Education

The Fairfield Project provides bespoke education programmes for local schools, teachers and the wider community. Providing education for all ages is one of our key kaupapa.

We design and implement educational programmes, workshops and events to meet the expressed needs of the community. We often work collaboratively with other experts, to support participants to build on their understanding of the local environment. This encompasses history, culture and ecology achieved through sustainability, environmental and citizen science programmes. The Kukutaaruhe Community Gardens, Aratiatia Community Marae and the Kukutaaruhe Gully and stream all provide specific but interrelated contexts for learning. 

 

Schools

The Kukutaaruhe Gully is close to three secondary schools, an intermediate school, four primary schools and several early childhood centres. We prioritise the involvement of students and teachers from these schools in our project, through fostering engagement and a connection with the natural world. We offer opportunities for place-based and project-based learning and the development of local school-based curricula. 

We also work with teachers and students from other schools, utilising the gully environment and gardens to offer a variety of learning experiences.

The school programmes are negotiated and developed in response to needs identified by the teacher/s and/or school, and often involve teacher PLD, coaching, mentoring and modelling running alongside a programme of student engagement. These programmes may involve in-school and/or hands-on EOTC, connecting to and embedding planned curriculum and assessment outcomes, and include support through resource development. Many of the school projects are becoming longer term, as the relationships and connections build. Actions such as tree planting, habitat creation and predator monitoring have often been the natural student-led consequence of learning in and about the gully environment. 

 

We partner with and/or support other providers working in schools, such as Enviroschools; Smart Water; Stars programme (Graeme Dingle Foundation) and the Hamilton City Council Nature in the City programme.

 

Our annual Kukutaaruhe Bioblitz offers students an opportunity to become citizen scientists,  gathering meaningful information about life in the Kukutaaruhe Gully.

 

“This has given our students a chance to do the sort of science that means something - the students gained skills and experiences that aren’t something we could have done alone.” (Teacher, 2021)

 

Community

A wide range of community groups are also involved in learning, in various ways. The project offers opportunities for people to make connections to, utilise and learn from this urban green space, whilst building skills and confidence, engaging with experts, learning from each other and connecting to the stories of the area.

Some of these opportunities include:

  • The Predator Free Fairfield project, which involves monitoring and trapping pest and predator species

  • Themed and targeted garden workshops

  • Community events such as seasonal celebrations such as Matariki and community planting days

  • Informal learning through activity and koorero, taking opportunities such as working bees to inform and learn about native plants, weeds, rongoaa and other species

  • Supporting other education providers.

  • Providing targeted workshops for businesses, organisations and community groups.

Native Planting

Schools; especially Fairfield college, Waikato Diocesan school for girls, St Josephs and Bankwood primary have planted the majority of our native plants. The project has also been supported by other organisations and the wider community.