Fun day of learning on Moturoa For many years, our local councils have been running a fun day of learning on Moturoa (Rabbit Island) with a huge range of activities offered by inspiring Environmental Educators. This year, the event was organised by TDC, hosted at WIO and renamed the Tasman Mission. During the day, students […]
Tasman on a Mission! Read More »
Here at WIO, finding the funding we need for our programmes certainly keeps us on our toes – we try to be as adaptable and creative as possible looking for opportunities wherever we can and also looking for ways to make what we do sustainable in the longer term. Currently we apply for grants and
WIO WIT WIF ExpedNZ – confused? Let us explain!! Read More »
For many years Whenua Iti Outdoors has been held in high regard by the people who participate in our programmes or maybe their families and others in the community who for some reason come across our work. We have heard many tales of how “my son turned a corner doing a WIO programme” or “WIO
Measuring our Impact – what do we know? Read More »
If you come on a Whenua Iti Outdoors programmes you will find yourself facing all sorts of challenges and each person on the same programme faces a different set of challenges – some physical, some mental, some emotional – sometimes all 3! One of our tutors, Kathryn, has written a letter to everyone facing a
To the Scared Abseiler – a message from your tutor! Read More »
Looking back, looking forward…. 2018 was a big year in the WIO story in so many different ways. We delivered 10,201 participant days of activities – we’re pretty sure that’s our first year over the 10,000 mark with 3,433 individuals on our various programmes. 3,139 credits were achieved by secondary students towards their NCEA and
I’m sure you’ve all heard us wax lyrical about all the wonderful things the students have learned in their programmes – but what if you flick that round and look at that from a different perspective? Our super woman instructor, Joni Tomsett, shows us it’s not all one way traffic on the learning front! The
Who’s Learning from Who? An Instructor’s Perspective Read More »
Earlier this year two of our Whenua Iti staff (Pip Rees and Kieran McKay) spent 6 and 12 days underground on an expedition to try to extend the known length of the 76km long Bulmer Cavern, NZs longest cave. Kieran made a 36 minute movie about this expedition entitled ‘Once Again Beneath the Mountains’ It
WIO in the Shadows…… Read More »
Adventure Therapy has been on our minds a lot lately – we were privileged to host the Adventure Therapy Aotearoa Forum 2018 earlier in the year and we have just started the ground work for our own Adventure Therapy programme with staff visiting potential partners and participants. Georgia, a WIO tutor, recently visited the USA
Adventure Therapy – A Tutor’s View Read More »
Adventure Therapy is a relatively new field in New Zealand and one that is growing pretty quickly. So what does it do? Why is it getting so much attention? And how is Whenua Iti Outdoors involved? Adventure Therapy (AT) combines the outdoors (taiao), people (tangata), challenge (wero) and therapy (haumanu). It is an intensive, structured yet
Adventure Therapy – a beginners guide Read More »
WIO is constantly evolving and trying new things – sometimes we think up great ideas but most often those ideas come from our community (and we are so very grateful!!). In response to enquiries asking for a programme that would extend both the skills of participants and the time spent in the outdoors, we came
Adventure Skills Development Read More »
Whenua Iti Outdoors are excited to be hosting the “Adventure Therapy Aotearoa (ATA) 2018 Forum”. Adventure Therapy is a growing field in New Zealand and around the world. Adventure Therapy is a research based approach where experiential is therapy coupled with adventurous activities. By creating a safe, supportive environment and opportunity for calculated
Adventure Therapy Forum Read More »
Here at WIO our highest priority is safety including programme planning, checking of equipment and possibly most importantly, having highly skilled staff. To work towards this we run training sessions that focus on different areas of the tutors’ skill set and this time it was bush and rescue skills. Here’s Joni Tomsett with a tutor’s
Walking the talk… Instructor Training Read More »
In a recent staff meeting, we realised just how many staff and volunteers at Whenua Iti Outdoors had arrived on our door step as students or interns, then decided to return, since they liked what they saw. This includes admin and tutor staff, contractors and trustees. The WIO slogan “Journey’s of Discovery” applies to so
An Experience of a Lifetime with WIO Read More »
Not many people can make a subject like neuroscience burst into life. Nathan Mikaere Wallis does this with ease whilst also giving a 1000 useful ways to put this knowledge into practice in our daily lives. We have engaged Nathan to deliver staff training at the WIO base and we rate him so
WIO presents… An Evening with Nathan Mikaere Wallis Read More »
New year, new adventure, new skills… Adventure Skills Academy is a multi-activity, residential, adventure training programme for January 2018 featuring 9 days and 8 nights of awesome adventures. The skills based programme provides the perfect platform to build your outdoors expertise and even, for those who are keen, a sound foundation for adventure racing skills.
The Perfect Kick Start to 2018! Read More »
