Fires are an integral part of human history and have provided safety, cooking, warmth and a centre for social gatherings. However, fires are also linked to death, loss of biodiversity and habitat as well as massive carbon dioxide emissions. Many national and international reports highlight such environmental changes, that are interconnected to social inequity. They, at the same time, call for urgent actions and change. This thesis addresses fire. By looking at educational fire contexts, this research explores if fire can re-connect people and the environment, as well as connect Western and Indigenous Māori knowledges.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, fire is linked to human arrival. Māori used to travel with fire which connects people to their homelands and other important places. Since colonisation, Indigenous views have been marginalised by Western approaches. Therefore, this research draws on He Awa Whiria (a braided river) methodological approach, which highlights the authority of both Western and Indigenous knowledge streams as they come together and interact. The research is theoretically grounded in whakapapa and critical theory. Additionally, He Awa Whiria is visible through two case studies: one shaped by predominantly Māori perspectives and one shaped by Western lenses. In the Western case study, participants were kaiako (teachers) and ākonga (students) from tertiary institutions, while in the other case study, the researcher went on a hikoi (journey) with a kaiako (Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke) from Te Arawa (Māori tribe). The thesis uses reflexive thematic analysis for both data sets to interrogate and integrate the data.

The stories identified in the data broaden Western understandings of fire, which are for example defined through the fire triangle (fuel, heat and oxygen); instead, the thesis argues that places with fire features and meanings should be included in outdoor education programmes. Further, fires reveal power dynamics that exist in places, fire regulations, pedagogical approaches and the teacher-student relationships. Importantly, findings show how fire enhances reflection, promotes inclusive conversations and develops feelings of belonging. Implications for sustainable (outdoor) education include a pedagogical framework considering learning around and through fire. This framework challenges oppressive, unsustainable practices and views. It argues that a pedagogy of fire in Aotearoa New Zealand should be place-responsive, skill-based, reflexive, engaged and bicultural.