On the edge of the Hūnua Ranges, something remarkable has been taking shape over the past year. Since launching in July 2025, Counties Energy Nature's Classroom programme at The Y Camp Adair has connected tamariki to the land and the awa, building a sense of what it means to be kaitiaki. Less than a year after its first cohort of students arrived, that mahi has been recognised on a national stage. Nature's Classroom has been crowned winner of the Te Tohu Tiakina Taiao Environmental Leadership Award at the 2026 Outdoors Awards, hosted by Recreation Aotearoa.
The programme was born from a n understanding that the most powerful classroom has no walls. Through freshwater testing, native planting, and species identification, tamariki from eight schools and more than 200 students have spent time learning about the environment and actively restoring it. Each school has planted approximately 400 eco-sourced native plants, directly contributing to improving the health of the Te Wairoa River catchment. An on-site native nursery at Camp Adair provides a sustainable supply of seedlings, ensuring the restoration work continues well beyond each school visit.
The programme sits at the heart of the wider Te Wairoa River Restoration Project, which is tackling decades of environmental strain from invasive species, runoff, sedimentation through riparian planting and biodiversity enhancement. Tamariki who visit Camp Adair’s Natures Classroom leave having contributed something that will continue to grow long after they return to the classroom.
Madeline Young an Ecologist and River Restoration Manager at Camp Adair has led the programme from the ground up. "It has been incredibly rewarding to see the enthusiasm from visiting students and teachers to get involved, and to know they are contributing to something that will benefit the community for generations to come. This recognition means a lot." The response has reflected that enthusiasm - the initial pilot booked out almost immediately, and demand has only grown since.
Camp Adair has been welcoming students to the Hunua Ranges since 1913, and Nature's Classroom adds an environmental learning pathway to that legacy. With the support of partner Counties Energy and the volunteers and organisations behind the Te Wairoa restoration effort, what began as a pilot programme is becoming a model for what outdoor education in Aotearoa can look like - one where young people don't just experience nature but help to heal it.