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Thirty students from Alfriston College have embarked on a programme first for Hillary Outdoors, a multi-year youth development programme that aims to see longer-term change around personal development (self-identity, leadership and impacting others etc.), increased and self-directed interest in outdoor activity and a more focused pathway for school leavers.

The three-year programme that commenced in December 2022 targeted Year 10 students and will see the same 30 students return to Hillary Outdoors in Years 11 (2023) and 12 (2024) to participate in a 5-day school group programme that is adapted to meet the needs and learning outcomes of the group.

The pilot programme developed alongside Alfriston College in South Auckland, whose students attend Hillary Outdoors Aotea, Great Barrier Island, has been funded thanks to a Recreation Aotearoa grant to connect rangatahi Māori with their culture and to support their access to outdoor education.

Cultural relevance has been woven into the programme at every opportunity, aligning with several initiatives at the school, including Te Reo Māori, Whakairo – Carving, Te Ao Haka, and Tikanga learning programmes, alongside Kaitiakitanga of our environments.

Alfriston experienced our Island Centre, Aotea Great Barrier, in December 2022, where the focus was on their personal development and self-growth as they move into their senior schooling years. This year, Alfriston will visit our Tongariro Centre and complete a Through My Lens programme where they can focus on sharing their personal stories through media, continuing their personal development as young adults, starting to solidify who they are going to be as an adult and what values they will carry through life.

We are excited to see the growth in students at the end of the three-year programme and believe that this programme has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of the students attending. We cannot wait to share those results with you and see the positive impact that this programme will have in the future.

In what is billed as the Ultimate Outdoor Adventure challenge for Year 11-13 students in New Zealand, we have found our Hillary Challenge Finalists after two qualifying regional events earlier this year.

Twenty-three schools from the length and breadth of the North Island raced against each other in Rotorua, showing fierce skills and determination, with Francis Douglas/Sacred Heart (Taranaki) narrowly edging out Whakatane High School for the top spot.

Two weeks later, 23 South Island teams competed in wet and muddy conditions, with reigning Hillary Outdoors Champions Motueka High (Tasman) taking first place.

Eight schools have successfully earned the right to compete in the National Final, to be held in October. They will be joined by the top three teams from the 2022 Hillay Challenge Final, who earn automatic entry into the Final based on their placings last year.

Can anyone stop Motueka High from taking out the Hillary Challenge again in 2023? Only time will tell.

The full list of finalists is below:

Motueka High (Tasman) – 1st 2022 – automatic entry
John Paul College (Bay of Plenty) 2nd 2022 automatic entry
New Plymouth Girls/Boys (Taranaki) 3rd 2022 automatic entry
Francis Douglas/Sacred Heart (Taranaki)
Whakatane High (Bay of Plenty)
Onslow College (Wellington)
Trident High (Bay of Plenty)
Wakatipu High (Central Otago)
Middleton Grange (Canterbury)
Craighead Diocesan/Timaru Boys (South Canterbury)
Rangi Ruru/Christchurch Boys (Canterbury)

Thanks to generous funding from NZAC Tūpiki Trust, Hillary Outdoors Tertiary students will scale new heights. $250,539 in co-funds has been secured to complete stage three of an all-weather indoor climbing wall for the Tongariro Centre.

This project has been a long time in the making as we embarked on a three-phase project in 2020 to create a world-class climbing training facility for students at a total cost of $773,289.  

Benefits for Tertiary students

As we begin the final stage of the project, the funding from Tūpiki Trust enables the creation of a dedicated classroom next to the climbing wall so that students can apply theory immediately in reality.  

The funding will also ensure we are equipped with the latest safety equipment to ensure our students can climb with confidence and peace of mind. 

As New Zealand’s leading provider of Tertiary Outdoor Education, we deliver the New Zealand Certificate (Level 4) and the New Zealand Diploma (Level 5) in Outdoor and Adventure Education from our Tongariro Centre, construction of this high-spec climbing wall will allow for highly technical lessons as well as the ability to learn alongside instructors. 

The climbing facility will teach all facets of skill associated with climbing, from movement skills to technical, including belaying, anchors, abseiling and multi-pitch systems.

Being based in an Alpine environment has many benefits, namely being able to practice what is learned in the outdoors almost immediately however, we are sometimes interrupted by weather, which can disrupt schedules and the momentum created in the classroom. 

