EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE + WELLBEING
+ EDUCATION
At Adventure Specialties Trust, all of our outdoor adventure programmes focus on hauora/wellbeing.
Our Educational Programmes also focus on supporting learning through outdoor adventure.
Supporting learning through outdoor adventure
Our Educational programmes are designed for schools, kura and tertiary institutions who want to teach outdoor skills and knowledge as part of their curriculum. We work alongside teachers and lecturers to deliver practical, field-based experiences that complement classroom learning. Our instructors take on the role of teacher/instructor and they provide safe, professional instruction that supports your assessment goals.
Whether the activity is rock climbing, kayaking, tramping or bushcraft, our instructors bring specialist expertise and high instructor-to-student ratios, making it possible to safely take learning into the outdoors. Our staff hold outdoor qualifications from the leading industry body, New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA). Our instructors also have extensive experience on rivers, oceans, mountains, and in the bush.
Our Educational Programmes can be aligned with your assessments, unit standards and frameworks (such as the Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey award).
While the primary focus is on teaching specific outdoor skills, we also embrace the learning that naturally happens in the Great Outdoors, which contributes to our wellbeing. We use Te Whare Tapa Whā as a framework for including wellbeing in all of our outdoor adventure programmes. Read more about Te Whare Tapa Whā in the section below.
From single-day trips to multi-day expeditions, we help teachers bring their Outdoor Education programmes to life with safe, professional support, using the Great Outdoors to inspire personal growth and wellbeing.
Educational programmes are ideal for:
- Outdoor Education classes (secondary or tertiary level)
- Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journeys (training and assessment)
- Curriculum-aligned outdoor skills programmes
A Focus on Wellbeing
At Adventure Specialties Trust, all of our programmes focus on hauora/wellbeing.
We define wellbeing as a holistic state where we can thrive physically, mentally, socially, spiritully and ecologically. It’s about having the energy to engage full in life, with the mindset to navigate challenges and celebrate successes. We have strong connections with others, a clear sense of identity and purpose, and a deep relationship with nature.
Wellbeing is the foundation for living a meaningful and balanced life.
Wellbeing Framework
When we are designing our programmes, we use a wellbeing framework based on Te Whare Tapa Whā (the house with four walls). Te Whare Tapa Whā is a Māori model of holistic health developed by Sir Mason Durie. Each of the four walls (described below) is an important part of hauora/wellbeing, and we weave these into a variety of activities during our programmes.
Te Whare Tapa Whā
TAHA TINANA / Physical Wellbeing
Our taha tinana allows us to feel healthy, energetic, motivated and physically capable of pursuing activities that bring joy, connection and satisfaction to our days.
TAHA HINENGARO / Mental and Emotional Wellbeing
Our taha hinengaro allows us to feel balanced, hopeful and positive about the future, with the capacity to navigate life’s challenges and celebrate its joys while nuturing a sense of self-compassion and self-worth.
TAHA WHĀNAU / Social Wellbeing
Taha whānau is about feeling a sense of belonging, connection and confidence in our relationships with others. It includes the belief that people can be kind, trustworthy and safe, as well as the ability to work collaboratively with others.
TAHA WAIRUA / Spiritual Wellbeing
Taha wairua is about feeling a strong sense of self, identity and connection to our faith, beliefs, culture, values and purpose. It provides a foundation of meaning and direction.
TE WHENUA / The Land
Te whenua is the foundation of Te Whare Tapa Whā, the house with four walls. Connection to whenua is about feeling a sense of belonging in te taio, the natural world, and drawing on that connection to support our wellbeing. It includes experiencing awe and wonder in natural spaces and fostering a sense of responsibility to protect and care for the Earth.
Programme Outcomes
How do we know if we have made an impact on our participants? At the end of our programmes, we ask participants to fill in an ‘Outcomes Evaluation’ form, so that we can measure the impact of our programme on their hauora/wellbeing. At the end of each year, we analyse the results to see where participants have experienced personal growth, and where we can improve our services to support them better. Read our annual Impact reports to see the stats and read about the positive impact that our programmes have on the participants.
