YMCA Outdoor Education

We have years of experience taking children, young people and adults of all walks of life into the outdoors for the purposes of recreation, adventure, education and environmental awareness.

Also, it is fun! It is challenging! And it is, for many, an opportunity for self-discovery.

We use the outdoors as medium to teach, to build self esteem and independence, to create and enhance teams and to develop resilience in individuals.

Many of our departments have something to offer in terms of Outdoor Education, and we follow industry recognised guidelines for best practice in regards to philosophy, risk management and learning outcomes.

Youth and Outdoors

This is a dynamic team of outdoor instructors and educators who are not bound by the confines of their office - they are always climbing, biking and tramping, kayaking or some such other thing. They are always coming up with new ideas and can offer your group or school something from their 'set menu' or will custom build a programme that suits your needs.

The Youth and Outdoors team also manage the YMCA Climbing Wall and all of the YMCA holiday programmes. They lead our Youth Leadership and Development programmes also.

Youth Education Centre

Operating from two sites the Education centre offers life-skills programmes and literacy and numeracy programmes for young people. Many of their courses include an element of outdoor education and recreation. In particular the Adventure Conservation course uses the outdoors and conservation projects to teach skills and motivate young adults to help them find meaningful career direction.

Wainui Park

Our camp at Wainui has been owned and operated since 1929. The camp is a magic place on the Akaroa Harbour - with a range of residential outdoor programme options.

Wainui Park is OutdoorsMark accredited - the industry recognised safety quality mark for outdoor education in NZ.

Schools, community groups, corporate groups and special interest gr