When set the task of solving the problem of how to improve our school outdoor environment, the students came up with a solution to a very wet and unusable area of the school field - a native wetland.  An outdoor classroom where biodiversity is happening right in front of their eyes and at their fingertips.

The senior students took on the challenge for the design with a large planted area and walkways through the dry ground to the boggy and wet areas.  They researched plants that would be suitable for the area, deciding what, where and how many different natives they could plant.  The result was a plan for mass planting of the dryer area with flax, toi toi, and grasses, water lilies and reeds in the water and trees in the outer areas.  The junior class made weta homes and bug motels.

Preparation for the area required digging, concreting and placement of an old donated bridge.  The school then got together with volunteers from the local community to complete a makeover of the area, completing the weed control, planting and mulching of the entire area.

On the day of the makeover, the children were delighted to find a dweller in their new wetland - a frog arrived in the mulch and took up residence in the new pond.