Education

School Visits with the Kelmarna Gardens Education Programme

Come experience our city farm as an authentic context where academics meets hands-on, and enable your learners to immerse themselves in this dynamic organic setting perfect for building direct relationships between the New Zealand Curriculum and the real world.

We're keen to help you get your learners outside, observing & interacting with the natural environment, investigating key concepts, and practicing essential skills, all while having a great time!

Our experiences

The Kelmarna Gardens Education Programme works to make the unique resources of our certified organic urban community farm accessible to tamariki of all ages through hands-on experiences that guide learners to explore, discover, and have fun!

Our Education Team is committed to facilitating rewarding learning experiences that encourage learners to expand their understanding by asking questions, taking action, and cultivating connections with the environment and each other.

Get in touch with our Education Manager, Sean, who is available to arrange

bespoke experiences that suit your schedule and meet your learning objectives!

Nature-Based

Learning which takes place in the context of nature, through activities that utilise the environment and natural systems as an authentic context to engage with any subject or skill

Inquiry-Based

Learning driven by questions, ideas, and observations;
where curiosity prompts investigation, and learners develop critical reasoning skills to satisfy their investment in discovery

Creating a supportive learning environment
Encouraging reflective thought and action
Enhancing the relevance of new learning
Facilitating shared learning
Making connections to prior learning and experience
Providing sufficient opportunity to learn
Teaching as inquiry

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 in the garden

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 in the garden over time

Charges

Delivering worthwhile educational experiences requires planning, coordination, and a dedicated Education Team to ensure that we can provide your learners an awesome 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 charitable trust, all funds generated by the Education Programme 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.

ECE

$3 per learner, up to 1 hour (first hour)

$2.5 per learner, per additional hour

Up to 3 hour total visit time

$60 minimum booking fee

Primary & Intermediate

$4 per learner, up to 1 hour (first hour)

$3 per learner, per additional hour

Up to 3 hour total visit time

$80 minimum booking fee

Secondary

$5 per learner, up to 1 hour (first hour)

$3.5 per learner, per additional hour

Up to 4 hour total visit time

$100 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!

Health & Safety

At Kelmarna Gardens, we take all possible care to make sure that everyone is safe in our space.

Our programme and participants recognise that the benefit and enjoyment of nature-based education is derived in part from the inherent risks that come with getting hands-on and working outdoors. That's why we do everything we can to coordinate and cooperate with you to understand the needs of your learners and to provide appropriate support to safeguard your health and well-being.

To best prepare for an experience with us, please read through our rules for the garden and look at our risk assessment overview.

It might also be fun to have a click through a 'virtual tour' using a map of our community gardens to get to know the place before you arrive.

Guide to Garden Etiquette

Garden RAMS Overview

Virtual Tour of Kelmarna

Testimonials

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.