This new indoor facility will ensure that the 300 hours of training dedicated to rock and alpine training (Certificate and Diploma) always go ahead, no matter the weather.

We are incredibly grateful to the Tūpiki Trust for their support and generosity in making this project possible. As we progress with construction, we look forward to sharing progress updates with you all. Stay tuned for more updates!

The Hillary Outdoors Gratitude Report 2021-2022 showcases the impact outdoor education has on New Zealand youth thanks to our generous donor community. Read the full report by clicking on the image below.

Hillary Outdoors is turning 50! Yes, that’s right, we have been providing outdoor education and adventure since 1972. But it’s not time to slow down or put the feet up. In fact, there are actual, scientific studies which have shown that creativity peaks in our 20s and our 50s and there are many inspirational stories about success and achievement after 50. Just look at Charles Darwin who published the Theory of Evolution at 50 years old, or Momofuku Ando who, also at 50, invented the instant noodle!

So with this milestone birthday we thought it was time we tried something new by launching our first-ever Annual Appeal. Throughout September, Hillary Outdoors will be celebrating all things outdoors, what we love, the memories we have made, and the life-changing impact our programmes have had on a generation of New Zealanders. It’s the perfect time for reflection but also a chance to look ahead, reassess goals, and figure out how we can best meet the changing needs of our community, particularly when it comes to supporting our rangatahi. Because in these uncertain times we are reminded that we need to be resilient, adaptable, and caring. But how do we develop these life skills? Independent research by Auckland University of Technology found that participating in a Hillary Outdoors programme is often a life-changing experience where students become leaders, develop a sense of belonging, learn through teamwork, and connect with community. It is these learnings that will determine how students act, make decisions throughout their lives, and deal with ‘the next COVID-19’, whatever that may be, and it is Hillary Outdoors that helps deliver these lessons.

Hillary Outdoors is a charitable trust so we rely heavily on the support and generosity of donors, funding bodies, partners and the community. We have never publicly fundraised on this scale before – this is our first ever annual appeal – but we want to keep introducing youth to the outdoors for another 50 years, empowering them to thrive and achieve.

So we need your help today, to invest in New Zealand’s tomorrow. Here’s how you can help:

Your donation will make a difference to the lives of young New Zealanders – on their behalf, thank you.

Let the birthday celebrations begin! Make sure you follow along on Facebook and Instagram to see all of the great moments from our past, the impact our programmes have had on youth, and some great yarns along the way.

Have you been a student at Hillary Outdoors? We would love to hear from Hillary Outdoors Alumni. If you have some fabulous memories of your time with us, or just want to reconnect with the Hillary Outdoors community please email marketing@hillaryoutdoors.co.nz

So while we might be turning the big 5-0 the celebration has to be in honour of outdoor education everywhere because, after all, age is just a number.

Our high energy Dingle biscuits are made daily in giant batches – a nod to tradition they are still as wildly popular as ever. We’re happy to share our recipe for free but if you think it’s worth more than a giveaway, then perhaps consider donating a Sir Ed ($5 note) here…thank you, we’d really appreciate it!

The Dingle Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients:

                250gm Margarine

                8 tablespoons Golden Syrup

                ¾ cup Sugar

                1 ¼ cups Plain Flour

                1 ¼ cups Wholemeal Flour

                1 cup Rolled Oats

                ½ cup Coconut

                1 tablespoon Baking Powder

Method:

Place the margarine, golden syrup, and sugar in pot on stove and heat until all margarine has melted. Place all other ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Combine wet and dry ingredients in large bowl, mixing well, and press into a large greased baking tray. If mix is too dry, add a touch of warm water.  Bake in oven @ 190C for 15mins – 20mins.

Cut while warm and let cool before packing.

Optional extras:   

Chocolate –  add ¼ cup cocoa powder

Raspberry –  add ½ cup of Raspberry jam to wet mix and whisk thoroughly just before adding to dry mix

Dried fruit –  add 1 cup of chopped dates, sultanas, raisins, and/or apricots to wet mix just before combining                               

Sunflower seeds can be added to any of the above, and any two flavours can be combined – enjoy!

While you’re waiting for the biscuits to bake, have you heard about ‘The Great Biscuit Disaster of 1974’?

