Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award
Welcome to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award! The Award was designed by the Duke of Edinburgh following the Second World War with the intent of encouraging young people to develop their skills in the outdoors and to make good use of their leisure time. It has been run in New Zealand since 1963 and is well-recognised internationally.
The Award three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level of the Award has four sections: service, skill, physical recreation and adventurous journey, with the addition of a residential project at Gold level. The service, skill and physical recreation must be done regularly (at least every two weeks, including during the holidays) for an average of at least an hour per week. Entrants must show some development with time in their skill and physical recreation. Some details on the sections are given below:
· Community service must be voluntary (unpaid) work that benefits others. It cannot be done for family members or for a profit-making business.
· The skill is defined as an activity that does not raise your heart rate. Examples of skills include learning a musical instrument, speech, or learning to drive and maintain a car. For a list of possible skills see: http://www.dofehillary.org.nz/Site/do_the_award/skills.aspx
· The physical recreation is regular physical activity such as a sport.
· The adventurous journey is usually a tramping expedition (other options, such as biking and kayaking, are available but entrants must then arrange for their own training).
· The Gold residential project is for a minimum of five days and four nights. It must be done with other youth (not the participant’s usual peer group) for a purpose. Common residential projects include: sports tournaments, Outward Bound, Spirit of Adventure, and youth camps.
Sections of the Award
Service
Skill
Physical Recreation
Adventurous Journey
Residential Project
Bronze
Two sections for 3 months and one section for 6 months
2 days
Silver
One section for 4 months and two sections for 6 months
(Direct entrant to Silver: one section for 4 months,
one for 6 months, one for 12 months)
3 days
Gold
One section for 5 months and two sections for 12 months
(Direct entrant to Gold: one section for 5 months,
one for 12 months, one for 18 months)
4 days
5 days
The minimum age for entry to the Bronze Award is 14 years, so we usually take registrations for Bronze towards the end of Year 10. Students then need to attend a series of after-school tutorials and complete a question booklet on bushcraft. We typically use the Year 10 camp for the Bronze practise expedition and run the qualifying expedition over a weekend in Term 1 of the following year. Silver and Gold entrants are responsible for planning and organising their own expeditions. The trip-planning form can be found here.
Adventurous Journey
Practice Expedition
Qualifying Expedition
Days
Distance (km)*
Hours of Activity
per Day
Bronze
2 days
2 days (1 night)
20-25 km
6 h
Silver
2 days
3 days (2 nights)
40-50 km
7 h
Gold
2-3 days
4 days (3 nights)**
65-80 km
8 h
*No more than 5% of this distance can be over the same terrain; if there is any doubling back, distance is counted on the outward journey only.
**The Gold qualifier has to be approved by the Head Office six weeks prior to the expedition.
For further information on the Awards, see http://www.dofehillary.org.nz/ or contact Jennifer Macleod ([email protected]).
The Award three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level of the Award has four sections: service, skill, physical recreation and adventurous journey, with the addition of a residential project at Gold level. The service, skill and physical recreation must be done regularly (at least every two weeks, including during the holidays) for an average of at least an hour per week. Entrants must show some development with time in their skill and physical recreation. Some details on the sections are given below:
· Community service must be voluntary (unpaid) work that benefits others. It cannot be done for family members or for a profit-making business.
· The skill is defined as an activity that does not raise your heart rate. Examples of skills include learning a musical instrument, speech, or learning to drive and maintain a car. For a list of possible skills see: http://www.dofehillary.org.nz/Site/do_the_award/skills.aspx
· The physical recreation is regular physical activity such as a sport.
· The adventurous journey is usually a tramping expedition (other options, such as biking and kayaking, are available but entrants must then arrange for their own training).
· The Gold residential project is for a minimum of five days and four nights. It must be done with other youth (not the participant’s usual peer group) for a purpose. Common residential projects include: sports tournaments, Outward Bound, Spirit of Adventure, and youth camps.
Sections of the Award
Service
Skill
Physical Recreation
Adventurous Journey
Residential Project
Bronze
Two sections for 3 months and one section for 6 months
2 days
Silver
One section for 4 months and two sections for 6 months
(Direct entrant to Silver: one section for 4 months,
one for 6 months, one for 12 months)
3 days
Gold
One section for 5 months and two sections for 12 months
(Direct entrant to Gold: one section for 5 months,
one for 12 months, one for 18 months)
4 days
5 days
The minimum age for entry to the Bronze Award is 14 years, so we usually take registrations for Bronze towards the end of Year 10. Students then need to attend a series of after-school tutorials and complete a question booklet on bushcraft. We typically use the Year 10 camp for the Bronze practise expedition and run the qualifying expedition over a weekend in Term 1 of the following year. Silver and Gold entrants are responsible for planning and organising their own expeditions. The trip-planning form can be found here.
Adventurous Journey
Practice Expedition
Qualifying Expedition
Days
Distance (km)*
Hours of Activity
per Day
Bronze
2 days
2 days (1 night)
20-25 km
6 h
Silver
2 days
3 days (2 nights)
40-50 km
7 h
Gold
2-3 days
4 days (3 nights)**
65-80 km
8 h
*No more than 5% of this distance can be over the same terrain; if there is any doubling back, distance is counted on the outward journey only.
**The Gold qualifier has to be approved by the Head Office six weeks prior to the expedition.
For further information on the Awards, see http://www.dofehillary.org.nz/ or contact Jennifer Macleod ([email protected]).
Silver Beech (Nothofagus menziesii), East Matukituki Valley