Kids Thriving From New Outdoor Learning Programme in Invercargill
It took a pandemic for Katie and Gareth Oliver to find their true path in life, with their new outdoor learning business for children a huge success in its first year.
True in Nature offers children of all ages outdoor learning experiences such as bush craft and survival, as well as building huts and learning how to start a fire from scratch (see tip at end story)!
Both former physical education and health teachers who home school their five children (all boys), Gareth left his high school teaching job during the pandemic due to mandates, and started to look at new options.
It was a tough time for the family with no regular income, but the couple had talked about a ‘Forest School’ concept before, and now was time to make their dream a reality.
“It has kind of launched us into a different mindset,” Katie said.
Gareth went on a visioning retreat to help release all of the built-up emotion over the past two years, and came back a whole new person.
With his 10+ years experience in organising Duke of Edinburgh programme in schools, he and Katie offer a range of outdoor learning courses for kids, with all five children in tow.
“It’s something that we all want to do more of, is to get into nature, but we don’t always have the time,” she said.
Working together as a couple has thrown them all sorts of new dynamics, but ideally they would love to be doing this everyday, and offering the course into schools fulltime.
Gareth is back relief teaching as well, and has already been approached by a school to do some outdoor education, so hopefully it will build from there.
Katie said the most popular part of the experience for kids has been fire starting – “that seems to invoke such a response within them. The persistence of continuing to keep trying, even after 10 to 15 minutes. And then you see them just scream and holler with such excitement.”
Their life as outdoor educators as opposed to just being teachers is vastly different and so much more rewarding.
“We just love the gratitude from the kids and the parents. Feeling that they value what we teach and hearing all of the stories, especially from parents when they realise just how capable their kids are.”
True in Nature runs different programmes at Sandy Point during the term and they venture out further into Otautau and Gore during the school holidays.
For more information go to: trueinnature.com or Facebook Group
Fun fact: Tampons make the best fire starters when matches get wet. The plastic packaging keeps them dry, and dipped in vaseline then added to a spark from a flint will enable it to build into a nice steady fire.