What is the Forest Programme?
This is a dedicated weekly optional programme for children to learn in the native bush on our school grounds. It includes intentional learning alongside an experienced nature-based educator, grounded in the growing body of research on nature-based education.
We are extraordinarily fortunate to have an on-site bush experience for children, where they can engage in botany, ecology, scientific observation, creative play, physical challenge, and mindfulness, within the living, breathing classroom of the New Zealand bush.
“The child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable.”
Nature matters for learning
Research shows that regular time in nature supports children's wellbeing, builds confidence and resilience, and encourages healthy cognitive, emotional and physical development.
Cognitive development
Nature immersion enhances attention, problem-solving, and creative thinking. The forest is a classroom without walls.
Emotional wellbeing
Time in nature reduces stress and anxiety, builds resilience, and fosters a sense of calm and inner peace.
Scientific observation
Children develop genuine scientific skills, noticing, questioning, recording, and theorising, in a living laboratory.
Risk & resilience
Managed risk-taking in the bush builds confidence, physical competence, and the ability to assess and navigate challenges.
Environmental stewardship
Children who know and love the natural world grow into adults who protect it. Forest learning plants the seeds of lifelong environmental care.
Connection to place
Our bush walk on Ngāti Whātua land connects children to the specific ecology and stories of this place in Aotearoa.
For more information
Deep Roots Wide Wings is a forest programme for children aged 4-12 years. It is offered weekly during term time and as a holiday programme.
Children are given time and space to explore their interests, take on challenges, solve problems, and develop important life skills through hands-on experiences in nature.
The programme is led and operated by Kelly Brown, a qualified and registered teacher with over 20 years of experience.
"In the forest, children are scientists, artists, adventurers, and philosophers, all at once."
We are grateful to be here, and we take our responsibility to our environment seriously. Our Forest Programme is one of the ways we help children develop a genuine sense of belonging to the land, the ecology, and the stories of Aotearoa.