Education

Educational Visits with Kelmarna Gardens

A visit to our city farm is an opportunity to expose your learners to nature as an authentic context where academics meet hands-on, to immerse in a dynamic outdoor setting that helps build and reinforce direct relationships between their studies and the real world.

We're keen to help you get your learners outside, observing and interacting with the natural environment, investigating key concepts, and practicing essential skills - all while having a great time! Check out the opportunities available below, and we hope to see you soon!

Our approach

At Kelmarna we work to make the unique resources of our certified organic community farm accessible to learners of all ages, to provide a practical setting for covering subjects and practising skills from all manner of disciplines. We believe that the outdoors is ideal for demonstrating learning outcomes through real-world experiences that involve collaborative effort and that produce meaningful results.

All of our educational experiences are designed from a threefold inquiry-based, place-responsive, and nature-based approach. This means that we put learners at the centre of every activity, encouraging them to expand their understanding by asking questions, taking action, and cultivating connections with their environment and each other.

Inquiry-Based

Learning driven by questions, curiosity, investigation, observation, critical reasoning, creativity, idea-sharing, and discovery

Place-Responsive

Learning that engages with the uniqueness of a place to embed subjects & skills from across the curriculum into real-world experience

Nature-Based

Learning in nature, using the environment and natural systems to engage with subjects & skills from across the curriculum

Our sessions

Delivering educational experiences requires planning, coordination, and a dedicated Education Team to ensure that we can provide learners with an enriching experience in a safe and inspiring environment. We use a tiered pricing system to help make opportunities as accessible as possible to groups of all sizes, and for learners of all ages and levels.

As a programme of the Kelmarna Gardens registered charitable trust, all funds generated by educational visits contribute directly to operational costs, including staff and volunteer time, maintaining and renewing resources, managing educational opportunities, and sustaining our community space. Charges and rates listed below are GST exclusive.

Getting here

We are located at 12 Hukanui Crescent, Ponsonby.

Please manage drop-offs at our driveway entrance.

Please note that there is no parking on site. This means that any buses or other vehicles must drop off or park on-street, either along Hukanui Crescent or surrounds.

Important note for buses - there are several traffic islands along Parawai Cres, Hukanui Cres, and Kelmarna Ave. While most buses are able to manage the gaps, these can be especially tricky to navigate for larger or longer buses. If you'd prefer to avoid these, then drop-offs can be managed on nearby Richmond Rd or Jervois Rd, with access to Kelmarna on foot (~10-minute walk).

If using public transport, AT buses run frequently along nearby Richmond Rd and Jervois Rd, with access to Kelmarna on foot either via Parawai Cres or Cox's Bay Reserve (~10-minute walk).

Preparing for your visit

Before you set off, please make sure your group is dressed for the weather and that you have all the kit you need to make sure your learners can keep warm/cool, clean, safe, and dry. Sunsmarts is also a key consideration when learning outdoors, to ensure that learners are protected and can keep hydrated.

Please consult our checklist of some basics things to remember, which all go a long way to keeping your group safe and comfortable during your visit with us.

Essential things to bring:

Refillable water bottles
Hats
Closed footwear
Weather appropriate clothing
Any appropriate medication

Health & Safety on the farm

At Kelmarna we take great care to keep everyone safe in our space. We also believe it's important to recognise that the benefits and enjoyment of learning outdoors is derived in part from the risks that come with getting hands-on outside.

That's why we do everything we can to coordinate with you to understand the needs of your learners and to provide appropriate support.

To best prepare for an experience with us, check out our risk assessment overview for learner safety during visits and work through with your group the inquiry-based overview of our five basic rules to remember on the farm.

Learner Safety During Farm Visits

5 Rules to Remember on the Farm

To help learners become confident in any environment, including the outdoors, it’s important that they learn about boundaries and how to keep themselves safe. When preparing for your visit, please make your own judgements about what is safe and suitable for the age and ability of your learners, and strive to include your learners as much as possible in conversations and decisions around this.

If you have any questions or important information to share with us ahead of your visit, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Education Manager at education@kelmarnagardens.nz.

