Whanganui's Durie Hill School wins YMCA prize to attend Camp Raukawa

Instructor Jenna McPherson takes the camp kids through safety routines before taking to the water. Summer at the YMCA Raukawa Camp. Photo / Lewis Gardner

A Whanganui school has received a $5000 prize from the YMCA's Camp Raukawa, enabling students to attend the camp without significant financial barriers.

Camp Raukawa, 50 minutes north of Whanganui, is a YMCA operated outdoor education centre which can accommodate up to 95 people.

This week Durie Hill School was awarded $5000 to allow its students to attend the camp at a significantly reduced rate.

Durie Hill School principal Geoff Simes said he was "over the moon" with the prize.

"We see Raukawa as part of our EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) programme well into the future. It's got a really good range of activities and when the kids return from camp they're buzzing."

The camp was established in 1956, and this year has had a dramatic shift in how it operates.

YMCA Greater Wellington CEO Brendan Owens said the camp is now fully run by trained and experienced instructors, rather than relying on teachers to facilitate the camps.

"Essentially it's all instructor-led," Owens said.

"We're experts and it's about making sure it's a real memorable educational experience.

"By using us as the experts to run the outdoor side of the camp, the teachers can focus on doing what they do well and meeting their school's own values."

From September, the camp will host one or two groups every week until winter, including school groups and "respite camps" for children in Oranga Tamariki care.

"We're a real believer in education outside," Owens said.

"It's the best place for kids to be in these times."

The $5000 prize was part of an $100,000 funding pool the YMCA has invested back into the community since the end of the Covid-19 lockdown.

"In June we began to see many families struggling. This is our way of helping."

As well as school and community groups, Raukawa is now welcoming family groups as part of the YMCA's community programme. Selected families travel to Raukawa to spend a weekend "actively reconnecting together in an outdoor environment".