Exciting news from Leigh School!!!
At Leigh School, a new learning journey is taking flight and it starts with some of nature’s hardest workers.
The quiet work of a bee reflects a simple truth of kaitiakitanga: every contribution matters. Small acts of care, repeated over time, help life flourish.
Bees may be small, but they are opening the door to some big conversations. As students observe pollinators, create habitats and explore the relationships that support healthy ecosystems, they are beginning to ask wider questions about resilience, biodiversity and the future of their community.
As a long-standing Enviroschool, Leigh School has a strong history of learning through real-world experiences. Whether restoring local environments, working alongside community partners or exploring the unique ecosystems of the coast, students are encouraged to engage with issues that matter to their place and their people.
Bee Resilient builds on that foundation.
Using pollinators as an entry point, students are investigating the complex relationships that exist within healthy ecosystems. As they observe bees, create pollinator-friendly spaces and explore the conditions that help species thrive, they are beginning to recognise how closely the wellbeing of people and nature are connected.
These explorations naturally lead to bigger questions. What happens when habitats change? How do ecosystems respond to extreme weather? What helps communities adapt and thrive? And what role can young people play in shaping the future?
Rather than simply learning about these topics, students are engaging with them firsthand. They are observing, questioning, gathering information and sharing their learning with others. Through this process, environmental concepts become tangible, rooted in the places, species and relationships they encounter every day.
This sense of learner agency sits at the heart of the project. Students are encouraged to follow their curiosity, contribute ideas and explore solutions together. Their questions drive learning, and their actions have a visible impact within their school environment.
Learning why pollinators matter.
Buzzing with curiosity as they used their beekeeping tools to learn how hives are cared for.
The learning is also strengthened through partnerships.
Bee Resilient brings together educators, environmental specialists, community members and organisations who share a common goal of supporting both ecological and community wellbeing. These relationships enrich the learning experience while demonstrating the value of collaboration and collective action. For students, this provides an important lesson. Positive change rarely happens in isolation. Whether in nature or in communities, resilience grows through connection.
That understanding aligns closely with the values that underpin the Enviroschools kaupapa. Learning is not confined to classroom walls. Instead, students explore the links between environmental health, community wellbeing and their own place within both. They learn that caring for taiao is also about caring for people, relationships and future generations.
At a time when conversations about climate change can often feel overwhelming, Bee Resilient offers a hopeful approach. It encourages learners to move beyond concern and into action. Through practical experiences and local solutions, students are developing the knowledge, skills and confidence to make a difference where they are.
Perhaps that is one of the programme’s greatest strengths. The focus is not simply on understanding environmental challenges, but on recognising opportunities to respond. Every habitat created, every observation shared and every new connection made contributes to a growing understanding that change is possible when people work together. Through Bee Resilient, the tamariki of Leigh School are learning that resilience grows through action. It grows when people take notice of the world around them, care for the places they love and work together towards a shared purpose.
Like a thriving hive, their community is stronger because of the many contributions that make it what it is. As the learning continues, students are discovering that even small actions can help shape the future of their environment, their community and their place within both.
To read more about the Bee Resilient programme click here.
Thank you, Kerrin Jamieson (Principal, Leigh School), for being so open to sharing and leading your schools journey and for leading the Enviroschools Kaupapa in Rodney.
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