ALIGNED ASCENT · TEAM

The people behind the programmes and expeditions.

Our programmes are shaped by people bringing together outdoor instruction, expedition experience, education, navigation, SEN experience and practical programme design.

HOW THE WORK IS SHAPED

Different experience changes how a programme is built.

David leads programme design and brings the different parts together. Charlie contributes the perspective of somebody who progressed from participant to instructor, alongside his navigation, expedition and field-delivery experience. That helps test whether an idea will work when a group is actually outside and responsibility begins to move away from the instructors.

Ben brings professional educational and SEN judgement. His contribution helps the team think carefully about explanation, access, appropriate challenge and why the same approach will not work for every participant.

The wider team contributes through delivery. What instructors notice about a group, an individual, an environment or a practical task feeds back into how the work is prepared and developed. Programme thinking does not stop when delivery begins.

David Markland

DirectorProgramme Designer · Instructor · Expedition LeaderNCFE Level 4 Certificate in Applied Bushcraft · Hypnotherapy Practitioners Diploma

David is interested in what somebody can work out for themselves once the instructor stops giving them the answer. His approach is practical and individual: skills matter, but so do noticing what is happening, deciding what matters and accepting responsibility for what happens next. His background combines more than two decades of construction and practical problem-solving with outdoor instruction, programme design and personal-development work. He has worked with young people and adults in woodland, mountain and cold-weather environments, including Borneo, repeated work in the Finnish Arctic and practical projects in Peru. Within Aligned Ascent, David develops programmes that provide enough support to learn safely and enough genuine responsibility for participants’ decisions to matter.

Charlie Hudson

DirectorSenior Instructor · Navigation & Expedition LeadNCFE Level 4 bushcraft training

Charlie understands progression from both sides. He first entered this kind of outdoor environment as a young participant, moved through increasing responsibility and leadership, and went on to become an experienced instructor and expedition leader. That gives him a useful perspective when working with young people: he knows the difference between being shown something and gradually becoming somebody others can rely on. Charlie is particularly strong in navigation and practical expedition skills. His wider experience includes training and instructing with Outward Bound in South Africa, alongside climbing, abseiling, kayaking, canoeing and safari work. He brings substantial cold-weather and international expedition experience and leads the Nepal journey with local guiding and operator support.

Sarah Williams

Bushcraft Instructor · EducatorGold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Sarah has a natural way of making young people feel noticed. She remembers names, listens carefully and combines clear outdoor teaching with genuine interest in the person learning. She began volunteering through her Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and trained as an instructor while studying History. Her experience includes outdoor camps and repeated Arctic expeditions. Sarah’s contribution matters because practical challenge works best when participants also feel understood, included and able to ask for help.

Nigel “Nige” Painter

Expedition Leader · Instructor

Nige brings calmness and perspective from years spent developing people in demanding environments. He understands when to intervene and when to give somebody room to solve the problem themselves. His work centres on judgement, preparation and teamwork, increasing responsibility while keeping sight of safety and the individual. His expedition background includes the Arctic, Borneo, Peru and mountain environments, experience that helps him recognise what a group needs when conditions become less comfortable or predictable.

Ed

Instructor

Ed brings practical knowledge, humour and an easy way of communicating that helps groups relax without losing focus. He teaches skills, supports participants and helps the shared work of camp life run properly. Food and cooking can be part of that, but they are only one part of a versatile delivery role. Ed steps into what the day requires, whether that means leading an activity, helping somebody understand a technique or getting a group organised.

Nazarius “Naz” Domianus

Jungle Guide · Survival Instructor

Naz is based in Borneo and combines extensive jungle experience with close attention to the people travelling with him. He notices what somebody needs and helps them become comfortable in an unfamiliar environment without pretending the environment is simple. His work includes international expedition operations, jungle movement, survival instruction, climbing and technical field projects. His direct experience of running and guiding in Borneo is central to shaping the Sabah journey.

Ben Bowra

Learning & SEN Specialist · Programme DevelopmentBA (Hons) · PGCE · PGCert (QTS)

Ben brings professional educational judgement into a team whose learning often happens outside conventional classrooms. He is a qualified teacher with extensive experience working with children and young people, including those with additional learning needs. He is particularly good at recognising when somebody needs a different explanation, more time, a different level of challenge or another way into the problem. His teaching background sits alongside substantial personal outdoor experience: Ben is a climber and mountaineer with experience in the Alps, Andes, Rockies and Himalayas, and has also worked on Arctic expeditions in Finland. Within Aligned Ascent, his perspective contributes to programme thinking and helps ensure that challenge, independence and responsibility are not treated as one-size-fits-all ideas.

WORK WITH ALIGNED ASCENT

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