This Spotlight article was written by Dr. Will Stovall, Regional Climate Change Learning Programme Facilitator, Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Māui, published in May 2025.
Will's story is part of a series of case studies highlighting the experiences of educators and students who are focused on climate education and action. You will find links to related stories and resources within the Spotlight.
Te Waka a Māui: A Climate Education Journey
Kia ora e hoa, ko Will Stovall tōku ingoa. Since April of 2024, I have had the amazing privilege of facilitating the Climate Change Learning Programme, Huringa Āhuarangi: whakareri mai kia haumaru āpōpō | Climate Change: prepare today, live well tomorrow, at intermediate kura throughout Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Māui | the top of the South Island.
It has been one of the most uplifting experiences of my life to be involved in this mahi, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share the journey of the Climate Change Learning Programme (or CCLP for short) with you. The CCLP and the conversations and actions it has initiated have restored my belief that we can steer our waka together – toward a future where diverse voices and worldviews, including those of tamariki and rangatahi, are respected, and the whenua they will inherit is honoured and cherished.
“If the adults do listen to us, they could actually change, like, instead of waiting for us to make change.”
– Chanulya, Year 9 ākonga, Nelson College for Girls
As I share my journey over the last year I will touch on the lessons learned as a facilitator and the impact on students who have been involved with the programme, including a clear positive shift in feelings of hope for the future.
Constructing the Waka
The CCLP first piloted in 2018 in Ōtautahi and launched officially early 2020. It was designed by Sian Carvell of Future Curious with the support from central and local government, science agencies and education experts, kaiako, and rangatahi. It was audited in 2022 and recently updated in late 2024. You can read more about the impact of the Ōtautahi programme in this recent Spotlight story by teacher Angie Rayner, Climate Education: A Teacher's Perspective.
The CCLP consists of eight in-class modules designed to provide Yrs 7-10 ākonga (ages 10-14) with hopeful and comprehensive climate change education. ‘Hopeful and comprehensive’ means that, in addition to learning about the science/causes and impacts of anthropogenic climate change, ākonga are empowered with hope and solidarity around its solutions – including adaptation, mitigation, critical thinking, and revaluation of the worldviews which serve as foundations for our societal institutions.
In addition to its in-class sessions, the CCLP seeks to ensure that tamariki and rangatahi are provided with opportunities to participate in climate-related consultations with local government and community organisations. These activities serve to amplify their voices and increase their individual and collective representation on an issue that will affect them disproportionately compared to people of previous generations. Read more about this in Young People's Voices in Community Decision Making, by Sian Carvell.
Setting Sail
In April of 2024, the CCLP formally expanded beyond Ōtautahi for the first time, to Te Tau Ihu | The Top of the South Island. This was when I first came aboard the waka as a new facilitator, and I was contracted by the Tasman District Council (TDC) to deliver the programme at three small, rural kura - Mahana, Lower Moutere, and Wakefield Schools.
While I had experience working with rangatahi when I started in the role – and my studies had focused upon understanding, communicating, and revaluating humans’ relationship with the rest of nature – this was the first time I had facilitated climate change education and literacy in the classroom. I was a bit nervous going in, but was quite frankly blown away by the connection that ākonga had with living things, our Earth, and universe!
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The majority of students already knew what climate change was, and even those who didn’t understood from the start that it was something important. Every session was different. Whether we were simulating the greenhouse effect in a jar, envisioning sea level rise with a giant ruler, or discussing how each of us can combat climate change with our individual skills – ākonga were by-and-large excited and understanding of the relevance of the topics explored.
“The programme provides clarity of ideas. What is the problem? What is the science behind it? The solutions are personal. What are you good at? What problem can you tackle with your skill?”
– Mike Lynch, Deputy Principal and teacher, Lower Moutere School
By July, it was inspiring to see how many expressed interest in making their voices heard, and we began to build a fledgling network for extracurricular engagements and consultations.
Making Waves
In Term 3 2024, Nelson City Council also joined in the CCLP movement, and the programme was launched at three Whakatū kura: Nelson Intermediate, Broadgreen Intermediate, and Nelson College Preparatory Schools. The TDC continued their support, and the programme expanded to include Upper Moutere and Motueka South Schools.
In addition to the in-class sessions at these kura, both councils expressed interest in engaging with children and young people to help inform their climate change plans. We began to put plans in place for ongoing engagements on the TDC’s Natural Hazards Plan Change (NHPC) and the NCC’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. Collaborations also started with various community organisations in Term 3, including the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum, Motueka Arts Council, and Forest & Bird.
In Term 4, St. Joseph’s School in Whakatū began hosting the CCLP, and the collaborations with councils and community organisations began to bear tangible fruit.
“Our class had a lot of fun while learning a lot about climate change. I’m afraid kids might not learn about climate change and could go through life without understanding its importance, especially when it matters the most.”
