Outward Bound was founded in Wales during the Second World War by Kurt Hahn with the goal of instilling initiative, tenacity and compassion into young British sailors during the war. Since the first Outward Bound School was founded in Wales, more than 35 schools have been established, spanning over 30 countries worldwide.
New Zealand is just one part of this global network of Outward Bound Schools all across the world and while each school has its own unique offerings, every Outward Bound school is connected by the same educational philosophy and emphasis on interaction with the natural world.
While sustainability and protecting the natural world have always been leading principles of Outward Bound, Outward Bound International recognised the need for a comprehensive and cohesive plan to help improve our environmental practices across every Outward Bound school in the international network.
In 2021, we created our Environmental Charter to help outline our international commitment to making global operations more sustainable. This Charter is based on a set of principles focused on environmental management and education.
This year, Outward Bound New Zealand Research and Development Manager Rob Dunn have been leading a project across the international Outward Bound community to develop guidelines and resources to enable Outward Bound Schools to implement the Charter.
The Charter is being implemented across 3 key project areas built around the theme of Treading Lightly.
A Treading Lightly Field Guide
A Treading Lightly Operations Guide
A Treading Lightly Education Guide
With the development of this Environmental Charter, we aim to help develop ecological understanding and foster a sense of environmental stewardship among students, staff and stakeholders as well as to help Outward Bound Schools to communicate with funders and stakeholders around our approach to environmental education and management. This project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2022.
Rob DunnPou Tairangahau /AuahaR&D and Innovation Manager
Draft visual summaries of the Environmental Charter and the 3 key project areas are shown in the following graphics with the final Charter to be completed by the end of 2022.
