A decision by the Government to strip outdoor education from the senior school curriculum has sparked backlash from Nelson educators.
Under the proposed NCEA changes, outdoor education would no longer have Ministry-developed curriculum resources or assessments. Instead, it would be controlled by a national skills body yet to be established. The reclassification removes university entrance and cuts out Year 11 outdoor education entirely.
Kristel Leijten, head of outdoor education at Nayland College, says the decision to reclassify outdoor education as a vocational-only option and remove it from the academic subject list would be “devastating”.
“Outdoor education provides critical thinking, teamwork, and real-life skills. You can’t create what you have in a classroom to what you get when you go on an alpine camp.”
She says the college has already seen the academic value of outdoor education pay off.
“We’ve got quite a few students going into adventure tourism and environmental studies. The growth, all the academic learning that happens, the skill learning, the engagement, all those life skills – there’s just so much to it that we just don’t want to lose.
“New Zealand is also one of the few countries known for outdoor education in secondary schools. That’s why we attract so many international students, and the benefit for our domestic students is just immense.”
Kristel says the lack of consultation around the changes is worrying.
“There hasn’t really been any consultation. They put the proposal out two or three days before submissions closed, so people didn’t really know what they were submitting to. I would still like to have the hope that we’re going to be listened to.”
Written Parliamentary answers to Education Outdoors NZ (EONZ) confirm that no outdoor education experts, teachers, or academics were consulted before the subject was reclassified.
Teacher in charge of outdoor education at Nelson College, Stephen Garside, says there a number of “very strong” secondary school outdoor education programmes in the region.
“I predict that, if outdoor education remains a vocational subject as proposed by the current government, then the number of students doing this subject and moving into outdoor education careers will decrease, as students choose subjects that leave the door open to university study.”
He says that approximately half of the students in his Year 13 class this year are planning on going to university.
“Under the proposed change most of these students would not do Year 13 outdoor education. They would miss the opportunity to learn and apply safety, emergency management skills and leadership, leaving them with less skills to cope with our changing world.”
Whenua Iti Outdoors, a major Nelson-Tasman-based outdoor learning provider, says they are “deeply concerned” by the proposed changes.
Chief executive Mark Bruce-Miller warns that this decision risks dismantling decades of progress in outdoor learning.
“This threatens the existence of outdoor education in many schools and private training establishments across New Zealand. It directly undermines pathways into our sector, whilst further disengaging students who thrive in outdoor learning environments. It’s a sad day for Aotearoa New Zealand that something as quintessentially part of what it means to be a Kiwi has been removed from the education system.”
He says the decision is a blow to our national identity and a step backward at a time when youth mental health issues are at record levels.
“Outdoor education offers vital balance, time in fresh air, genuine social connection, and the confidence and skills to participate safely in the outdoors.”
The local backlash is part of a growing national movement, and a petition launched by EONZ has gathered over 50,000 signatures, making it one of the largest education-related petitions in recent years. It will be delivered to Parliament on Tuesday, 21 October at 1pm.
EONZ chief executive Fiona McDonald says that outdoor education is part of Aotearoa’s identity and that it should remain on the general subject list.
“Narrowing it down to a vocational subject is just not doing it justice and will exclude a whole bunch of kids from taking it as a subject.”
She labels the move “short-sighted”.
“A lot of schools either will really reduce down what they offer if it becomes a vocational subject, or they won’t offer it at all, and students will be going back to when it really was just an add-on.”
Fiona says more than 370 secondary and composite schools taught outdoor education in a wide variety of ways.
“It connects learning with place, people, and purpose.”
The petition to save outdoor education is still open at: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/keep-outdoor-education-as-a-senior-curriculum-subject-list