– Satoru, Year 8 ākonga, Upper Moutere School
In Tasman, ākonga collaborated with the Motueka Arts Council to design and paint a large (2m by 6m) canvas banner with various designs of their choosing related to climate change and environmental protection. The banner featured the Māori proverb Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au, emphasising the centrality of Te Tau Ihu’s rivers to the region’s past, present, and future. In November, the rangatahi presented the banner to Tasman councillors in the Council Chambers and spoke about the importance of proactive climate action.
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In Whakatū, ākonga from the four city schools attended a workshop on the NCC’s Climate Change Strategy, in which they identified a range of actions they would like to see take place under the Strategy’s eight ‘pillars’ – or overarching themes. These were compiled into a list of recommendations, and four of the ākonga presented them in speeches to Mayor Nick Smith and councillors at the November Public Forum Meeting. These engagements are featured together in this video on the NCC’s YouTube channel and in this article in the Nelson Mail.
Finally, we rounded out the year with speeches by rangatahi from both regions at the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum annual hui, and a special end-of-year celebration at Founders Heritage Park.
“We don’t have as much power as adults do, but we can still be heard – we have the right to say”
– Eila, Year 8 ākonga, Nelson Intermediate School
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In Term 1 of 2025, Nelson College for Girls Preparatory School has begun hosting the CCLP, signifying that every kura with intermediate students in Whakatū is now supporting in-class sessions. We are also extremely pleased to have Waimea Intermediate School in Richmond - which has over 20 classes of Year 7&8 ākonga – signed-on for at least the first three terms of the year.
The Te Tau Ihu extracurricular consultation group – now similar in size and drawing inspiration from the Next Generation Conversation group of young leaders in Ōtautahi – had its first meeting of 2025 on February 20th. We discussed planned engagements for the year, and at the top of our list is a way to bring the two groups together!
“The programme provided opportunities to extend students further where they worked with a group of others from kura across Whakatū and Tasman to present their concerns about climate change to the Nelson City Council. Because we enjoyed the programme so much, I am hoping that there is an opportunity for my students this year to continue this mahi.”
– Kirsten Mannix, teacher at Broadgreen Intermediate School
I am extremely excited to announce that in Term 2 of 2025, Marlborough District Council (MDC) has also started facilitating the CCLP. We are also part of a national group of educators working online through NZAEE's Community of Practice to share learning and extend the programme to other regions. It has been inspiring to see the movement achieve these milestones, and we are moving swiftly toward a national framework for hopeful and comprehensive climate change education in schools across Aotearoa.
Lessons Learned on the Voyage
As a new facilitator of the CCLP, there were several unknowns going into this mahi. I wondered whether I possessed the skills and personality to engage rangatahi with the subject, how receptive kaiako and whānau would be, and above all, how I would broach the issue in a way that did not induce negative and/or counterproductive emotions among ākonga.
In spite of these concerns, the programme has spread far and wide within the past year (≈650 ākonga at 12 Te Tau Ihu kura), and rangatahi who have taken part report significantly more hope after participating in the in-class sessions that humans can reduce our impact on the climate and environment in the future.
“I think that just talking to Will makes me feel like someone out there knows what, when, or why this is happening, and it’s not just me that is concerned.”
– Tyne, Year 8 ākonga, Lower Moutere School
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This graph shows data from surveys taken at the start and end of the CCLP in-class sessions.
Ākonga report more hope for the future after taking part in the programme, and the most common score shifted from the ambivalent score of 5 to the most hopeful score of 10.
There is clear passion and demand for comprehensive climate change education among rangatahi, whānau, and kura.
I won’t beat around the bush – climate change is a multifaceted and emotionally daunting collective challenge for which there exists no single easy solution. Because of this, there is understandably abundant concern about how we discuss climate change with our tamariki and rangatahi. However, the important thing is, we should. Rather than allow apathy, anxiety, and depression to manifest when young people learn of the truth without support, we can empower them with knowledge, hope, solidarity, and opportunities to act.
Our rangatahi may be the future, but addressing the climate crisis is not their job alone. We all have the obligation to current and future generations of life to demand systemic change, and to apply our unique skills and interests toward creating a more sustainable and compassionate world. He waka eke noa.
You can find out more about the Climate Change Learning Programme here. Teachers working in Aotearoa NZ schools can access the programme for free and educators or organisations who would like to find out more about supporting the programme in their area can use the organisation form to contact NZAEE.
Special Thanks
I can say with absolute certainty that this work would not be possible without the large support network of rangatahi and their whānau who have demonstrated great initiative and commitment, as well as the mana to speak truth to power and give voice to the voiceless.
In discussing the environmental consciousness and receptivity of these amazing ākonga, it would be remiss of me not to applaud the sustained efforts of their kaiako, who work tirelessly to embody and instil the values of kaitiakitanga and whanaungatanga amidst the myriad other pressures they face.
I am also incredibly grateful to the representatives at TDC, NCC, and MDC for affirming the value of this work, and continuing to support it within the current funding environment.
Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou katoa, mo to koutou tautoko.
