Our Story

Welcome to Tui's Nest!

Tui's Nest was founded in late 2024.  After fifteen years working with children in a variety of settings including overseas in Germany and the UK, Leigh noticed that Taupō did not have a dedicated nature school for primary aged children. As a child she was lucky enough to attend many programmes and camps that had a profound impact on her, and her work experience with children led to her interest in childhood well-being and development via alternative learning.

The vision that drove her to start Tui’s Nest is to provide children with new experiences in an outdoor setting that help them to develop the same transferable skills and connection with the environment that Leigh gained from her own childhood experiences. We want our next generation of tamariki to recognise the value in our natural world and to be equipped with skills that will serve them well in their relationship with themselves, others and their environment.