About the Programme
Fun day trips await!
Hey guys, the New Zealand National Fieldays Society (the people who bring you Fieldays each year), have created a four-day adventure at Mystery Creek Events Centre, where you get to discover how nature works. You will explore water, tiny microbes you cannot even see, plants, animals, and how humans can use these systems in ways that are smarter, fairer, and more sustainable.
This is a fully interactive experience. You will jump into big, real-world situations like mock court cases, weird and wonderful science experiments, fast-moving games, and problem-solving challenges. You will also meet some quirky characters who help explain how everything in nature and our world is connected.
You will be part environmental detective and part nature superhero, laughing, debating, experimenting, and changing how you see the world.
Also… did we mention farts are involved?
Why does this matter to you?
The world is changing, and you are right in the middle of it. The choices people make about water, land, animals, food, and money affect everyone. Sustainable Futures helps you break those choices down, figure out what is really going on, and see how even small actions can have big ripple effects.
You will build the skills to think clearly, question wisely, and step up as a kaitiaki for the world you are inheriting.
How it works
We think learning works best when it is:
- Active because you actually get involved
- Interesting because falling asleep is not the goal
- Real because it connects to the world you live in
You will learn alongside other rangatahi, including senior students from St Paul’s Collegiate, who help bring ideas to life in ways that make sense. When learning feels relevant and exciting, big ideas suddenly feel doable.
Workshop series
Mauri Atu Taiao
Workshops and activities designed for curious rangatahi in years 7–8
Each day dives into a key theme—water, micro-organisms, plants, or animals—through the UN’s three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social.
This Programme is for you if you:
- Are not afraid to ask “why?” (or “what if?”)
- Like getting stuck in and giving things a go
- Enjoy games, challenges, and working with others
- Want learning to feel more like an adventure
You’ll be supported by teachers, facilitators, and older students who are there to help guide you along your learning journey.
Ready for the Challenge?
Each workshop day drops you straight into the action with a mission. You’ll either:
- Solve an environmental mystery to figure out what went wrong, or
- Watch a short, exciting performance with characters, stories, and big visuals that show how a system works.
That mystery or performance stays with you all day. You’ll come back to it through experiments, challenges and games until things suddenly click and you start seeing the bigger picture.
Ever wondered what it’s like to run a business, vote in an election, make decisions in court, or promote a service? By the end of the day, you will be thinking like a real world decision-maker, balancing environmental, social, and economic choices and realising that understanding real-world challenges are layered, and smart solutions come from asking the right questions.
The day is split into three fast-paced sessions. Each one looks at the problem from a different angle. You’ll test ideas, share opinions, work in teams, and discover surprising connections along the way.
Learning here is active and hands-on. You’ll experiment, play games, act out real-world situations, and tackle challenges together. You will figure things out by doing, asking questions, and giving things a go.
What to expect at a workshop day?
- A clear mission to solve or explore
- Fun, energetic teachers who get you involved
- Experiments that get gassy, fizzy, or surprise you
- Real life scenarios where you get to act as an adult
- Games that require quick thinking and problem solving
- Challenges where teamwork is key
By the end of the day, you’ll be thinking like a real decision-maker — weighing up environmental, social, and economic choices like a pro.
Workshop series
Participating schools will receive an email invitation with more information about the programme, along with a link to register their student group for an upcoming workshop.
Workshop 1: Water
Monday, 16 March 2026
Students become water detectives, investigating the health of the river and where pollution might be coming from. Using real scientific tools, they will test water quality and learn how runoff, waste, and everyday human activities can affect rivers and the people who depend on them. Students will explore how water connects homes, farms, businesses, and ecosystems, and why protecting water is not just an environmental issue, but a community responsibility. This workshop builds scientific thinking while helping students understand that clean water is essential for both nature and people.
Workshop 2: Micro-organisms
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Students discover that some of the most important workers in our environment are too small to see. Microorganisms help clean water, break down waste, and recycle nutrients back into the soil — but they can also spread disease when systems fail. Through interactive challenges and community decision-making activities, students explore how microbes are used in real-world solutions like wetlands, composting, and wastewater treatment. They will also learn that even the best science depends on fair and responsible human decisions, linking biology to social sustainability and real community choices.
Workshop 3: Plants
August 10, 2026
Coming soon.
Workshop 4: Animals
August 11, 2026
Coming soon.