MEMB NewsER
IIMS team building forest adventure
If you are a regular reader, you may recall that once a year Team IIMS heads off for a couple of days team building in the heart of the New Forest at Minstead, UK, which is about 40 minutes from head office.
This year’s highlight was to be a team paddle in one giant kayak from Poole Harbour to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, famous as the birthplace of the scouting movement back in the early part of the 19th century. Sadly, the unseasonal British weather intervened as heavy rain and high winds forced a change of plan. The team opted for the safer option of the public ferry to the island instead. But the team’s spirits were not dampened. IIMS Marketing & Publishing Executive, Frances Birkett, takes up the story...
Deer, ducks and red squirrels, oh my! IIMS New Forest team away days.
June marked a busy period for the IIMS team on many fronts. We held our AGM, an ISO 9001 audit followed by exhibiting at Seawork in Southampton. However, in the middle of all of that, we headed for our annual teambuilding away days in the New Forest.
As Mike said, the original plan was to kayak our way over from Poole to Brownsea Island, famous as the birthplace of scouting. However, British weather being as it is, our plans changed to ferry trips instead.
We spent the day exploring the island and looking for its many wildlife inhabitants (mostly of the avian variety). Most were unbothered by our presence. It was amazing to watch deer, ducks, geese, chickens, seagulls and pheasants go about their day in an unhurried manner. In fact, one duck and its ducklings very happily milled around our feet. However, the star of the show was the humble red squirrel. Now anyone who has spent time in the UK will know of the love we have for our native species of squirrel. They are an increasingly rare sight in the UK and in the south of England they are confined to small islands off the coast. Fortunately, everyone in our group was lucky enough to spot a red squirrel or two.
Sharon Holland, who coordinates our eCMID AVI, RMCI and YCTI training courses and events, said, “It’s just nice to be with everyone and catch up outside of the office. The fact we were on an island, I found it really peaceful and tranquil. It was nice to get away from it all and explore somewhere new.”
Then it was back to the New Forest Outdoor Centre where we set up camp (either in a hammock or shepherd’s hut) and fired up the BBQ. Our evening activity was led by our graphic designer, Craig Williams, in which we explored our differing personalities using Enneagram tests. The idea was to discover more about ourselves as when we understand ourselves better, we work better as a team. It was an enlightening and interesting evening. We ended the night sitting around a campfire and chatting before heading to bed.
The next day Rob and Sam from the Centre finished our annual stay with a few short rounds of archery, including a chance to try out field archery with a longbow!
Dave Parsons, our Certifying Authority Operations Executive, said, “I appreciate the effort Rob and Sam go into when we stay there. I liked the archery as I enjoy physical activities like that. Our personality test was interesting - Craig did a good job with that, and Mike does a good BBQ. I woke up early and had a nice walk around the lake watching the lambs shout at me.”
38 | ISSUE 113 | SEP 2025 | THE REPORT
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