Maraetai Beach School

Project Waho: An outdoor classroom to unplug and unwind

For Maraetai Beach Enviroschool, the Mana Ora Climate Action Fund came at an opportune time. A large building project had recently been completed on campus, with an adjacent outdoor area in need of some attention. Jane Suckling, a Year 5/6 teacher who runs the student enviro warriors group, was invited by the principal to develop the space in collaboration with students. The hard landscaping had been completed, with large sections set aside for planting.

Jane attended the Mana Ora launch with three enviro warriors, who spent their action planning time sketching up a concept called Project Waho. The idea was to create an outdoor classroom made up of several themed gardens – a sanctuary for mindfulness activities, nature connection and art. In line with the decarbonisation theme, they also imagined people taking a break from electronic devices, indoor lighting, and heat pumps, and reducing the carbon emissions associated with electricity use in classrooms.

Upon returning to school, feedback was sought from teachers and students about the types of plants and insects they would like to see in the space. While some had simple requests for strawberries and fruit trees, there was also enthusiasm for a garden to attract butterflies and the enviro warriors were keen on creating a habitat for native lizards. Jane suggested a Māori medicinal garden, and other teachers were in favour of a sensory garden with pleasant smells and textures. 

Jane supported the key students with the various planning stages, from drafting the design to developing a budget to accompany their funding application.

“I said go and do the research, draw the design, so they did a digital design on Google Drawings, and then I said you can do the costings now. We want mostly native plants, so off you go, start looking stuff up.” Jane Suckling

The gardens were planted over the winter months, during lunchtime enviro warrior meetings, as well as class time for some of Jane’s students. In anticipation of the harsh summer sun, wheelbarrows full of mulch were transported to the site to protect the new plants. Jane reflects that the mulching process took a lot longer than they expected it to, and she was impressed with the students’ dedication.  

Seating and signage were important considerations, as the team wanted to ensure people could spend extended time enjoying the space and learning about the intention of the different gardens. Two picnic tables were chosen, which seat up to sixteen, and bilingual signage was incorporated to reflect the Te Ao Māori focus of Mana Ora. 

When asked what she got from project, Year 6 student Szofia was clear. “It’s what we need for our environment to stop climate change.” Ellie, also Year 6, appreciated weaving together different aspects of Mana Ora within Project Waho. 

“Bringing Te Reo Māori into schools and helping to decarbonise by bringing learning outside the classrooms". Ellie, Year 6

A few months on, and the outdoor classroom is developing well. “Everything is still quite small, but once it takes off – maybe in another year, it’ll look really nice and have some more shade,” Jane says. Even now, it is producing wellbeing benefits for students. 

“It is particularly useful for neurodivergent children and those with behavioural challenges. We’ve used the garden to de-escalate conflict, so if someone is having a tough time, I’ll send them out to check on the lizard shelter. It’s like a reset.” - Jane Suckling

Project Waho is one of many initiatives that contributed to the school attaining Green-Gold status in the Enviroschools programme in late 2023. As noted by Susie Bettany, Sustainable Schools advisor for Maraetai Beach, Jane’s approach to student empowerment has been outstanding.

“Jane organised for the key students to present their aspirations for the future of the project to the senior leaders, ensuring its longevity as well as influencing the school’s strategic direction for sustainability.” Susie Bettany

Did you know? One native tree can sequester approximately 15 kg of carbon dioxide over a year.