From Germany to Aotearoa: How fire became a pathway to understanding sustainability

When Dr Hannah Berning first arrived in Aotearoa from Germany, she was struck by something unexpected: a small tertiary institution in Christchurch was leading the way in outdoor education.

"Every time I read something in the literature, Ara was already doing it, or doing it better," she recalled.

That discovery led her to contact Ara's Dave Irwin within her first week in New Zealand - a connection that would eventually lead her full circle, after completing her PhD, back to Ara as a lecturer in Sustainability and Outdoor Education.

Dr Berning's doctoral thesis, Muramura ana te ahi: A pedagogy of fire, explores how fire can become a vehicle for learning about sustainability, place and bicultural understanding in Aotearoa. Using a He Awa Whiria (braided rivers) methodology, her research weaves together Māori and Western knowledge systems.

"I'm interested in supporting a more sustainable future through Indigenous Māori perspectives and outdoor education," she explained.

Scott Klenner, Director of Research, Rakahau Māori and Postgraduate Studies at Otago Polytechnic, noted: "In her research approach, Hannah shows how tauiwi can engage carefully with Kaupapa Māori and Vision Mātauranga to draw attention to aspects of mātauranga Māori. She does so with an awareness of the risks of appropriation and colonisation."

Dr Berning's current research projects demonstrate the breadth of her interests:

• National fire education survey: Leading research into how fire is taught in New Zealand high schools, with plans to develop guidelines for safer, more meaningful fire-based learning
• Bicultural fieldwork: Collaborating with Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke (University of Waikato) on place-based pedagogy in Aotearoa and Rarotonga
• Interdisciplinary health research: Contributing environmental and bicultural research expertise to a national project examining intergenerational heart health (with researchers from Otago, AUT, Canterbury, and Waikato universities)

She also mentors students in research methodology, recently co-authoring a publication with an Ara student in Te Whakatika, Aotearoa's national journal of outdoor and environmental learning.

In late 2024, Dr Berning was appointed Deputy Editor of the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, an international publication that advances research in outdoor learning. The appointment is significant not just for Dr Berning, but for the field itself.

"The entire journal team has changed recently, bringing more gender diversity and international perspectives," she said. "Previously, it was heavily Australian - now we have team members from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe."

Her recent article, Campfires as aesthetic experience: a time and space to linger and reflect, was published in the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning and promoted widely by the journal.

While Dr Berning never initially planned an academic career, strong mentorship during her PhD created a foundation she now brings to her own teaching and research at Ara.

"I'm still an emerging researcher," she said, "but I believe in doing research differently - collaboratively, respectfully and with a purpose."

That purpose extends beyond publishing papers. Dr Berning sees outdoor education as a way to prepare people for collective action and sustainable futures, teaching courses across certificate, bachelor's, and master's levels at Ara.

Whether through her fire research, editorial work or student mentorship, Dr Berning's work asks important questions: What does it mean to teach outdoors in a bicultural Aotearoa? How do we decolonise outdoor education while keeping it practical? And how can the act of lighting a fire spark lifelong learning?

Connect with Dr Berning's research:

• PhD Thesis: Muramura ana te ahi
• Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education
• LinkedIn
• ResearchGate