Ngahere School Adventures: Tauhara Primary Takes Learning Outdoors!

Who says a classroom has to have four walls? This year, Tauhara Primary students have been swapping their desks for nature as they begin regular Ngahere School trips to Crown Park Gully.

Every visit has been packed with adventure. The gully has quickly become a place to explore, discover, and get hands-on with nature. One of the biggest highlights? The steep gully walls! They've become giant natural slides, with plenty of laughter as students carefully scrambled up and slid back down. Between adventures, there was no shortage of bug hunting either. Every log, rock, and patch of leaves seemed to hide another tiny creature waiting to be discovered.

But these trips aren't just about having fun—they're also helping students become kaitiaki (guardians) of their local environment.

The students have been learning how predator traps work and why they're so important for protecting New Zealand's native wildlife. They discovered how to safely check the traps and why reducing pests gives native birds, insects, and plants a much better chance to thrive.

Looking after the gully has become a team effort too. With the help of Tauhara College students, the younger learners spread mulch around existing native plantings. Mulching helps keep weeds down, locks moisture into the soil, and gives the young trees the best chance to grow into a thriving native forest.

The adventures didn't stop there. Tauhara Primary also joined Taupō District Council to help plant 150 native harakeke and toetoe along the bike track bund. It was the perfect opportunity to put their brand-new gardening gloves to work—gloves that were purchased thanks to the Contact Energy Take Action Fund. With everyone pitching in, the new plants are already helping create habitat for wildlife while making the area greener for everyone to enjoy.

These regular Ngahere School trips are showing students that learning doesn't just happen inside a classroom. Every bug discovered, trap checked, and native plant put into the ground is helping students build confidence, learn new skills, and make a real difference in their own community.

Who knows what they'll discover on their next adventure?