Learning for life,
rooted in place
About Earth School Aotearoa
Earth School Aotearoa is a living learning community at Mangaroa Farms, where people of different generations learn alongside one another. Through play, enquiry, creativity and real work, we deepen our relationships with land, community and ourselves.
As ecological tipping points and AI reshape our world, we explore what it means to be human, and how to support each other and our children to grow in wisdom, compassion and capability. Whether joining for a weekly learning day, a worldschooling stay or a land-based course, we learn to meet these challenges together with courage and care.
Why Earth School Exists
We face questions that knowledge and technology alone cannot answer: What is worth caring for? How do we live well together? What kind of ancestors will we become?
Earth School exists to help us grow the human capacities these questions ask of us: curiosity, compassion, practical capability and wise judgement. Through meaningful experiences with land and community, we learn to understand ourselves, work across differences and take responsibility for what we can influence.
We want children to grow up knowing they belong and can contribute, and people at every stage of life to keep discovering who they can become. Learning here connects that personal growth with the work of helping people and the living world thrive.
Our Approach
Learning continues as we grow, change, take on responsibilities and encounter new questions. It involves our bodies, emotions, relationships, imagination and intellect.
At Earth School, we connect learning with real places and purposeful activity: growing food, understanding living systems, expressing ideas and contributing to community.
We value curiosity and capability at every stage. Our aim is to create opportunities for people to learn across generations, bringing different experiences to shared work and developing confidence through practice.
Four interwoven pillars ground this approach.
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Nature
Deepening our relationship with the living world through observation, participation and care. We learn how living systems work and how our actions can support their wellbeing.
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Self
Learning to listen to our bodies, understand our feelings and trust our intuition. We explore who we are, what we need and how to grow into our wisest, most capable selves.
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Community
Learning alongside others, across generations and cultures. Through shared experiences, ancestral knowledge and meaningful contribution, we practise belonging, reciprocity and responsibility.
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Discernment
Asking thoughtful questions, considering evidence and listening across perspectives. We develop the judgement to navigate complexity, engage wisely with technology and act with care.
Curiosity, Practice and Growing Responsibility
A question sparks exploration. Practice deepens understanding. Growing capability opens opportunities to contribute and guide others.
Learning at Earth School moves through these experiences in different ways. Children follow their curiosity through play and gently guided enquiry. Course participants develop practical skills through instruction, experimentation and purposeful work, with qualification pathways including defined outcomes and assessment.
Across generations, we can be experienced in one area and beginners in another. We value what each person brings, offering support and responsibility suited to their readiness—and room to discover what they might become.
Our Learning Community
Earth School grows through the people who learn, work and contribute here. Our teaching community includes programme leaders, regular kaiako and practitioners who contribute specialist knowledge. Each programme brings together a teaching team suited to its learners and focus; individual course pages identify the people involved.
Our educators and practitioners offer guidance grounded in experience, while remaining learners themselves. Across generations and cultures, we share knowledge, explore questions and support one another to grow in confidence, capability and wisdom.
Meet some of the people who bring this learning to life.
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Justine van Niekerk
One Day Programme Lead
Justine draws on her Playcentre and Scouts leadership experience to nurture curiosity, independence and practical capability. She creates a supportive environment where children can follow questions, try new things and grow through shared discovery.
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Suzi Rea
Playcircle Lead
Suzi brings an approach informed by Waldorf and Pikler education. Through unhurried play and attentive relationships, she supports young children’s unfolding development and helps caregivers deepen their understanding alongside them. Learning in practice: Supporting discovery through unhurried play
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Hannah Dawson
Land-Based Course Coordinator / Kaiako Nursery, Horticulture, & Foraging
Hannah runs Heritage Nursery NZ, bringing knowledge of heritage fruit trees, edible landscapes and medicinal plants. She connects growing, orchard care and foraging with seasonal understanding, food resilience and care for the land.
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Matiu Te Huki
Kaiako Te ao Māori
Matiu brings decades of teaching experience, sharing te reo Māori, haka, waiata and his gift for music. His work connects cultural understanding with identity, expression and relationships between people and place.
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Dr. Catlin Powers
Kaiako Science & Nature
An award-winning scientist and former Harvard lecturer, Catlin supports learners to ask thoughtful questions, investigate through hands-on discovery and develop confidence in their own observations and judgement. Learning in practice: Exploring pollination through observation, questions and discovery
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Neci Monahan
Kaiako Literacy & Numeracy
Neci draws on decades of primary teaching experience to build confidence in reading, writing and mathematics. Her patient guidance helps children develop foundations for enquiry, communication and everyday problem-solving.
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Carlos Riegel
Kaiako Music & Bushcraft
Carlos brings experience in bushcraft, archery, music therapy and craftsmanship. Through making, outdoor practice and creative exploration, he encourages resourcefulness, practical confidence and a deeper relationship with materials and place.
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Halina Horn
Kaiako Nature Craft
Halina draws on permaculture, Waldorf education and rites of passage facilitation. She connects practical and creative work with reflection, supporting deeper relationships with natural materials, the land and our own growth.
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Amy Webber
Kaiako Wellness
Amy shares her experience in breathwork, body awareness and holistic wellbeing. She helps learners listen to their bodies and explore practices that support calm, connection and awareness of their own needs.
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Kari Shadwell
Kaiako Clay & Craft
Kari shares her passion for clay and craft through hands-on exploration. She invites learners to develop ideas, experiment with materials and discover the patience, imagination and satisfaction involved in making something themselves.
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Zebulon Horrell
Permaculture Mentor
Zeb brings practical experience in permaculture, agroforestry and farm systems. He helps learners observe relationships across a landscape and explore how thoughtful planting and land management can support productivity, biodiversity and resilience.
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Miki Coulston
Pasture and Livestock Mentor
Miki brings practical expertise in livestock and pasture management at Mangaroa Farms. She shares an understanding of animal wellbeing, pasture health and farm systems, helping learners develop confidence in everyday care and management.
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Cam Dixon
Market Garden Mentor
Cameron leads Mangaroa Farms’ market garden, bringing practical experience in regenerative food production. He connects soil care, seasonal planning and crop management with the work of growing nourishing food for a community.
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Peter Handford
Pest Operations Mentor
Peter is Managing Director of Groundtruth, the team behind Trap.nz. He brings extensive conservation and land-management experience, connecting pest management and ecological monitoring with the protection of native biodiversity.
Ways to Learn With Us
People join Earth School for different seasons of life. Whether you’re seeking a weekly rhythm, a season of belonging or practical skills for your next chapter, there’s a place to begin.
One-day Programmes
Weekly days of nature, creativity and discovery for local children, building friendships and confidence through play, enquiry and hands-on learning.
Worldschooling Stays
Settle into life at Mangaroa Farms, with a family home, children welcomed into Earth School and opportunities to learn and connect within the wider community.
Land-based Courses
Develop practical capability through meaningful work with land and experienced practitioners. Explore qualification pathways and a growing range of learning opportunities.
An Invitation
Earth School Aotearoa offers learning that is rooted, relational, and held with care. We welcome people who are interested in learning with curiosity, openness and care. If this feels aligned, we’d love to hear from you.