Popular outdoor course shuts, lacks volunteers
A popular and important outdoor skills course on the Taieri has been shut down after 35 years, due to a lack of volunteer support and the economic downturn.
The last annual week-long Berwick Outdoor Experience (BOE) was held at Berwick Lodge earlier this month, providing leadership and confidence to people of all ages and from many different walks of life.
BOE co-ordinator Kevin Moore said he had been helping run the course since it was established by the Lions Club of Taieri in 1990, and was sad to see it discontinued.
"It's sad because I believe the course is still relevant and we just finished the latest course a couple of weeks ago.
"We had 37 people there and just had a fantastic time.
"The feedback comes in the same every year — people get a lot out of it."
Mr Moore said the course was similar to Outward Bound, and aimed to build leadership skills and confidence among the participants.
"We take up to 40 people, put them into teams of up to 10, and mix them up as much as possible.
"We've had groups of people aged from 18 to the late 70s, and they come from all walks of life — from adult learning courses through to businesses that send staff members.
"They do a set programme that includes sailing, kayaking, mountainbiking, a tramp up to Lake Mahinerangi and abseiling down the Mahinerangi dam.
"We also teach them how to tie knots and lines and then they'll be given scenarios where half the team are on one side of the river and they have to swap over by building a flying fox and things like that.
"There's also a little bit of first aid, a little bit of mental health — a whole raft of things, really."
He believed the course was important because it also built personal resilience and helped build connections within the community.
"It shows people that they have got abilities, and they just need to dig deep and find them."
Helping to create the course and being able to watch people in the community grow after attending it had been "the best thing that ever happened to me", Mr Moore said.
"It does break my heart to see it go, because I know there's people that get so much out of it.
"But that's the way it is."
Lions Club of Taieri president Peter O'Neill was also sad to see the course go.
He said it was shut down partly because the club's members were getting older now and it was becoming difficult to find the volunteer manpower needed to keep it running.
"We're all getting older, and it's very difficult in these modern times for people to get time off work.
"They don't get paid for it, and they don't want to use their annual leave to do it.
"We're in tough economic times too."
Mr O'Neill said the club hoped to run a smaller, shorter course in its place in the future.
john.lewis@odt.co.nz
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