The following extract is taken from Sir Graeme Dingle’s book ‘The Seven Year Adventure’…

“(…) The kitchen with its roaring oil stove seemed so friendly as the rain drummed on the windows at 9 o’clock one Monday morning.

The groups were all gone, leaving behind a scene of devastation and muddy footprints and I settled into making enough Tararua biscuits for a week. I fetched the ingredients from the pantry, weighed them out and poured it all into a ten-gallon pot. Then I came to a curious item. It read, “16lb golden syrup!” I thought, “Christ, sixteen pounds is a lot of golden syrup, but I suppose it must be right.” And seeing that I had decided to make a double batch I poured thirty-two pounds of the gooey stuff into the pot. It took a hell of a lot of stirring but eventually all was ready.

(…) Carefully I spooned the mixture into small heaps on a tray and put it into the oven. Ten minutes later I had a little peep.

“God what an unholy mess.” My little heaps had all married into one another and created one big sticky pool. Something had clearly gone wrong. I decided to wait for advice and went on preparing the evening meal.

(…) When Roie came in from the bush at 5pm I confronted her with the problem.

“How much golden syrup did you use?” she asked.

“Thirty-two pounds,” I said defensively. I knew as soon as I had said it how stupid it sounded. It should have been 32 tablespoons! The mixture was set aside to stand for the night. Tuesday morning after breakfast saw me back with the problem. Add more oatmeal and flour, I had decided. Well, easier said than done. I bolstered the other ingredients to double so that by Tuesday lunchtime I was surrounded by twenty gallons of Tararua biscuit mix. Still it didn’t work properly. By late afternoon I had added all the oatmeal and flour in the pantry and every bench was covered with pots full of the stuff. Still it didn’t work and I had to admit defeat with the kitchen in chaos, my mind and body shattered and the base resources for any further attempts exhausted. The local pigs ate well for a few days.

We all know that spending time in the outdoors, especially in nature is good for us. A growing body of research links spending time in natural environments with numerous cognitive benefits, better physical health, and improvements in mental health and emotional well-being.

It’s important for rangatahi too. Now more than ever.

“Right now students need opportunities to build resilience, challenge themselves, stretch their boundaries and conquer fears in safe outdoor environments away from lives which are overshadowed by distractions and disruptions caused by current events.”

Rāroa Normal Intermediate School Principal Stephen Eames

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC), particularly when it’s nature-based, provides the opportunity for learning and wellbeing in the outdoors. At Hillary Outdoors we deliver outdoor education and activity group-based programmes that enable students to grow as people, enhance their wellbeing, provide a platform for them to become more self-confident and resilient, encourage them to work together in a team and have the opportunity to develop leadership within a group and confidence for themselves. The students learn life skills and gain new experiences, work together, learn about their environment and become sustainability aware.

But there are financial barriers to outdoor education and many schools require funding assistance to access outdoor education programmes. But thanks to the generous support of Share My Super donors these schools and students don’t miss out.

By removing funding barriers to outdoor education you help level the playing field so that all young people are empowered to live a life they value and take their learning experience back to their everyday lives, families and communities.

Learning outdoors is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a have-to-have for our health and wellbeing. Thank you Share My Super donors for helping make this happen for young New Zealanders.

To learn more about Share My Super visit their website sharemysuper.org.nz                     

We are delighted to announce that Hillary Outdoors has been awarded the inaugural Youth Sports Fund thanks to Round the Bays! The fund worth $10,000 will enable two Auckland schools attend an adventure racing training camp and compete at the North Island Regionals of the Hillary Challenge in 2022.

The Hillary Challenge offered by Hillary Outdoors sees up to 240 students from Year 11–13 competing as teams in running/trekking, mountain biking and rogaining​, as well as teamwork and problem-solving tasks. It is one of the few remaining adventure racing events open to school students and has been the launching pad for many New Zealand athletes including Olympian Hayden Wilde.

Read more in Stuff.co.nz…

Access to nature might seem free, but in reality poverty can be a significant hindrance to outdoor education and the benefits that come with it. Hillary Outdoors and our partner organisations like Share My Super help rangatahi experience our natural environment, without the stress of financial barriers.

Read more of this article by India Hendrikse as published in The Spinoff…

https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/share-my-super/20-10-2021/the-power-of-outdoor-education-to-break-the-cycle-of-poverty