Developing strategy, curriculum and resources for a deeply loving world.
My work spans education strategy, curriculum design, public programmes, and place-based learning across schools, communities, and national cultural institutions in Aotearoa and internationally.
The projects below reflect a body of work grounded in Te Tiriti–led practice, ecological thinking, and systems change — from national curriculum initiatives and museum programmes to long-term community partnerships.
Public learning and engagement
Museum programmes, public-facing learning initiatives, collection-based learning + museum reviews, including:
Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum
Education review
Co-constructing strategic directions for museum education grounded in evidence, vision, and collective ownership.
Kia hiwa rā! Resistance, persistence and defiance in Aotearoa
Project lead
Leading place-based, values-driven learning that links historical activism to contemporary civic engagement.
ZEALANDIA: Te Māra a Tāne
Strategy consultant
Developing evidence-led strategies to enhance learning, visitor engagement, and staff capability at ZEALANDIA.
From the past, for tomorrow:
reimagining local history through art
Project lead
Leading the creation of a place-based teaching resource that uses art to explore identity, history, and transformative learning in Aotearoa schools.
Ko Au Te Taiao: recognising we are nature through mātauranga Māori values and the collections at Te Papa
Project co-lead
Co-leading the creation of a place-based learning resource that engages deeply with mātauranga Māori and Te Papa’s collections.
Stardome Planetarium and Observatory
Strategic review and change process
Guiding the evolution of Stardome’s learning experiences through evidence-led review and collaborative strategy.
Matariki Ākonga Nui: Matariki for teachers
Project Co-lead
Supporting teachers to engage deeply with Matariki, mātauranga Māori, and local environments through inquiry-based learning.
Education strategy + professional learning
National curriculum school system frameworks, leadership facilitation, sector capability building, values-led organisational work + international curriculum projects, including:
Niho Taniwha: improving teaching
and learning for ākonga Māori
PLD Design co-lead
Designing a kaupapa Māori-informed professional learning framework to enhance teaching and learning for ākonga Māori.
Raumati South School
Curriculum Design PLD
Guiding school and community to co-create a local curriculum that reflects shared vision and high-quality practice.
Tu Ihi Rangi
Project lead
Co-developing a curriculum resource centring hauora and storytelling.
Green School New Zealand
Curriculum Design
Leading the design of a holistic curriculum framework and appraisal criteria for Green School New Zealand, centering wellbeing, sustainability, and systems thinking.
Education for Sustainability, NZC
Leading the design of national curriculum guidelines integrating sustainability across learning areas, in partnership with the Ministry of Education
Solomon Islands Curriculum Project
Project lead
Leading the co-design and delivery of literacy and numeracy curriculum resources for the Solomon Islands, connecting local expertise with international collaboration.
Environmental & place-based education
Sustainability education, climate response projects + regenerative, land-based learning, including:
Earth Dreamers: Growing hope in response to the climate crisis
Lead writer
Leading a multi-expert collaboration to create a transformative teaching resource on sustainability and climate action.
The Tīpuna Project
Co-researcher
Participating in a creative, cross-cultural research project that experiments with decolonial practices and ancestral engagement.
Awe: te mauri o Wharemauku
Co-lead
Co-creating transformative educator experiences alongside haukainga, centred on the Wharemauku awa and its stories.
Pūtātara: a call to action
Content lead
Leading the creation of Pūtātara, a digital resource empowering teachers to integrate sustainability, global citizenship, and inquiry-based learning across the curriculum.
For the Love of Bees
Advisory Board
Supporting education and urban farming to cultivate hope, sustainability, and climate action.
Contact
027 428 1655
All images created by me, without the assistance of AI.
Sarah Alice Hopkinson 