by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 7, Oct 2024 | About Adventure Specialties Trust, All, Blog, Staff Profiles
Congratulations to Mark Johnston for being awarded the Tall Tōtara award at last week’s NZOIA Excellence Awards 2024! Awarded to a current instructor or guide who personifies ‘excellence in outdoor leadership’. A highly respected role model, someone...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 5, Oct 2024 | About Adventure Specialties Trust, All, Blog, Staff Profiles
Congratulations to our CEO, Tim Wills, for being recognised as an Honorary Life Member at the NZOIA Excellence Awards last week! This award is awarded to a member who personifies the very best combination of an excellent instructor/guide, a high achieving personal...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 19, Dec 2023 | About Adventure Specialties Trust, All, Blog, Newsletter, Staff Profiles
[This message is copied from our Christmas newsletter. Read the rest of the newsletter here.] Meri Kirihimete! I hope this year has been a fulfilling one and now you have some time to relax and enjoy a slower pace. Our staff are looking forward to a well-deserved...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 7, Dec 2023 | Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Feedback from Participants and Clients, Newsletter, Open Enrolment Programmes, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
All our Adventure Therapy programmes are run as small groups (max 8-10 people) and they are a form of group therapy. There are so many advantages to working with others in a group! [Please note that the photos in this article are not from the RESTORE programme, to...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 7, Dec 2023 | Adventure With Purpose, All, Blog, Bush Skills, Feedback from Participants and Clients, Newsletter, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
KidsCan is a New Zealand charity on a mission to help kiwi children who are living in poverty and going without essentials like food, warm clothing and shoes. KidsCan believes that “Education is a pathway out of poverty [but] children can’t learn if they are cold and...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 5, Dec 2023 | Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Feedback from Participants and Clients, Newsletter, Open Enrolment Programmes, Stories from Programmes
During Term 3, we ran an INSPIRE Adventure Therapy day programme (one day a week over eight weeks) for young women who have been struggling with their mental health. Here are some quotes from the young women who attended: “I feel hopeful about my future and that life...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 25, Aug 2023 | Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
REVIVE is a new Adventure Therapy day programme (one day a week over eight weeks) for clients who are being supported by ACC’s Integrated Service for Sensitive Claims (ISSC) therapists. We have just completed our first REVIVE programme in Christchurch. Anneke (a...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 3, Aug 2023 | All, Blog
Thank you, Foundation North, for funding the purchase of our new mountain bikes so that more young people can experience the joy of being outdoors!
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 31, Jul 2023 | About Adventure Specialties Trust, All, Blog, Staff Profiles
Our Christchurch team got together a few weeks ago for a 2-day staff training event (which happens once each term). Instructor Peter described it like this: “April ran a session up at Sign of the Bellbird on pūrākau [Māori myths and legends], looking at the...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 29, Jul 2023 | All, Blog, Inspirational Quotes, Learning about te ao Māori
E huri tō aroaro ki te rā, tukuna tō ataarangi ki muri i a koe.Turn and face the sun, and let your shadow fall behind you.
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 27, Jul 2023 | All, Blog, Staff Profiles
FAREWELL DAVE! The man, the myth, the legend … After an adventure-filled 10 years, we are sadly saying farewell to Dave, one of our most experienced outdoor instructors and Adventure Therapy facilitators. Dave and his wife, Sophia, and their little ones are...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 24, Jul 2023 | All, Blog, Bush Skills, Staff Profiles
CONGRATS to our instructors (Isaac, Nat, Oli and Anna S) who have just passed the 3-day NZOIA Bush 1 qualification last week! Contrary to the name, “Bush 1” is not an easy or entry-level qualification. It is very a challenging assessment that includes...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 22, Jul 2023 | Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Open Enrolment Programmes, Stories from Programmes
UPCOMING YOUTH CAMP: Our North Island IGNITE youth camp is now open for applications! Keep reading for more details … WHAT: IGNITE is an adventure therapy youth camp, where we combine ADVENTURE (kayaking, bush walking, high ropes, etc.) with THERAPY (like group...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 20, Jul 2023 | Adventure With Purpose, All, Blog, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
THANK YOU RECREATION AOTEAROA! For funding some amazing programmes over the last few months: Big Brother Big Sister and Upside Youth Mentoring in Auckland, plus Active Muslim Explorers Camp and Big Brother Big Sister in Christchurch.
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 15, Jul 2023 | About Adventure Specialties Trust, Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Open Enrolment Programmes, Stories from Programmes
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 13, Jul 2023 | Adventure With Purpose, All, Blog, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 10, Jul 2023 | Adventure Therapy, All, Blog, Feedback from Participants and Clients, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
Thank you, West City Sports Academy, for this wonderful feedback about our partnership with your alternative education programme.
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 8, Jul 2023 | Adventure With Purpose, All, Blog, Featured Hike, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
This stunning photo was taken by the talented Cole Yeoman during the 11-day “E3 Canterbury” wilderness journey earlier this year. At that point, Day 2, the group of Year 12-13 students and 3 outdoor instructors (plus Cole) were on the St James walkway in...
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 6, Jul 2023 | All, Blog, Learning about te ao Māori
What’s your favourite proverb? This Māori whakataukī is lovely, isn’t it? Mauri tū, mauri ora. An active soul is a healthy soul.
by Bex | Adventure Specialties Trust | 3, Jul 2023 | All, Blog, Partnership Programmes, Stories from Programmes
A huge THANK YOU to Henderson-Massey Local Board who granted us funding to purchase some new PFDs (life jackets) which were used the very next day after they arrived in the office! We took a group called “Mums on the Move” out kayaking with Instructor...