Our POET Co-Ordinator, Pete Guyan shares his insights from a recent conference and his work in outdoor education – how small changes can lead to bigger outcomes: In the effort to improve, we often find ourselves aiming for significant transformations and big achievements in a very short space of time. However, what if I told you that one of the paths to success and personal growth lies not in giant leaps quickly, but in the power of small changes over time? It’s the cumulative effect of these minor tweaks on how you do things, or your attitude towards something, that can lead to big shifts and ..read more

Our POET Coordinator Pete Guyan loves the outdoors – but what happens when you have your family in tow and being indoors is the more appealing and comfortable option? Pete has shared with us his recent family adventure and how the best stories can come from choosing to get outdoors: I was recently lucky enough to be on an island holiday with my wife, kids and two other families. We had been in Fiji for about 5 days and were all enjoying a sunny day in the pool. Then, in the space of about 5 minutes, the wind picked up, the skies darkened, the heavens opened, and absolutely torrential rain came ..read more

In today’s blog post, we are showcasing a local group – Hamilton Tramping Club who, alongside their passion for getting outdoors, have also recently stepped up and supported our work. Hamilton Tramping Club is a small, friendly Club which has been tramping around New Zealand since 1978. They run day trips on Sundays of every second weekend, (Covid permitting!). Their day trips can vary widely, from nice leisurely bush walks to strenuous tramps into the more rugged regions of our local ranges and are graded accordingly. Day trips are a good way to start tramping. The desire to visit areas of i ..read more

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe to our amazing School Coordinators. To honour their hard mahi as part of our POET whanau, we are including a blurb of each of our School Coordinators on our website. Check them out here. Our School Coordinators are dedicated educators with a passion for the outdoors and the benefits that it can give their students. With the support of POET, they coordinate staff and oversee the planning and running of their school camps, enabling their students to have safe, rewarding, transformative outdoor experiences. To give you a greater insight into the role, we asked one of ou ..read more

In today’s world, not only is the outdoors better for your mental health, but it’s safer too. According to a recent study, only one in every thousand cases of COVID-19 are transmitted outside. Fresh air allows the virus to disperse, rather than build up in an enclosed area. Schools have already started to recognise that the outdoors has a much lower risk than indoors during a pandemic and are taking their classrooms outside: “Since the pandemic, on the days I’m onsite, I keep the kids outside most of the day. We go into the garden and read stories, complete writing tasks, art and maths games ..read more

During this time, where lockdowns and uncertainty around COVID-19 can have a negative impact on mental health, wellbeing is essential. For youth, getting outdoors, exercising, and engaging in fun, meaningful activities with their peers is more important than ever. The outdoor environment is also a lower risk area of transmission. This is why we will do what we can to ensure our camps continue to run and operate safely. When looking for information on alert levels, make sure the information is up to date, as the rules do change. For the most up-to-date information, check out the government webs ..read more

This week is Conservation Week, so Sophie is sharing POET’s pre-lockdown trip to Pirongia and what we learnt about trapping: On the 4th of August, Brian and I headed to Pirongia forest to meet Terry Lasenby from the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society. Terry took us up the Mahaukura track to show us part of the trapline that he monitors. The traps he uses are designed to catch stoats, rats, ferrets and hedgehogs. The first trap we encountered was empty, but the bait was gone, so we replenished this by putting a dab of chocolate-scented bait on the egg inside the trap and rubbing ..read more

Our Programme Coordinator, Sophie Milne is taking over the blog today – she shares how she found her passion for the outdoors and turned it into her career: I’m lucky enough to be working in my dream career. If you told me 10 years ago that I’d be working in outdoor ed with teenagers, I would’ve laughed. Back then I had one dream – to be a lecturer in Philosophy. I loved inspiring others to think critically and not take the world around them for granted. But I also enjoyed outdoor sports. Although, I was definitely a city kid, having grown up in central Auckland. When I wasn’t hanging out at T ..read more

Let’s face it, school camp can be a pretty daunting experience for a wide eyed and nervous year 9 student. There are so many firsts on camp – their first time camping, staying out in nature, cooking meals, being away from family (and technology!), trying new things and challenging themselves. Phew! ‘Outside your comfort zone’ becomes a bit of a permanent state in the beginning, but with these firsts always comes some impressive growth and development. Our POET team are lucky enough to see some students return to camp year on year until they graduate from School, giving a pretty neat window int ..read more

Spring really is one of the most beautiful times of year to be out in nature. You can’t help but be blown away by the bright green colour palates of the forest, the new growth of the foliage, and the fresh Spring air.  Getting out in nature & exploring new places is good for us in so many ways, and it really doesn’t need to be difficult. Here in the Waikato region, we’re so blessed with the amount of opportunities we have to get out in nature. A lot of hard work that has gone into creating some pretty impressive trails simply for us to enjoy, and we really are spoilt for choice!  ..read more