Educational Programmes:
Schools
Outdoor Education, Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) and Youth Development programmes … with a difference!
Our classroom is the wild spaces of Aotearoa. We believe the outdoors is the best place for young people to holistically develop their character so they can reach their full potential.
Our incredible team, which is made up of more than 20 full-time staff, is dedicated to adding the wow factor to your school programme.
We are super flexible
Whether you are an outdoor education expert or organising your first school camp, we can provide an experience to suit your students’ needs.
Whether you are looking for a one-day experience close to home or a 28-day wilderness expedition in the wop-wops, we can organise the lot or simply provide a quality instructor to support your own programme.
We operate everywhere
If you are planning to head outdoors and do something adventurous in beautiful Aotearoa, chances are our team has paddled it, climbed it, crawled through it, swung off it, slid down it and tramped it. We would love to share our experiences with you, your staff and students.
Safe as houses
Your safety is our top priority. We operate under a comprehensive set of operational and compliance guidelines. Read more about our Safety Management Systems.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more about working with us to co-design an outdoor adventure programme, get in touch or fill in the Programme Enquiry form at the bottom of this page.
Outdoor Education
Fun, safe, educational and adventurous outdoor experiences for Years 5 to 13.
We are passionate about giving every kiwi kid the opportunity to experience the great outdoors and can support your school in delivering your EOTC and NCEA outdoor education goals.
Whether it’s facilitating raft building for a fun day outdoors, incorporating high ropes and orienteering into school camps or taking high school students on a whitewater kayaking adventure, we work in partnership with your school to plan and run activities that fit with your school’s particular values.
Secondary school programmes
We work with students studying Outdoor Education by providing a platform for them to learn how to safely complete activities such as whitewater and sea kayaking, bush skills and tramping, while building developmental skills such as leadership.
Our staff are qualified to provide the technical tuition and adventure experiences to support your NCEA Physical Education curriculum Levels 1 to 3.
For all our programmes, we focus on wellbeing. We use Te Whare Tapa Whā (the house with four walls) as the framework for our programmes, to promote holistic wellbeing. Read more about our wellbeing framework here.
If you are running your own outdoor adventure programmes at school, our instructors can work collaboratively with your staff to allow you to reach the required student:teacher ratios for outdoor trips.
Intermediate school programmes
We offer activities and programmes designed to enhance school camps and day trips that can foster leadership skills and personal growth. We work with your school to plan and run activities which correspond to your school values. A focus on perseverance, for example, could see children participating in a high ropes course and learning not to give up the first time, that it’s not about getting to the top but setting personal goals and giving it a go.
If your school is offering the William Pike challenge programme, we can partner with you to provide adventure challenge days.
We design adventurous programmes that are fun, safe and that will holistically develop your students. Together we can create experiences that enhance your young people’s resilience, spunk and the confidence to be their best selves.
School Camps
We work with schools to run the outdoor adventure segments of their school camps. You choose the activities and we provide the experienced outdoor instructors, the necessary equipment, and the Safety Management Systems.
Get in touch to find out more, or fill in the Programme Enquiry form at the bottom of this page to chat with us about what you’re looking for and how we might be able to help.
Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journeys
Auckland:
Christchurch:
William Pike Challenge
We currently work with schools to run their William Pike challenge.
More info coming soon.
Train your staff to lead their own outdoor programmes
Get your staff trained to lead their own outdoor adventure programmes.
Over our 30 years of operation, we have learnt a trick or two about what it takes to run fun, safe and adventurous programmes.
Our training programmes offer teachers, scouts/guides leaders and youth/community workers the opportunity to gain professional development that will maximise the outdoor adventure and education you offer in our communities.
We provide both scheduled training opportunities for individuals to sign up to, as well as group bookings where we can tailor the training to maximise learning outcomes to meet your specific group’s needs.
