A little about myself

Kia Ora,

My name is Ben Windsor and I moved up to Whangarei with my lovely wife and daughter at the start of 2017. We are currently based on the beautiful Tutukaka place and are planning to stay for quite some time!

I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau where my love and passion for the outdoors was fostered and expanded through numerous wonderful experiences shared with family and friends. I hold the west coast beaches of Auckland and the mighty Waitakere ranges very close to my heart. It was in my last year of school that I decided that I wanted to spend my time helping others to connect, care for and enjoy the wonderful planet that we are blessed to be upon. This led me to doing a Diploma of Outdoor Recreation and Leadership followed by a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation with an Outdoor Education major at AUT university. As soon as I graduated, my lovely partner and I decided to get married and head to the Himalayas in Northern India to work at an International school. After a year of running amazing hiking and climbing trips we ended up heading to the United States to do some rock climbing and catch up with some long lost friends. During this stint we then landed a job teaching English and Science at a private elementary school in Wonju, South Korea. We enjoyed working, surfing, climbing and travelling all around South East Asia during the next couple of years until the beautiful shores of Aotearoa beckoned us home.

After returning to New Zealand I quickly got a job as the head outdoor instructor of YMCA's Waiwera Lodge. Sadly this great centre was shut down soon after I arrived which was the prompting I needed to go back to university and get qualified to teach in New Zealand. After a year back at AUT university I was qualified and took on the job of running the outdoor education program at Edgewater College in Pakuranga. I thoroughly enjoyed my two and half years of teaching at this incredible school. It was during this time that my lovely daughter, Leilani was born. We decided around the same time that the cost of living in Auckland, the commuting times and the pace of life was a bit too much and made the move north. After a year of relieving in schools around Whangarei and learning the ropes of fatherhood I decided it was time to get back into the teaching game full time.

So here I am, happy as and ready to guide, teach and learn alongside the fine young men of Whangarei Boys High School.

Core values & aspirations

"Only when the last tree has died, the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money." Cree Indian Proverb.

I believe that we are living in reckless times where human greed is taking giant strides over and above the things that truly matter. I feel that very few humans manage to live in symbiosis with all living things and show the respect and care for the earth that it deserves. The earth provides us with everything we need yet it becomes more and more damaged year on year. I amnow way near where I want to be in terms of living a life that I can be proud of when it comes to the environmental damage I cause but I like to think that I am journeying in the right direction.

I got into teaching as it is a way to help guide and encourage young people to be the best they can be both for themselves and for the world around them. I believe that Outdoor Education is a medium for great change. Through introducing students to the outdoors and showing them the world of adventure and wonder that is all around them, it is my hope that they start to care for it. How can we expect our children to care about something that they have no connection or interest in? I feel it is my job to build these connections and at the same time raise self esteem, confidence and empathy along with deepening my students knowledge and understanding of themselves and others.

It is my aspiration to live with integrity and honesty, and to live a balanced life where I spend my time giving where needed and enjoying where I can. My main interests are hanging out with my beautiful family, surfing, spearfishing (one of the only sustainable ways of harvesting kai moana), rock climbing, caving, studying human consciousness, yoga and growing rare and endangered plants (specifically cacti).

I am privileged to be a teacher here in Whangarei Boys High School and look forward to teaching your tamariki to be the best they can be in all they do.

Ngā mihi nui,

Ben Windsor