Primary school teacher Megan Ward and mechanic Jack Rees are looking to use their Paengaroa property to provide a nature school called Curious by Nature.

They have lived on the property for about a year.

“We have a couple of hectares and wanted to make use of it somehow,” Ward said.

“We have found friends coming to visit on the weekends, they love getting out of suburbia, coming out and just exploring our property – that’s probably what got my mind ticking.”

Because she is a teacher, Ward also sees that classroom structure and learning doesn’t suit all children.

Catering for primary and intermediate school-age children, the idea is they will forego one school day a week to attend.

“I just thought it was a great opportunity to provide some balance to children’s everyday school life structure.

“We know that children benefit from being outdoors and working with their hands and being given free rein to just explore a little bit in nature.”

Curious by Nature will initially operate two days a week, with a maximum of 12 students per day.

There is lean-to that will be a base and refuge when it rains.

“From there we like to explore. We have a stream at the back of our property which has eels, redwood trees, kawakawa and a variety of animals we have collected over the years.”

Among them are cows, a lamb, rabbits, ducks, chickens, a dog and a cat.

“It’s great for kids to learn to care for animals and quite therapeutic for kids to be around and with animals.”

There is also access to the next-door property, Redwood Valley Farm

“That is super cool because we can explore a bit of the bush next door, go on walks, that sort of thing.”

The teaching will sit outside the New Zealand curriculum.

“It’s not government funded; it’s just a programme that runs independently and is supported by the families that join us.”

Two open days have been held at the property and Ward said there has been interest from families of children at school and those who home school.

She doesn’t anticipate issues with children not attending school one day a week.

“These days a lot of schools are on board with something like this because they can see the need for it. It does depend on the school and the principal, but at this stage we’ve had no issues with the people who are signing up.”

While not a teacher, Rees will also be assisting and, from the open days, it seems clear there is interest in areas such as looking at how machinery works, welding, woodwork and other practical areas.

“Jack has a lot of trade skills and wants to do things with the older kids.”

The operators of Welcome Bay-based Teacher in the Paddock have been helping Ward and Rees with their ideas and Ward said she hoped, if there’s enough demand, to run the nature school five days a week from next year.

For more details contact Ward at admin@curiousbynature.nz or visit the Curious by Nature Facebook page.