28 November 2025

Two of Aotearoa’s tiniest schools are among the winners of Woolworths New Zealand’s Growing for Good grants for 2025, part of Woolworths New Zealand’s support for community and sustainability.

With a total of $50,000 to be awarded, the focus was on projects that inspire the next generation and connect them with the journey of food from farm to fork.

Okiwi School on Aotea/Great Barrier Island and Matakohe School in Kaipara District have just 32 and 37 pupils respectively. Okiwi’s grant of $2,000 means the school can install an irrigation system for its mara kai (food garden), particularly for the summer months. Matakohe’s grant of $10,000 will allow the school to establish a garden and orchard, including a butterfly house.

“We are delighted to receive Woolworths Food for Good funding. Here at Matakohe School it means we’ll be able to become as self-sufficient as possible with fresh food from our garden going to our school lunches. Any surplus food will be distributed amongst our school and wider community - nurturing our spirit of giving and encouraging a habit of ‘passing it forward’,” said Matakohe School Principal Robyn Young.

Levin School is the other school to receive the maximum amount of $10,000. It will install a new off-grid, solar-powered rainwater harvesting system featuring two 3,000 litre tanks, allowing an expanded mara kai programme supplying the school's lunch provider, with surplus going to the wider community.

“We are delighted to accept this grant and thank Woolworths for funding our Te Rerenga o te Kai project. We look forward to extending our mara kai and composting systems, ensuring our students soon harvest fresh, sustainably grown kai for their school lunches and the community through our Pataka Kai,” said Levin School Principal Paulianne Taylor.

Other applications include a Bee-utiful garden bee habitat at Flat Bush School, revitalisation of a long-neglected orchard at Stratford’s Avon School, and the Growing for Knowledge programme at Dannevirke’s Totara College which combines growing food with learning financial literacy and business smarts.

“This is such a wonderful project to be part of for Woolworths New Zealand. We think we can have a real impact with these grants, connecting young kiwi kids to how food is grown. We were blown away with the depth of thought that went into these winning applications, and especially the connection to community that we saw in so many of them,” said Catherine Langabeer, Head of Sustainability for Woolworths New Zealand.

Video of schools reacting to news of their successful application

see here (video available for download on request).

Growing for Good winners 2025

Amberley School - Growing toward Matariki: Build a new greenhouse to create a year-round vegetable garden, mainly to supply vegetables for the annual Matariki community hangi feeding 300 to 400 people.

Avon School, Stratford - Orchard revitalisation: Revitalise a long-neglected orchard, currently suffering from wind stress and depleted soil. The orchard will produce food and help student education.

Dyer Street School, Lower Hutt - He hononga ki a Papatuanuku (A connection to Papatuanuku): Create a sensory garden for their tamariki, especially those who are neurodiverse. The garden will feature five distinct, wheelchair-accessible zones corresponding to touch, smell, hearing, taste, and sight.

Flat Bush School - Bee-Utiful Garden: Create a living classroom for tamariki and bees to foster an understanding of nga pi (bees) and their critical role in pollination

Levin School - Te Rerenga o te Kai (The Journey of Food): Install a new off-grid, solar-powered rainwater harvesting system for climate-resilient irrigation featuring two 3,000 litre tanks. This will allow an expanded mara kai (food garden) programme supplying the school's lunch provider with surplus going to the wider community.

Matakohe School - Feeding our Family: Establish a school garden and orchard big enough to feed the small school's tamariki, whanau and the wider local community. A planned butterfly house will protect the endangered Monarch butterfly.

Okiwi School, Aotea/Great Barrier - irrigation system for nursery and mara kai: Install a new irrigation system with timers to ensure the mara kai and nursery are well-watered throughout the summer months and holidays.

Totara College, Dannevirke - Growing for Knowledge: Expand the existing Garden to Plate project by building a hot house to grow native plants for potential sale or donation. A core aim is to teach students essential financial literacy and business skills.