We have senior staff who are qualified to train and assess people for their NZOIA and Skills Active Outdoor Recreation leader level qualifications in Bush, Kayak, Sea Kayak, Rock and Abseil. In addition we can offer technical or theoretical training in risk management, river crossings and swift water awareness, bush and alpine environments.
We have worked with:
• Police: Search and rescue
• Civil Aviation Authority: Accident Investigators
• Secondary School teachers: Outdoor Education
• Duke of Edinburgh: Award Leaders
• Girl Guides: Leaders
• Waiperira Trust: Youth workers
• Residential camps: Activity Leaders
• Clubs: Leaders and volunteers
“Adventure Specialties Trust are a trusted provider for our school and Board of Trustees. We engage with them because we have developed a level of professional trust in their organisation and we hugely appreciate the level of support that they offer our staff and students. We would highly recommend them to any other organisation with similar needs.”
Wellbeing Framework
A Focus on Wellbeing
At Adventure Specialties Trust, all of our programmes focus on hauora/wellbeing.
We define wellbeing as a holistic state where we can thrive physically, mentally, socially, spiritully and ecologically. It’s about having the energy to engage full in life, with the mindset to navigate challenges and celebrate successes. We have strong connections with others, a clear sense of identity and purpose, and a deep relationship with nature.
Wellbeing is the foundation for living a meaningful and balanced life.
Wellbeing Framework
When we are designing our programmes, we use a wellbeing framework based on Te Whare Tapa Whā (the house with four walls). Te Whare Tapa Whā is a Māori model of holistic health developed by Sir Mason Durie. Each of the four walls (described below) is an important part of hauora/wellbeing, and we weave these into a variety of activities during our programmes.
Te Whare Tapa Whā
TAHA TINANA / Physical Wellbeing
Our taha tinana allows us to feel healthy, energetic, motivated and physically capable of pursuing activities that bring joy, connection and satisfaction to our days.
TAHA HINENGARO / Mental and Emotional Wellbeing
Our taha hinengaro allows us to feel balanced, hopeful and positive about the future, with the capacity to navigate life’s challenges and celebrate its joys while nuturing a sense of self-compassion and self-worth.
TAHA WHĀNAU / Social Wellbeing
Taha whānau is about feeling a sense of belonging, connection and confidence in our relationships with others. It includes the belief that people can be kind, trustworthy and safe, as well as the ability to work collaboratively with others.
TAHA WAIRUA / Spiritual Wellbeing
Taha wairua is about feeling a strong sense of self, identity and connection to our faith, beliefs, culture, values and purpose. It provides a foundation of meaning and direction.
TE WHENUA / The Land
Te whenua is the foundation of Te Whare Tapa Whā, the house with four walls. Connection to whenua is about feeling a sense of belonging in te taio, the natural world, and drawing on that connection to support our wellbeing. It includes experiencing awe and wonder in natural spaces and fostering a sense of responsibility to protect and care for the Earth.
Programme Outcomes
How do we know if we have made an impact on our participants? At the end of our programmes, we ask participants to fill in an ‘Outcomes Evaluation’ form, so that we can measure the impact of our programme on their hauora/wellbeing. At the end of each year, we analyse the results to see where participants have experienced personal growth, and where we can improve our services to support them better. Read our annual Impact reports to see the stats and read about the positive impact that our programmes have on the participants.
GET IN TOUCH
Interested?
If you think that an outdoor adventure programme focused on wellbeing might benefit you and your group, please get in touch. Fill in the form below or contact us to have a no-obligation chat about what we can create together.
Online form
Fill in our online form (below) and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Call Auckland
Talk to Jeff, our Operations Manager in Auckland.
Call Christchurch
Talk to Andy, our Operations Manager in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Email Auckland
Email Jeff, our Operations Manager in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
Email Christchurch
Email Andy, our Operations Manager in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Problems with this form? Please contact our Comms/Website person (comms@adventurespecialties.co.nz)
“One of the great ironies of life is this: The person who serves almost always benefits more than the person who is served.”
—GORDON B HINCKLEY