Latest News
Adventure and fun for Victory Primary
We had a fantastic day with Nelson’s Victory Primary School last week. Whenua Iti was a hive of activity with team building games, ropes action on the Flying Kiore, a drum stalk and more! Read on to hear about what the students experienced. On Wednesday we had the pleasure of hosting Victory Primary School’s Year […]
Life Skills can be Life Changing
For three years now, Whenua Iti has been running the Employment and Life Skills (ELS) programme with rangatahi from the West Coast. Run in partnership with the West Coast Trades Academy, this programme supports young people to build confidence and life skills for the next stages of life beyond school. Delivered over six short […]
Inspiring Leaders: Unleashing Potential
Whenua Iti’s Inspiring Leaders programme is an immersive and dynamic learning journey, bringing together Year 12 students from the Nelson/Tasman region. The programme is run each July and is designed to cultivate leadership through adventure and self-discovery. This year’s participants reflect on the empowering experience. Over four days and three nights, this year’s students were thrown […]
Unlocking the hidden power of Play
In today’s increasingly digital world, where screens dominate our daily lives, the simple act of playing outside holds more significance than ever for children. Outdoor play isn’t just about fun and games—it’s a crucial aspect of childhood development that nurtures physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. At Whenua Iti Outdoors, we see this benefit every day […]
Local students learn environmental sustainability
Our Environmental Sustainability students were instrumental to a local planting project in the Moutere Catchment. Students were involved in designing, planning, planting and sourcing seedlings that were grown in the Whenua Iti Community Nursery. A group of Year 12 and 13 students from Tasman and Marlborough have recently graduated from Whenua Iti Outdoors’ Environmental Sustainability […]
Celebrating our Kaimahi For Nature Connection project
As funding draws to a close, we are thrilled to share the success of our Kaimahi For Nature Connection (KFNC) project, made possible by the Jobs for Nature initiative from the Department of Conservation (DOC). The KFNC project ran for the last three years and supported a wide range of programmes at Whenua Iti Outdoors. […]
Supporting staff to support LandSAR
LandSAR is a national volunteer organisation which provides land search and rescue assistance to the lost, missing and injured across New Zealand. With its natural philosophical and skills-based alignment to our outdoor activities, Whenua Iti Outdoors supports staff who volunteer for LandSAR. We interview instructor Rosey Joyce about why she volunteers for LandSAR. Instructor Rosey […]
Manaaki Tāpoi – the programme that changes lives
The Manaaki Tāpoi programme, our Māori tourism course, strengthens participants’ understanding of Māori culture and the interconnectedness of Te Ao Māori. Delivered in partnership with the Top of the South and West Coast Trades Academies, this programme gives students the opportunity to achieve NCEA Level 2 and 3 credits and develop crucial personal and social […]
Fostering Futures through instructor training pathways
We celebrate the success of a recent professional pathway project; training safe, high-functioning, respectful and culturally aware new instructors.
The benefits of phone-free outdoor experiences
Nature is a powerful leveller and in an age of digital distractions we believe it is also an antidote to the addictive behaviour that devices bring out in our youth. Our preliminary research shows that most of our participants value the social and health benefits that being phone free in outdoor environments provide.
Celebrating our Ignite Graduates!
This year’s graduates of the three-year Ignite programme celebrate the journey with a week of adventures on the West Coast. Participants and instructors reflect on the boost in confidence this programme has provided. Congratulations to Alexander Lightfoot, Alexander Lock, Cyris Aldworth, George Emery, Jake Barnett, Jakib Hedges, Ken Takahashi, Lukas McEnroe, Sonny Campbell, Temaru Teaukura, […]
The link between outdoor education and the personal attributes employers want
Earlier this year Forbes magazine published an intriguing article outlining the personal attributes leading companies were looking for in candidates they were interviewing. Mike Howells, President of Workforce Skills at Pearson commented that “..the skills employers seek revolve around human skills—or ‘Power Skills’… what makes a difference in employee skills are the soft skills, like […]
Unexpected Powelliphanta Find Post Flooding
A highlight for students on the Environmental Sustainability Trades Programme, was to discover a healthy Powelliphanta snail in a flood-damaged part of the Te Hoiere/Pelorus River Catchment, where it was thought they wouldn’t have survived. Students spent the first week of this programme in the Te Hoiere/Pelorus River area to build an understanding of kaitiakitanga […]
A tutor’s perspective on our Holiday Programme
Our trainee instructor Sophie, was pleasantly surprised by the scaffolded learning that happens on our holiday programmes – see what she has to say about her time on Kaitiaki Kids! Here at Whenua Iti Outdoors we have recently started training some new instructors! You will see these trainees out and about with our qualified instructors […]
Our journey in creating inclusive outdoor experiences
A partnership with Sport New Zealand | Ihi Aotearoa and the Halberg Foundation has helped us to remove barriers for disabled tamariki and rangatahi to experience outdoor recreation at Whenua Iti Outdoors. Hearing that tamariki and rangatahi in our rohe (region) are missing out on experiences with us always sparks a desire to find a […]
