Whenua Iti Outdoors

Whenua Iti Outdoors (WIO) develops and delivers inspiring experiential learning programmes that weave together adventurous, environmental, wellness / hauora, and cultural elements to create opportunities for positive change in participants' everyday lives. Through personal challenge and development, we help to build strong people, whānau and communities who are more connected to one another and the world around them.

Our programmes intentionally connect our participants to nature through activities that explore locations of environmental significance,  building positive relationships with the environments we journey through and the people they share their experience with. Nurturing kaitiakitanga in our students promotes individual learning and wellness/hauora, and ultimately creates better outcomes for the environment too.

Our culturally inclusive programmes encourage and enable participation by all ethnicities, with a focus on Te Ao Māori. Our nature connection programmes range from primary day programmes exploring local, natural environments to 16-day secondary programmes with a focus on conservation and science. We work hard to eliminate barriers to participation, including rural isolation and socio-economic factors, to extend our programme reach and impact.

Find out more about our programmes on our website.

Activities and resources for Kaiako

To encourage nature connection at home and in classroom settings, we have created a series of free activities and resources that can be downloaded from our website. Kaiako can sign up to receive special teacher-kits that support the delivery of nature connection activities in the classroom which include extension activities and links to additional support resources.