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Our Stories
Trapping in Pirongia Forest
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...
How I Got Into Outdoor Education
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...
From “Totally Terrified”, to POET Leader
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...
Three local, nature-based, mini-adventures we love
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...
Carrying on through Covid
To support our work we run an annual fundraiser - the NZ Mountain Film Festival. It's a collection of the best short films from the Wanaka event and this year was our fifth time hosting the event in Hamilton. We were all set for the night of the 12th August; our...
Maratoto
In the Maratoto Valley, just north of Paeroa is the location of a campground for two of our school camps and the site for this year’s POET base camp. In the middle of the valley lies the Maratoto Rock, a towering pinnacle which rises dramatically from the valley...