Earth School Aotearoa

29/09/2026

At Earth School, we’ve been busy breathing new life into our garden.

On Monday, we started the day by learning about the essential nutrients plants need to grow well. The children explored how nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium each play a different role in supporting healthy leaves, strong roots, flowers and fruit.

Last season, we noticed our tomatoes may have been lacking some of what they needed, so we headed down to the market garden at Mangaroa Farms to learn more from Cam about soil health and what we can do to support our garden.

It was a lovely way to bring science to life through hands-on learning—asking questions, observing what is happening in the garden, and thinking about how we can care for the soil that helps grow our food.

24/09/2026

Our Forest Fridays are expanding and we are now excited to offer a few more places to tamariki in our forest programe that runs 9-3 on Fridays.

Tamariki get to explore multiple places, our farm loop forage trail, bush tracks, rivers and farm land. They climb, get covered in mud, craft with wild clays and build forts.

Please email [email protected] if you would like to find out more about joining Fridays.

21/09/2026

Registrations are now open for next term's Peaceful Play Circle starting Wednesday 14 October in Whiteman's Valley, Upper Hutt.

If you have a little one under the age of 2 years and are looking for a peaceful and intentional community of like-minded caregivers and a space where your child's natural development and innate curiosities are celebrated, we would love you to join us!

To find out more and register, visit www.earthschool.nz/play-circle

19/09/2026

As the spring equinox approaches, we are all too aware that Kōanga is here.

We have lambs at the schoolhouse, and the children are enjoying helping to raise them. Caring for young animals provides so many valuable learning opportunities—teaching responsibility, patience, empathy and kindness, while building confidence and a deeper connection with the natural world.

Through feeding, observing and caring for the lambs each day, the children are learning that animals depend on us to be gentle, attentive and consistent. It is hands-on learning at its best, nurturing both practical skills and strong values that will stay with them long after the lambs have grown.

09/09/2026

Peaceful Play Circle aims to offer something a little different from your average playgroup. A space created with heart and soul to calm the nervous system and allow you and your pēpi to breath out and find joy in the present moment. To join us visit www.earthschool.nz/play-circle

22/07/2026

Thank you to all the lovely caregivers and their little ones who joined us for our very first Peaceful Play Circle today at Wallaceville Church. Together we enjoyed a gentle morning of child-led play and nourishing connection! We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday.

07/07/2026

Join our wonderful Suzi, for Earth Schools Peaceful Play circle, for under 2's.

06/07/2026

We celebrated Yule at Earth School a few weeks ago. It was a great time for our famlies and friends to get together and mingle, new connections were made, old friendships re kindled and lots of laughter.

The Monday and Thursday children put on a play about the Oak King and Holy King, and why we must have seasons.

We were fortunate to have farm fresh pumpkin soup and venison for supper, non alcoholic Wassail and mulled w**e for adults to sample.

The children the following week then made whistles with Dane Scott from the bones of the deer along with Elder and sunflower ones marking a new tradition of being able to blow on our whistles at future celebrations (including this weekend).

The days grow longer now, and we're looking forward to what this season brings.

01/07/2026

We're excited for this one, and proud that we can say we're part of it. Earth School Children walk this trail, and in future years will have plenty of fruit to forage. It will form a fantastic educational experience for them.

This platform is a little different, funds are matched not on amount donated, but on the amount of donations. Meaning $5 is as valuable a donation as $50 for matched funds . Please donate if you can.

Mangaroa Farms is exploring the creation of a publicly accessible heritage harvest trail woven throughout our existing 3km farm loop that is nestled alongside the Mangaroa river in Whitemans Valley,...

30/04/2026

Last week we celebrated Earth Day !

We sang, we read and we listened as the children read poems they had wrote with the Earth in mind.

Clear streams were played in and we had a story around the fire, we planted a Kōwhai tree in honor of Earth Day and started a food forest area that neighbors can share in.

Finally! We ate roasted Chestnuts from our foraging and learning adventures over the last few weeks.

We experienced the land, and listened.

Earth Day - by Jane Yolen

I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone.

And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs
Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here
Naturally.

That’s why we
Celebrate this day.
That’s why across
The world we say:
As long as life,
As dear, as free,
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.