In 2023, Hillary Outdoors was a recipient of the Tuia ki Tawhiti | Collaborative Futures Fund. This fund was managed and delivered by Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) and enabled Hillary Outdoors to undertake a results-based accountability research project with a vision to improve the relevance and accessibility of outdoor education for rangatahi Māori. 

Before receiving the fund, we recognised that rangatahi Māori were under-represented in our outdoor education and adventure programmes. Schools with a high population of Māori students would attend Hillary Outdoors. However, the students who participated did not represent the school’s population. For example, a school with 75% of students identifying as Māori in their role would bring a group of 75% Pakeha students. 

This flowed through to our intake of tertiary students and staff. Currently, 10% of our tertiary students and 11% of our staff identify as Māori. 

Through Hillary Outdoors having long-standing relationships with iwi local to our Centres and drawing from our team’s network of connections, we were able to create an incredible team of Advisors, led by Dr. Ihirangi Heke. Our Advisory Committee is made up of representatives from Ngāti Hikairo and Tuwharetoa, mana whenua to our Tongariro Centre; Ngātiwai o Aotea, mana whenua to our Aotea Centre; Te Tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau, South Auckland; our Staff and Board members; and Māori Youth representatives. 

Together, we undertook a research-led approach to understand: 

We developed research questions based on Sport New Zealand’s Te Whetū Rehua; a framework based on five key values important for Māori cultural and social development. The framework was adapted with our Cultural Advisors for outdoor education. The questions became: 

Initially, we had planned for a Māori Researcher to travel to schools throughout Aotearoa and ask students about their cultural experience with Hillary Outdoors. As we developed our research plan, Ihi made us aware that we had to create a safe space for rangatahi to take part in the surveys, and that they needed to be conducted by someone the rangatahi had built a trusting relationship. Through building a rapport on programmes with students, our Instructors were deemed the best people to facilitate the discussions safely and comfortably. 

We pivoted to onboard our Instructors and wider team to conduct surveys, including workshops on Hillary Outdoors values, how to survey, and Atua Matua. 

From the survey responses, we identified that our programmes met or exceeded expectations in the following areas: 

To further enhance the experience and be more culturally responsive to Māori, we need to integrate the following in our programmes further: 

We also found that financial constraints, the perceived view that outdoor education is not conducive to a high-level education, and family responsibilities and other commitments were barriers to rangatahi Māori participating in Hillary Outdoor programmes and Outdoor Education in general. 

In January, we hosted a wānanga at our Tongariro Centre with our Cultural Advisory Committee, facilitated by Katerina Kupenga from AraHina. Our wānanga began with a Powhiri at Otūkou Marae and with the purpose of creating a vision for our Cultural Strategy, developing 3 Pou | strategic objectives and defining success measures for each Pou.  

Whanaungatanga sits at the core of this kaupapa. With our extraordinary Advisory Board, we co-created a meaningful draft strategy to build a foundation for rangatahi Māori to successfully participate as Māori at Hillary Outdoors.  

Due to the many shifts and pivots we navigated throughout our research journey, we were able to deepen our connections with local Iwi, enable our staff to upskill and be part of the project, and enhance the cultural responsiveness of Hillary Outdoors. Our kaupapa transformed from being something that sat alongside Hillary Outdoors’ operation to becoming a huge, integrated part of our programme delivery and team culture. 

To build on the research and Cultural Strategy development we were able to undertake with the Tuia ki Tawhiti fund, we have received further funding from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). This strategic funding will support rangatahi Māori in our programmes, from student intake through to building pathways to support and develop more Māori leaders at Hillary Outdoors. It will allow us to identify and empower Youth Advisors and engage a part-time Cultural Advisor, to support the delivery of our Cultural Strategy. 

We extend a huge thank you to both EONZ and TEC for their incredible support and advocacy of our kaupapa. 

We are so excited to launch our Cultural Strategy later this year and continue our journey to improve the relevance and accessibility of outdoor education for rangatahi Māori.