Matua Mike Takes Top Honours at Recreation Awards
Mike Elkington (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) was the recipient of the Supreme Te Tohu Manu Kura Outdoor Award at the 2022 Recreation Aotearoa Awards held in Nelson. The Award was in recognition of his mana in the outdoor sector, and for outstanding leadership in outdoor recreation. Known affectionately as ‘Matua Mike’ to […]
Kaimahi for Nature Connection Project reaches Te Tai Poutini tamariki
Whenua Iti have recently run the first Tamariki Tiaki Nature Connection Programmes for Westport North, Westport South & St Canice’s Schools The programmes are designed to connect tamariki to environmental sites of local significance by focusing on nature connection experiences that are fun and engaging for the students, but also align with the school curriculum […]
Whenua Iti Take New Programmes to Te Tai Poutini
Whenua Iti Outdoors (WIO) are expanding their range of programmes delivered on the West Coast to further support rangatahi, tamariki and the wider community of Te Tai Poutini. “We have been working alongside other youth support organisations on the West Coast to look for opportunities to be involved where it’s needed most,” says Mark Bruce-Miller, […]
Ignite Students Hit the West Coast
This year, students on the Ignite Programme graduated the 3-year programme following a final week of awesome adventures based at Te Tai Poutini (West Coast). This final trip helped to cement their learning and development and proved to the instructors just how much the boys have improved across the course of the programme. The 10 […]
Connecting with Nature this Summer
Being in nature fills up my cup and I do it as much as I can, especially over the summer holidays! Dana Carter works at Whenua Iti Outdoors as the Kaimaihi for Nature Connection Lead and shares a few insights as to how to make the most of our time in nature this summer: I […]
Whenua Iti Outdoors Celebrates 35th Year
It was a magnificent occasion on site at Whenua Iti to celebrate our 35th Birthday. At the centre of all the celebrations, as she should be, was Hazel Nash, still as vibrant and dynamic as when she first sparked the idea of Whenua Iti in the mid-80s. The evening kicked off with a mihimihi, lead […]
Leadership Ignited in Youth thanks to a Generous Donor
The first graduates of the MHS Ignite Youth Development Programme were recently celebrated when they arrived back at the Whenua Iti base from their final journey. Each year, a group of Year 9 students are selected to join this Programme, during which they will participate in a total of six weeks of wilderness-based and adventurous […]
Planting brings generations together at Waimeha/Waimea Inlet
Young participants (aged 7-12yrs) who took part in Whenua Iti Outdoors (WIO) holiday programmes had a beautiful afternoon planting trees with Rotary Club members at Rough Island on the Waimeha /Waimea Inlet. The planting contributed to the work of the Waimea Inlet Restoration Group, who have been funded by Jobs for Nature to bring back […]
Nature Connection activities well received by schools & tamariki
The nature connection programmes run so far this year at Whenua Iti have connected almost 1,000 tamariki with outdoor experiences to develop a love of nature that supports their learning, wellbeing & sense of belonging. A highlight for local primary schools has been the Mini Outdoor & Environmental Adventurers Programmes that are offered to the […]
Civil Defence Students Get Involved on the Flood-Hit Coast.
Students on the Civil Defence Emergency Response (CDER) Programme with Whenua Iti Outdoors have just had an amazing experience on Te Tai Poutini/West Coast where they have spent the week connecting in with volunteers, LandSAR & Buller Civil Defence to learn first-hand about the huge coordinated response that is underway to the devastating flooding that […]
Nature Connection Seminar Well Attended
It was great to see such a wonderful response to our Nature Connection seminar last week with over 60 people coming together to learn from Steve Porteous of Human Bushcraft and Wild Living about simple ways in which to establish nature connection with their students and in their own lives. Teachers, parents and local community organisations including Tasman […]
Inaugural Wānanga for Youth at WIO
We had an amazing four days from 6 – 9th April for Te Kupenga Rangatahi Wānanga 2021, as rangatahi from our Manaaki Tāpoi programme were inspired to continue their journey in Te Ao Māori through workshops, inspiring speakers, collaborative art and collective performance. The idea for the wānanga was conceived, developed and then coordinated by […]
Adventure Holiday Programmes Sought After
Whenua Iti Outdoors have just had the busiest summer holiday ever, with a total of 137 children through on 11 different holiday programmes that catered for ages from 7 right through to 18, all with a focus on adventure-based activities that provide positive learning experiences in the outdoors. The same experienced staff who deliver our core education programmes throughout the school […]
Tasman Mission a Hit!
Tamariki had a blast during the Tasman Mission event held on site at Whenua Iti Outdoors. Primary Schools from around the district arrived on a sunny Friday morning to take part in a fun event organised by the Tasman District Council that coordinated various ‘stations’ where teams faced fun environmentally-themed challenges to tackle together. This is the second time the […]
Win a prize with WIO during Get Outdoors Week!
Get Outdoors Week runs from 14th – 22nd November, and to celebrate getting outdoors, Whenua Iti are giving away a Macpac pack for your next adventure. From the 14th of November we will be hiding 3 caches around some of our favourite outdoors spots in the Motueka area that can be accessed by families so […]
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