

“So many things in our life can feel like an individual task, but ultimately, we have the support of others around us, and that’s evident by this experience on the climbing wall,” Folan said.

Melanie Nichols, consultant and facilitator in leadership and team development at the Browne Center, has received positive feedback from participants who attend these experiential learning activities.

“It creates a space where you don’t want to be anywhere else but here,” Nichols said. “You’re fully present, and then some folks can even walk away and say, 'Man, I don’t laugh enough outside of here.' In our many years of experience, we’ve had people say it can be life-changing.”

Ana McKenna, chief executive and strategic leader for the Easterseals NH Military & Veterans Campus, took part in a few activities on Sept. 25, particularly reflecting on her experience on the wire-walk challenge course. She said she hadn't done something like that since her time in the Army.

“The activity that we just went through was really about team building, which was really interesting to do, because our group here today is from all over,” McKenna said. “So, I like that these exercises can really be done with a bunch of different kinds of groups. So, it was really about trust and moving through and leaning on each other, to make sure that we're able to do that and and accomplish a mission.”

McKenna said they will be hosting couples and women's retreats at the Werner Mazda Challenge Course in the future.

“We're going to be hosting a couple in 2027, so that wherever someone is, we can kind of work through some of those goals that they might have for each other,” McKenna said.

McKenna said the campus’ 22 guest rooms will be of good use for those who want to take part in the challenge course and retreats. McKenna said Easterseals will be holding their own retreat, as well.

“The exercises are supposed to have an outcome, and I think sometimes when people look at big equipment like this, they think, 'Oh, I'm just going to get on and zipline,' but really there's an outcome to doing some of these exercises on this equipment, and it's nice to be able to offer that here in central New Hampshire,” McKenna said. “Because, we're easily accessible from anywhere, and I think it's really important for the North Country — Lakes Region and North Country — to be able to access something like this here, too.”