Accessibility & Mobility

As a working urban farm, most of our site has surfaces that are uneven, permeable, and which can be sodden and slippery when wet. This means that potentially significant parts of site may not be accessible to some visitors due to things like narrow pathways, steep inclines, tall grass, fencing, or other features that may make an area challenging or even impassable.

Please alert our Education Manager if there will be visitors with your group with prams, in wheelchairs, or with other mobility concerns, and we can work with you to manage a visit that suits your needs.

Media Policy

All visitors acknowledge that Kelmarna may take photos, other media recordings, and statements made during visits. However, these will not be used for any purpose without appropriate permission.

If you have your own media policy guidelines, please be sure to share them with our Education Manager prior to your visit to ensure that we are aware of your expectations when you arrive.

As a rule, everyone on site is informed and expected to use discretion when taking photos or capturing any other media. This means that we expect everyone to ask for consent and respect a person's right to decline any request.

Pricing

Delivering educational experiences requires planning, coordination, and a dedicated Education Team to ensure we can provide learners with an enriching experience in a safe and inspiring environment. We use a tiered pricing system to help make opportunities as accessible as possible to groups of all sizes, and for learners of all ages and levels.

Kelmarna is a registered charity, which means that all of our revenue contributes directly to operating our programs and sustaining our community space. All prices are GST exclusive.

ECE

$4 per learner, up to 1hr

$3 per learner, per +hrs

Up to 3 hour total visit time

$80 minimum booking fee

Primary & Intermediate

$5 per learner, up to 1hr

$3.50 per learner, per +hrs

Up to 3 hour total visit time

$100 minimum booking fee

Secondary

$6 per learner, up to 1hr

$4 per learner, per +hrs

Up to 4 hour total visit time

$120 minimum booking fee

Tertiary & Adult

$8 per learner, up to 1hr

$6 per learner, per +hrs

Up to 6 hour total visit time

$160 minimum booking fee

By taking part, you are working directly to foster a resilient, regenerative food system

and to connect the next generation with essential skills for a more sustainable future!

One-Off Visits

Join us for a single session, at a time that works for you, to complement your busy term schedule with an inquiry-based exploration and unique learning experience on the farm

Regular Visits

Join us on a regular basis, to integrate nature-based learning into your schedule, and encourage your learners to build on their knowledge and experience on the farm over time

From our visitors

We do our best to make sure that everyone enjoys their experience in the garden, that learners are challenged while having fun outside, that educators meet their objectives, and that everyone gains a fresh perspective to inspire their ongoing learning journey.

Here are a few words from schools and community groups who have joined us:

The students had a great time at the gardens learning about taonga. At Kelmarna Gardens they learnt about how rubbish can be turned into treasure. This experience sparked their curiosity and motivated them to want to start a compost/worm farm at school and plant their own community garden.

Room 6 had a great time at Kelmarna gardens. The staff were friendly and very knowledgeable. The students had fun getting their hands dirty and loved the 'smelly' compost. I would highly recommend this experience!

Students loved the hands on activities like searching the compost for worms, holding tiger worms, tasting mint, seeing the compost heap, and patting Jafa. They were really engaged, excited, focused, and asking questions.

The general tour describing all aspects of the garden and how they work together was very important - the holistic approach. However, the hands on doing - planting, weeding - was equally important for the children as children need to be actively involved. The bioblitz was fun because it was specific and quantifiable and something they can have fun applying in other locations.

Kei runga noa atu koutou! Tamariki were engaged and came back with a lot more knowledge of how to look after our plants and environment. Getting tamariki to touch and feel things was good because it kept the tamariki curious, engaged, and wanting to know more. Tumeke koutou! Keep up the awesome work.

I took my class to Kelmarna Gardens in Spring, 2020. It was a wonderful visit. What I had wanted to provide for them was an example and experience of a holistic approach to farming and gardening. The Kelmarna permaculture garden provided that beautifully. The diverse life and healthy interconnectedness is exactly what we need to be holding up as an example to our children of sustainable, respectful practice. Many thanks for making this space available.