Climate education through action: A teacher’s journey in Ōtautahi

This article written by Angie Rayner, a Year 7–8 teacher at Te Kura o Ōhinetahi | Governors Bay School, was first published by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) in April 2025. Angie shares her honest reflections, practical insights and inspiring outcomes from teaching the Huringa āhuarangi: Whakareri mai kia haumaru āpōpō I Climate change: Prepare today, live well tomorrow programme.

I remember being approached by the Christchurch City Council back in 2020, with the hope of a school in the harbour area trialling the climate change learning programme as part of their Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan engagement. My initial thought was: No way. I had no science background, I wasn’t an environmentalist, and I had no idea where to even start; in fact, I didn’t even own a keep cup.

But I soon realised that I didn’t have to be any of those things. If you are passionate about children’s education, guiding them through an inquiry process, and supporting them to have a voice, then you need to teach this programme.

At the time, our Year 0–8 school situated in the community of Whakaraupō | Lyttelton Harbour was in the process of rewriting our school values. The programme aligned beautifully with what we were encouraging our tamariki to do and to be:

• Ahau – to grow with curiosity and kindness

• Kō Mātou – to connect with others through kotahitanga

• Kō Tātou – to create change in the world as kaitiaki.

The climate change programme promoted these values. Not only has it taken us on a journey of new learning, but we have gone on to share our voice with others in our community, with other schools, with councils, and even across the globe.

Teaching the programme

The programme is very flexible. You can teach it as a standalone unit of work or incorporate it into other areas of learning; follow it activity by activity or adapt the activities to suit you and your class.

It is divided into eight different modules, each building on and complementing the other, with topics such as climate systems, indigenous knowledge, mitigation, adaptation, critical thinking and taking action.

Each module has clearly identified and specific learning intentions and success criteria. This was helpful for me to understand what key knowledge was needed for the students at each stage. I also found the background reading helpful in giving me a better understanding before teaching it.

Everything is there for you: the visuals, the video links, the lesson sequence and additional resources you can explore for further content.

A component of the programme which I believe is essential to include is the Wellbeing Guide | Te Tai Unuora. Climate change, for some, can be a scary concept. The media does not report it in a positive or hopeful light and a lot of misinformation is out there.

The activities in this guide are woven throughout the teaching modules, helping to alleviate students’ fears by checking in on them, supporting their emotional wellbeing and nurturing hope.

Integrating the programme into our curriculum

The programme aligns easily with an inquiry approach. At the time, we were just delving into renowned educator and author Kath Murdoch’s inquiry cycle. It was clear to see where each of the programme modules sat within this process and how our new school values sat alongside it.

I love that students are encouraged to be critical thinkers and to see other people’s perspectives.

Module Seven, Meaningful Connections: Critical thinking and communication, has a great lesson on understanding our differences and learning about the impact of fake news, with links to both social sciences and health learning areas.

Based on scientific research and explanations, the programme leads beautifully into a science-based inquiry, and there are many other organisations you can tap into to reinforce the learning. House of Science and the Science Learning Hub are both great additions that I have incorporated into the programme.

The programme provides students with opportunities to read, analyse and record data, both secondary and selfcollected, all of which align with the refreshed mathematics and statistics learning areas.

Literacy opportunities within the teaching and learning modules are abundant. School Journal stories can be included in your explicit teaching sessions, with links to specific journals included in the programme. The module activities allow for poetic writing, procedural writing, and the students love the debating lessons.

A particularly successful writing unit I have taught alongside the programme was a spoken word poetry unit. The students loved this style of free speech, and it ended with them entering and placing in the Speaking 4 the Planet competition.

Unexpected outcomes

This is the part of the inquiry that has blown me away the most. I could never have imagined the doors that opened or the opportunities that presented themselves for the students. I think having no expectation of what the outcome is going to be or where each inquiry will lead you, is the best way to approach it.

It was hard at first, trying to help the students understand that ‘taking action’ didn’t mean informing people about climate change by making a poster or slideshow.

I underestimated their creativity and was not prepared for what was about to come.

About halfway through the modules, students begin to feel empowered to make a difference. They realise that even the smallest of steps can create change.

Having learned about ‘Children’s Rights’ and that they can have a voice, this is where, as a teacher, you need to be brave and let what will happen, happen.

