Sam Harrison / Participant or Researcher??

Who am I?!

Typical philosopher – but this question is a bit more interesting. How much am I a participant and how much a researcher? From the start it has been an interesting tension – bringing myself as an outdoor educator with a passion for places, but also standing with one foot outside trying to capture the process as an ‘independent’ researcher.

I have had solo time before, and it has always been special – and the ‘main event’ of the weekend was no less deep. Wandering up in the hills, brain in neutral, a cave found me before the wind and rain started in earnest. The cave sheltered me for the day – I slept and sat and watched and ground garnets out of the rocks.

The relationships between the group have deepened so quickly, and we have reached a level of openness that reminds me of other really important times in my life. As a researcher I have had to tread carefully around this deep process and bring my time in the cave along with my endless jottings in the research diary…