This Spotlight article was written by Angie Rayner, Yr 7 - 8 Teacher at Te Kura o Ōhinetahi | Governors Bay School, published April 2025
Angie's story is part of a series of case studies based on the experiences of educators, students, councils and communities who have used the Climate Change Learning Programme. This article is aimed at classroom teachers, with links to curriculum, examples of student learning and action and an honest account of her journey towards becoming a more confident teacher of climate education.
How the Journey Began
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 Yr 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
Climate Change: Prepare Today, Live Well Tomorrow 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 stand-alone 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 well-being, and nurturing hope.
Integrating the Programme into Our Curriculum
Climate Change: Prepare Today, Live Well Tomorrow aligns easily with an inquiry approach. At the time, we were just delving into 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.
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 self-collected, all of which align with the refreshed Mathematics and Statistics curriculum.
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.
Being an educator who loves to include the arts in my programmes, I did wonder at first how this could be achieved throughout the modules, but I was quickly surprised. The students have enjoyed creating vision boards and entering environmental art competitions. But the biggest surprise has come from the music and public speaking opportunities.
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 final 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. In fact, I banned both of these outcomes during this stage of the inquiry. But I had definitely 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 learnt about ‘Children’s Rights’ and that they can have a voice, they start to feel like there is hope. They begin to see ways in which they can take action. But 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.
The Doors That Opened
‘Fix It Up’ Music Video
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 4.5K views and has featured in numerous environmental workshops and presentations. Watch the video below or using this link.
Community Pool Mural
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. You can read more about this project in this Spotlight article.
Class Quilt
Tying a Technology materials and construction art unit into the programme, we 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 learnt 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 new found 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. Climate Change: Prepare Today, Live Well Tomorrow is a fantastic programme that guides you step by step.
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. They get to see that climate change is an intergenerational problem, and they can actually 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. Thanks, Sian.
Related Resources and Stories
Young People’s Voices in Community Decision Making
Street Art: Children’s Voices and Climate Action
Active Travel Action Improves Safety and Environment
Acknowledgements
The text and images in this article were kindly provided with permission by Angie Rayner from Governors Bay School. Huge thanks to Ange and her students for sharing their story with us.
