Education & Training

NZRA offers a range of education and training opportunities. This section contains details of conferences and seminars in New Zealand and overseas.

Accreditation

An independent recognition and acknowledgment of an individual's standard of professional attainment within the recreation profession. Read more...

Aquatics Regional Forums and Assessor Moderation

Skills Active and NZRA are pleased to announce regional forums and Assessor moderations will be jointly run in 2012. This one day forum will be held in April-May 2012. Read more...

Aqua Fitness Workshops 2012

NZRA, Skills Active and Wellington City Council are excited to host a series of Aqua Fitness Instructor Training Workshops in 2012. These workshops will provide the necessary tools to either get started as an instructor or to increase current knowledge. Read more...

Aquatics Active Training Workshops

Skills Active and New Zealand Recreation Association are excited to host a series of Aquatics Active Training workshops. The facilitator for both workshops is Helen McPhun, Managing Director, Learning and Development Specialist. The workshop is around how to train adults, how they learn and involves planning and delivering a training session. The first two workshops will be held in Rotorua and Auckland. More details can be found here.

Cemeteries Conference

This conference is invaluable for those who work in the cemeteries sector, either publically or privately. Whether you work for local government, are a contractor or consultant, a sexton, reserve manager or a funeral director, the Cemeteries Conference is a must attend event. Read more...

Community Recreation Workshops

Considering some professional development in the area of community recreation programming for your area/ region / staff? Topics, Schedule, & location currently being considered for 2012. Read more...

Green Pavlova

Despite its culinary implication, Green Pavlova is a two-day seminar for those working in the parks and open spaces industry. It is pitched to interest, stimulate and develop parks managers, officers and high level operational staff, as well as contractors and consultants through engaging presentations and critical networking opportunities. Read more... 

Horticulturist of the year

The Young Horticulturist of the Year competition is a national horticulture competition organised by the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture Education Trust. The competition is centred on a mix of practical and managerial based skills and is open to all the main sectors of the Horticulture Industry of New Zealand. Read more...

Just Add Water Seminar

New Zealand's Annual Aquatic Conference. JAWS attracts over 150 delegates from all areas of the Aquatics Industry, including facility owners, operators, managers and coordinators, industry consultants and local government personnel. Read more...

NZRA National Conference

The national conference is the premier event on the NZRA calendar and culminates in the announcement of the NZRA Awards. Participants are traditionally senior managers, elected officials, academics and policy makers from the recreation sector.

This year the conference was held in Dunedin from 16-18 November, 2011 at the Forsyth Barr Stadium. Read more...

National Pool Lifeguard Award

The National Pool Lifeguard Award (NPLA) was developed by NZRA in 1992 and is the Industry's recognition of the skills a person needs to work as a lifeguard in an aquatics facility. Read me...

Parks Study Tour

An annual theme-based study tour that examines parks' issues including technical, planning, project management, engagement and end-user considerations, along with ongoing operational and management application strategies. The tour provides a sound base of information so that informed decisions can be made at all stages of project development. Read more...

People, Plants and Parks

If you are involved with public or private gardens, you won't want to miss this conference. It has content for managers, team leaders and senior/intermediate level staff. It examines issues that affect you now as well as those that will ensure a sustainable future from both a horticultural and personnel perspective. Read more...

Playspaces Conference

No longer do a set of swings and a slide comprise a playground! What are the features of a great play space? What is our responsibility for safety vs freedom to play and explore? How is current and future play demand guiding design? What is a play strategy and how does your organisation go about creating one?     Read more...

Pools Study Tour

The 2012 Pools Study Tour will be focussing on our very own facilities, programmes and best practice - the 'don't leave home until you've seen it!' tour will be a professional development experience that you won't want to miss!  A South Island tour is planned for 2013.  Read more...

Thinking Recreation! 2012:  18-20 July Queenstown Events Centre

New Zealand's Annual Recreation Planners & Policy Makers Conference. Thinking Recreation is designed for anyone working in recreation/leisure/parks/reserves planning and policy. The programme includes presentations from industry leaders with opportunities for extensive discussion and work-shopping of ideas. Read more...

Other Professional Development Opportunities...

The Imaginative Potential of Our Public Conservation Lands

8 - 9 November, University of Otago, Dunedin, Research Symposium

What relationships between nature and people should we foster in Aotearoa New Zealand? Read for more details...

Water: Our Fatal Attraction. The NZ Water Safety Conference 2011

24 - 25 November, Wellington
New Zealand has a special relationship with water. Water may sustain, entertain and enrich but drowning is a major, yet often neglected, cause of accidental death both globally and in New Zealand.

Go to Water Safety Conference website for details.

2 Walk and Cycle Conference

22 - 24 February 2012, Hastings.

Cycling Advocates Network and Living Streets Aotearoa

From 22 to 24 February 2012 the first ever 2 Walk and Cycle Conference will be held in Hastings at the Hawke's Bay Opera House in the Opera House Theatre.

Whilst planning the next NZ Cycling Conference the organising committee agreed it was time to consider holding a joint walking and cycling conference. This would replace the biennial cycling conference earmarked for late 2011.

Discussions were held with Living Streets Aotearoa (organisers of the NZ Walking Conference series) and agreement was reached on this concept. Representatives from Living Streets Aotearoa and CAN are involved with the conference organising committee to help plan the event. Read more...