Mihi nui ki a koe e Michelle. Enjoy your well-earned retirement!
Michelle has been an inspiration in the Enviroschools Programme for the last 22+ Years. During this time many of us in the Enviroschools National team have been thrilled to work alongside her and co- create deeply student-centred projects, leading to amazing hands-on learning and environmental action. We have all been on a learning journey together and many Hukanui projects have become models for others nationwide and helped shape the whole Enviroschools Programme.
Since the late 1990s Hukanui students, staff and community have developed a wide range of sustainable features within the school gates. This long journey and Michelle’s commitment has enabled rich learning opportunities, environmental action, ongoing reflection, maintenance and sharing.
To hold such a long and ambitious “never-ending-story” and stay true to the kaupapa of holistic, student-led learning and action takes a whole school community. We have seen the importance of trust and commitment from school leadership and experts along the way who honour students’ ideas. And we have seen how necessary it is to have courageous teachers like Michelle who will continue to get the best out of students using sound facilitative enquiry approaches and reflective practice.
We mihi to Michelle for her energy, courage and dedication and the difference she has made to so many young people!
The early days, laying strong foundations
Weaving Enviroschools and Environmental Education through school life. Building knowledge and understanding, attitudes and values.
Supported by Colin, David, Shirley, and Leyette, Michelle followed her passion for Environmental Education, contributing to Environmental Education Guidelines days, and Enviroschools teacher workshops and children’s days and helping host a range of visitors to the school to share their story.
Initial projects included restoration of the gully and growing eco-sourced natives with the community in 2002 along with waste management such as paper recycling and composting. The students’ responsibilities have grown over the years, from developing gardens, waste, water, energy and biodiversity projects to ‘integrated enquiry’.
Electives programme
In 2003 Hukanui Senior Management and BoT supported the initiative of students having a set day in the week to explore their passions and the Electives programme was initiated. Environmental Elective is one and Michelle had a pivotal role. She was there to ensure that a student focused process was followed for each sustainability elective. This was the start of a long and broad learning journey for all those involved. Michelle was always keen for professional development opportunities to enrich these electives and to share her knowledge with others.
In 2005 the eco-building project started in response to a desire to have a dedicated space for sustainability learning ideas and projects. Antanas Procuta (architect) and Heidi Mardon (Toimata Foundation CE) had a great time working with Michelle as she guided the learning journey. The students explored eco-design, investigated local construction projects, contributed their ideas and were involved in the whole design and build process.
With expert support from Antanas Procuta and Heidi Mardon, students explored a range of ecological building styles and features before considering what criteria to include in the brief.
This Environmental learning space was opened in 2009 as the ‘Living Room’– an amazing ecological classroom! Throughout the process Michelle ensured students were involved – from honouring the original ideas, developing a criteria list, the brief through to concept plans, choosing materials and design, an environmental impact report, waste management for the building and of course those site meetings.
Subsequent development of the Living Room surrounds continued as the building settled in with the beehive (with first honey harvested 2011), water features and wetland and the school vegetable garden, the chickens and their tractor and murals on the water tank.
“The Living Room started as a small idea that developed into a significant education project. By “owning” the project and being involved at every stage students gained valuable skills, not only in sustainable building and resource efficiency, but also more broadly in research, communication, decision-making and critical thinking.” – excerpt from 2010 Green Ribbon MfE press release
Reflection was ingrained in Michelle’s teaching style… and she supported the Enviroschools Holistic Reflection in its various iterations. Hukanui achieved Enviroschools Green-Gold status in 2006 and many came together and celebrated the day. This high level of engagement has continued with a number of subsequent reflection days to celebrate this over the years. The school community has since reflected at this level two further times (2010 and 2015), showing the increasing depth and breadth of practices and actions and an on-going commitment to weaving the Enviroschools Guiding Principles through the whole school and community.
Many people helped the school celebrate their Enviroschools journey in 2006 including Sukhi Turner (The Enviroschools Foundation Chairperson) Hon Nanaia Mahuta MP, Heidi Mardon, Dean King, Chris Eames.
Celebrating 20 years as an Enviroschool in September 2018 was a special event at the school. Hukanui students and staff were joined by whānau members, past enviro students and school facilitators, Enviroschools and Toimata staff, Hamilton City Council and Waikato Regional Council guests, and local MPs to mark this milestone.
Growing, harvesting and cooking food from the backyard garden has become a rich learning environment. With the Living Room as a fantastic focus for sustainability education, students identified a need for an appropriate kitchen space to allow a whole class to integrate learning and maximise use of the garden produce. Again, Michelle gently guided students through concept development, design and build alongside architect, Antanas Procuta and Ian Mayes (Hamilton City Council). The Living Room Kitchen was opened on 6th December 2019.
Through this time of growth and development, the gully beside the school had not been neglected, in fact has become a much-loved place of learning and play. With the changes to vegetation through planting came greater biodiversity and increased student and community action to support this.
Michelle helped expand students’ knowledge around different ways to research, monitor and take action for their local places with water quality monitoring, tuna inquiry, pollination, insects including wētā boxes, pest monitoring and trapping. Nothing in isolation – everything connected.
One of the many positive outcomes of empowering learners is the diverse groups that have emerged – The Enviro-council, Living Room Guardians, Backyard Garden Group, Gully Group, Paper Recyclers, Enviro Guides, Enviro Superstars.
Always open to a challenge and to seek ways to enrich learning…
Michelle has been involved in so many Enviroschools Waikato professional development and student experience events! Claudeland’s Bush Learning Resource 2009; Sustainable Communities through Kai research Project 2012-13; Empowered Students to Empower Others workshops 2013; Our Place, Our Future, Children’s Parade 2014; Global Issues, Local Realities exploration 2015; Everything is Connected – Whanaungatanga 2016; Creating Catalysts for Change 2017; Mara Kai Challenge involvement since 2022, and hosting in the Living Room Kitchen 2022 and 2025!
“Sustainable Communities and Kai was my first environmental elective. It was very different than other electives because it was all of our own ideas. With other electives, as soon as we start, we know what we are working towards. With this elective, we decided the aim ourselves. We also weren’t just working towards and aim that will help us, but an aim that will help others.” – student, Maia. Quote from Enviroschools Sustainable Communities through Kai Celebration booklet
A core aspect of the Enviroschools Kaupapa is creating a vision and care code that expresses the aspirations towards a sustainable school community, weaving in the guiding principles of the programme. Michelle consistently supported the whole school in contributing to a process that honours past projects and ideas and integrates new possibilities. In 2021 the revisioning process exemplified empowerment of all learners.
Michelle had a real talent for supporting student-initiated learning, student voice and teaching about care and responsibility through scaffolding a range of experiences. The ongoing revision of the vision map and care code and the legacy that past students have handed over… The Living Room manual is an outstanding example of this.
The large books and classroom wall displays have been a powerful way to track and share the learning and on-going reflection. But most importantly the learning has always been shown through the way the students behave and how they articulate the learning and action and their passion for particular projects.
Hosting photo shoots, local, national and international visitors… Michelle was always accommodating, making it work and allowing the enthusiastic students to shine.
…and the story continues as new waves of students and teachers benefit from this special learning environment.
Toitū te Kaupapa o Enviroschools!
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