Oke Outdoor Classroom Week To Shine A Light On How School Gardens Enhance Education And Wellbeing For Kids

Oke Outdoor Classroom Week will launch on Monday in primary and intermediate schools across Auckland and Waikato, to highlight how learning in an outside environment strengthens the education curriculum while enhancing children’s wellbeing.

“Oke partners with schools to build gardens for children to learn and thrive in. We call them outdoor classrooms because every day we hear how connected kids feel learning in these spaces from teachers, parents and students and how this supports inside learning,” Oke CEO Paul Dickson says.

“There is an urgent need for all children to feel connected and we know that kids who feel connected tend to learn better. Our tamariki are struggling more than ever and Oke Outdoor Classroom Week is shining a light on the importance of gardens in schools and the many different ways – from learning science, maths and literacy to improving wellbeing – school gardens education support.”

Through Oke’s Working Bees, Oke works with communities, including businesses, local organisations and parents, Oke builds the outdoor classrooms from start to finish at schools in just one day and has recently completed its 70th project.

Oke fundraises locally, mainly through partnerships and applying for grants, the cost of approximately $20,000 for each outdoor classroom to provide all the raised beds, tunnel house, shed, soil, and plants, along with all the tools needed and ongoing support to schools. Oke is seeking new partnerships to fund more outdoor classrooms / school gardens.

“Children who struggle with inside learning, often thrive outside, while all kids benefit from the well-being aspects of learning outside,” Dickson says.

“It’s good for the teachers, too. We hear from schools about the excited buzz when children learn in an outdoor classroom.”

Papatoetoe East School principal Nicola Elay partnered with Oke in 2016 to build a school garden, and since then the school has added chickens, fruit trees and bees, along with a newly-opened, purpose built classroom. She says it’s amazing what’s possible with a bit of help, and her school will mark Oke Outdoor Classroom Week with a garden makeover.

“School gardens are for all children, with younger kids there is opportunity to learn to problem solve and to cooperate while benefiting from being outside, while the older kids learn in a space where they are confident and comfortable and where they collectively contribute,” Elay says.

“Education outside is literacy and numeracy rich; they are not just gardening, learning in this space feeds into all curriculum areas.”

Shared responsibility for contributing to spaces in our school is really important to our community, Eley says.

“Children feel they are adding value when working in a school garden and there is great pride, sense of accomplishment, mana and self esteem associated with that.”

Kopuarahi School principal Chris Patel says an outdoor classroom / school garden is central to the education curriculum for her students, with everything from fractions to soil science to persuasive writing taught in the outdoor spaces.

“Inside, often kids get distracted and lose focus, but I find it easier to keep their attention when we’re outside learning in the garden,” Patel says.

“Most kids need to move about; they need to be outside and standing up regularly. I had a student tell me that planting in the garden was one of the most satisfying things they’d ever done. It’s good for me too to get outside for a walk, it’s a win-win.”

About Oke and Oke Outdoor Classroom Week:

Oke builds school gardens that are outdoor classrooms for children to learn and thrive in. Learning in an Oke outdoor classroom / school garden helps children to feel more connected and improves their wellbeing. School gardens complement traditional learning while connecting children with new learning pathways. Oke connects people by bringing communities and partners together to build school gardens.

Oke fundraisers in order to supply schools with gardens that have an approximate value of $20,000 and include:

• Raised garden beds
• A tunnel house
• A shed
• Soil, plants and seeds
• Tools including spades
• Ongoing support to schools

The inaugural Oke Outdoor Classroom Week is happening Monday 15 to Friday 19 September 2025 to highlight how learning in an outside environment not only supports the traditional education curriculum but also strengthens learning, while also enhancing the wellbeing of children.

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