EONZ Tertiary

Advisory Group

EONZ Tertiary

Advisory Group

The New Zealand EOTC Tertiary Advisory Group (NZETAG) comprises of academics from around the country who are committed to EOTC. Bringing together a range of research and teaching expertise, NZETAG works to develop strategies and resources to support quality learning through EOTC. 

For any queries relating to NZETAG please contact: chris.north@canterbury.ac.nz 

Chris North - Covenor

Chris North is an Associate Professor in Te Kaupeka Oranga / Faculty of Health at the University of Canterbury. He works in outdoor and environmental education initial teacher education and the sport programmes. Chris is part of Education Outside the Classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand research group and also has a research focus on mātauranga Māori and outdoor recreational impacts.

Sally Birdsall

Sally Birdsall lectures in science and sustainability education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for the University of Auckland. Her current research explores pedagogies that can help people make lifestyle decisions about contentious issues such as the climate emergency, focusing on the interrelationship between emotions, worldviews and agency.

Marg Cosgriff

Marg Cosgriff is a senior lecturer in Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at The University of Waikato in Tauranga. Her teaching and research interests span health and physical education, exploring the connections between well-being and the outdoors, and school-based EOTC. 

Chris Eames

Associate Professor, Chris Eames, is in Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education at the University of Waikato. He teaches environmental and sustainability education (ESE) to pre-service education students and conducts research with postgraduate students and colleagues into many areas of ESE, including most recently climate change education. He is a regular practitioner of EOTC in all courses he teaches.

Allen Hill

Allen Hill is a Principal Lecturer in Sustainability and Outdoor Education at ARA Institute of Canterbury. His professional career can be characterised by an enduring commitment to the development of people through education coupled with a strong concern for issues of justice, equality, sustainability, transformation, and citizenship. How education can contribute to a more sustainable future through healthy people, healthy communities, and healthy environments is at the heart of his research and teaching interests. Allen’s teaching and research interests lie in meaningful learning experiences that connect people with others, culture, and places. He was principal investigator in the 'Education Outside the Classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand – A Comprehensive National Study'.

Jonathan Lynch

Jonathan Lynch is the Programme Manager for the undergraduate and postgraduate Outdoor and Sustainability programmes at Ara institute of Canterbury. An outdoor educator across primary, secondary and tertiary education, he is passionate about educational practice and research that supports difference and positive outcomes for all learners. He has research interests in human-environment relations and how pedagogy is shaped by the outdoors and technology-enhanced education.

Libby Paterson

Libby has a long career in education, starting in primary and secondary teaching before moving to the tertiary sector.  She spent sixteen years developing PLD experiences, and in-school one-on-one support, across the schooling sector, mainly involved in, but not limited to, the HPE learning space.

Libby has been both a facilitator and creator of PLD packages that are structured from an Inquiry perspective that are responsive to teachers’ needs and that of their akonga, based on evidence and research.

Rod Philpot

Rod Philpot is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland Faculty of Education and Programme Leader of the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education (BSportHPE) degree. He began working at the University of Auckland in 2006 after 16 years teaching health and physical education in Auckland secondary schools. He has been an assistant teacher, year 12 dean, head of outdoor education, head of department, and an HPE faculty leader. His research focuses on social justice pedagogies in PE teacher education, and school health and physical education.

Aletia Thompson

Aletia Thompson is a Senior Tutor at Massey University, and an Adjunct Lecturer for The Open Polytechnic, specialising in teaching the Secondary Graduate Diploma Health, PE and Outdoor Education content. She comes from a background teaching OE, PE and Health in Secondary Schools as a classroom teacher, middle manager and pastoral leader. Aletia's work currently has a particular focus on assessment and curriculum development within HPE.

Kylie Thompson

Kylie Thompson is a senior lecturer in Health and Physical Education initial teacher education at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). She has a research interest in the development of social and emotional capabilities through movement contexts and has published research in the areas of physical education, health and well-being. Kylie is an Education Commissioner for the New Zealand Olympic Committee and is also a current member of the PE Subject Expert Group for the Ministry of Education.