If anyone had told me that I would be sitting in the City Council chambers watching my students present a submission on the Coastal Hazards Adaptation Framework, making a music video for a song two of my students wrote, or working with a local artist to paint a mural at the community pool, I would not have believed them.

After setting the challenge to my class one Friday afternoon to consider their strengths and talents to “take action,” two students came back on Monday morning having written a song together, accompanied by ukuleles. After playing it in class, I had goosebumps.

We had a presentation coming up at a Lyttelton Council meeting and decided to sing the song at the end. From there it blew up, and next thing we knew, we were being offered funding to record the song and create a music video.

I had no idea where to start, but I knew this was an opportunity that very few children would ever get. The students got to experience being in a recording studio, working with a film crew, planning different shots around the school, and promoting our bay.

The song has gone on to have 4.5 thousand views and has featured in numerous environmental workshops and presentations.

Creativity flourishes

The students had the privilege of working with Reuben Woods to design and create a mural. They identified an area of our community that needed a facelift and where their message could best be seen and enjoyed by all.

After choosing the community pool wall, they worked with Reuben to create a narrative for the artwork and how they could best use the space to tell their story.

Again, the learning from this was far beyond what could ever be taught in your ‘usual’ classroom programme.

Tying a technology materials and construction art unit into the programme, ākonga also created a collaborative quilt. Each student decided on the message they wanted to share and designed a square around it.

With the help of some amazing parents, they learned to hand-sew and how to use a sewing machine. It is now a beautiful addition to our school library.

The students have also had multiple public speaking opportunities, speaking in front of school assemblies, councils, Enviroschools teacher workshops, spoken word competitions, and presenting to city councillors and international delegates who have visited Governors Bay and the surrounding Whakaraupō area.

They have created a soft plastics collection system, initiated walking school buses and volunteered on numerous planting days; all from realising that even a primary school kid from a tiny little school can make a difference and be part of the solution.

Opportunities beyond the programme

While many new projects emerged and many more doors opened within the classroom setting, something that my more passionate students have taken up is the opportunity to join The Next Generation Conversation (NGC) group.

They have met, in their own time, with other students from around Christchurch. They have had the chance to collaborate, discuss, present and engage in higher level climate action projects and submissions.

Without exposing the students to the programme, these students may never have known that this passion had existed within themselves.

If I had stayed in my comfort zone and kept teaching the subjects that I was comfortable teaching, then they may have never gone on to inspire others.

An ex-student, who completed the programme with me during Year 7, is now part of the NGC group. When asked why she thought climate education in schools was important, she replied:

“When I first started the climate change programme at school it felt almost crazy big and almost impossible to tackle. However, as I began to learn more about what was happening, what we were doing to help and how we, as children, could make a difference, I started to feel more hopeful. It reassured me that this is something that we could do together to fix.

“With this newfound knowledge I was able to make more informed decisions about my future and the world I will be growing up in.”

Final words of advice

Don’t be afraid. Just give it a go. One of the most powerful outcomes from teaching this programme in my class is the confidence I see emerging in the students to have a voice.

“Other living things don’t have a voice, so we are speaking for them,” was something I fondly remember one of the students telling a reporter for the Education Gazette in 2021.

They get to see that climate change is an intergenerational problem, and they can be part of offering solutions and implementing change.

Lastly, a huge thank you to Sian Carvell, who not only encouraged me to give this programme a go but supported me throughout the journey. Oh, and bought me my first keep cup.

Further information

The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) is part of the Networks of Expertise initiative, providing peer-to-peer support for teachers and kaiako, funded by the Ministry of Education. The NZAEE website provides a central place to find environmental education resources, support and inspiration and is freely accessible to everyone.

Teaching Resources

Explore relevant and engaging classroom resources for all levels, curated by experienced educators. Filter by context or education level or use key words to find curriculum-aligned resources designed for Aotearoa, including content in te reo Māori.

Inspiring Stories and Collections

NZAEE profile communities and ākonga taking action, with a diverse range of voices highlighting place-responsive approaches. Themed and seasonal collections include Matariki, Nature Connection and Climate Change.

Specialist Providers and Support

Search by region or topic to find organisations and programmes that support kaiako and ākonga to embed learning about te taiao and sustainability within your school and community.

Professional Learning

Engage with current research, best practice and experts, including free webinars, articles and guidelines for educators.

Teachers can access the Climate Change Learning Programme from NZAEE’s website here.