Physical Activity, Nutrition and the Outdoors department

The Physical Activity, Nutrition and the Outdoors department is part of sport and recreation at AUT.

AUT's outdoor education programme enables graduates to work in many fields, like teaching in schools, working in outdoor pursuit centres, as adventure tourism operators, or working in adventure tourism management.

Undergraduate study in Physical Activity, Nutrition and the Outdoors will give you a solid grounding in this area.

Research in sport and recreation

We believe in high-quality research that has impact, and have world-class researchers and research strengths across sport and recreation.

More about our research

Industry associations

AUT has access to the following outdoor facilities to provide students with ‘hands-on’ learning and work experience.

  • MERC (Marine Education and Recreation Centre)
  • Tihoi Venture school
Jake Candy
Theresa Hill
Dave Williams
Jake Candy
Great graduatesJake CandyTeacher of Outdoor Education, St Joseph’s College, Colo, New South Wales, AustraliaBachelor of Sport and RecreationHe can’t think of a more dynamic working environment than the outdoors, says Jake Candy who now teaches outdoor education in New South Wales, Australia.He can’t think of a more dynamic working environment than the outdoors, says Jake Candy who teaches outdoor education at St Joseph’s College in New South Wales, Australia. He wasn’t always sure what he wanted to do after high school, says Jake who went to school in the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne. When his great aunty suggested AUT’s Bachelor of Sport and Recreation, it sparked his interest.
Theresa Hill
Great graduatesTheresa HillWrangler, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, Colorado Springs, USABachelor of Sport and RecreationShe loves her work, says AUT sport and recreation alumna Theresa Hill who is currently interning at The Ranch at Emerald Valley in Colorado Springs.She loves her work, says sport and recreation alumna Theresa Hill who is currently interning at The Ranch at Emerald Valley, which is part of luxury hotel The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. She had long considered applying for this internship, says Theresa who graduated in 2017 and got the sought-after internship through the AUT Internz International Scholarship Programme.
Dave Williams
Great graduatesDave WilliamsHead of the Outdoor Education Department, Botany Downs Secondary CollegeGraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching
Bachelor of Sport and RecreationAUT sport and recreation alumnus Dave Williams doesn’t just teach others about the outdoors; he spends plenty of time exploring them himself.AUT sport and recreation alumnus Dave Williams doesn’t just teach others about the outdoors; he spends plenty of time exploring them himself. His goal is to become the first person to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, as measured from sea level. So far, he has climbed four of the seven highest peaks. A highlight for him was running ten marathons in ten days before climbing Mt Kilimanjaro.

Contact us

Matt Barker

Matt Barker
Stream Leader, Outdoors
Phone: +64 9 921 9999 ext 7147

matt.barker@aut.ac.nz

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62% increase in AUT researchers
62% increase in AUT researchers
62% increase in AUT researchers
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Growing expertise to help New Zealand and the world
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