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Feasibility Study

Summary
Summary Report prepared for the Fairfield Project Committee

Summary Report prepared by: Ruth Hungerford, Momentum Research and Evaluation Limited. November 2014.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

OV E RV I E W
This document is a summary of the Fairfield Project Feasibility Study Report1.
It includes a description of the Fairfield Project (the Project) and summarises
the key points from the feasibility study and the financial evaluation.

THE VISION
The vision of the Project is to develop, at Fairfield College, an Ecological
and Environmental Educational Centre (the Centre) with a focus on, and
commitment to, sustainable practice and living.
The proposed guiding principles for the Centre are:
1. Education for All Ages;
2. Mtauranga Mori;
3. Sustainable Communities;
4. Urban Ecological Restoration;
5. Clean Energy and Green Star Technology; and
6. Diversity, Integrity and Respect.
The location for the Centre is on approximately 12 hectares of land at
Fairfield College, which is bordered on three sides by the Kukutaruhe Gully.
This gully has been identified by the Hamilton City Council as a gully of
special interest and significant biodiversity. It has one of only two stable
Tui breeding populations in the city. The stream that runs through the gully
is recognised as an important habitat for native fish and invertebrates and
has been continuously monitored by the National Institute for Water and
Atmosphere (NIWA) for the past 12 years. NIWA recently discovered the
first spawning site for the Giant Kkopu in New Zealand in the Kukutaruhe
stream. The gully is also historically and culturally significant for mana
whenua; the recent discovery of carved wooden artifacts for example,
suggests that this was once a place where woodcarvers worked.

Hungerford, R. with Armitage, R., (2014).,The Fairfield Project: Feasibility study report.

Report prepared for The Fairfield Project Committee, Hamilton, New Zealand.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

The Centre would provide a unique opportunity for the College to:
n increase student engagement, achievement and retention;
n

provide students with access to a range of exciting and cutting edge career
pathways in science, social science, and technology;
work together with tertiary institutions to undertake joint projects and
provide links for students to available tertiary opportunities;
have a unique point of difference and broaden its appeal as a destination
secondary school;
inspire students, other school pupils, and people of all ages from the
local and wider community to take responsibility for the whenua and learn
environmental, energy efficiency, and sustainable living skills;

restore and preserve a natural, biodiverse and historic heritage area;

encourage the return of native birds and other fauna; and

provide a legacy for future generations.

The vision of the Project is to develop, at Fairfield College,


an Ecological and Environmental Educational Centre
with a focus on, and commitment to, sustainable
practice and living.
2

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

PLAN AND TIMELINE


The plan for the Project is to develop the site to include an educational
facility, plant nurseries, gardens and a gully restoration programme.
The big picture is to have a green star building onsite within two to
five years. In the first instance however, the intention is to relocate some
pre-fabricated buildings to the site, and develop the nursery, in order to
have a base from which to offer educational programmes and start plant
propagation.
The following years would see the building of a green star building, as well
as the further development and refinement of the educational programmes,
the gully restoration and garden projects.

Concept drawing

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

F E A S I B I L I T Y S T U DY
The feasibility study was commissioned by the Project committee, and was
carried out by Ruth Hungerford of Momentum Research and Evaluation
Limited. It collected information in relation to the following key areas:
Precedents; Curriculum and Learning Opportunities; Community and College;
Governance and Management; and Funding. The methodology included
collation and analysis of research reports and other information from online
and hard copy sources and interviews with 24 people from a range of different
organisations including local government, primary, secondary and tertiary
educational institutions, iwi and hap, and local community agencies working
with families, the environment, schools and the wider community in Fairfield.
KEY FINDINGS

The key findings are outlined below

PRECEDENTS

There are no secondary schools in New Zealand with an environmental


education centre on their campus; therefore if the College was to do this they
would be the leader in this area in New Zealand.
There are examples of facilities on secondary school campuses (e.g. marae,
pools, halls), services on campus (e.g. health), academies of learning (e.g.
sports), off-campus environmental education options (e.g. St Pauls Collegiate
Tihoi Venture School), and different set-up models (e.g. third party occupancy,
school owned and managed).
There are two primary schools, Victory School in Nelson and Rhode Street
School in Hamilton, who have successfully implemented initiatives with
similarities to the proposed Centre. These initiatives are self sustaining and
income generating and include elements relevant to the Project such as,
facilities on campus, curriculum-linked, whole school approach, community
involvement, all ages education, mtauranga Maori, te ao Mori, health
and wellbeing, and sustainability and environmental education. Both these
schools have experienced increased student engagement, achievement and
retention, as a direct result of the initiatives they implemented.
Victory Urban Village is a community centre on the Victory School grounds,
and was established eight years ago by the school and the community as a
response to social issues within the community which were contributing to
high roll turnover, transience, and high numbers of exclusions. The community
centre has a health and wellbeing focus, community gardens, kitchen, multiuse space, and offers health and social services and programmes on site. It is
an example of third party occupancy, is included within the school charter
and vision, and is governed by a trust who employ the centre manager.
The Sustainable Kids programme at Rhode Street School has been going
eight years, and has three main income-generating streams, employs staff,
is fully sustainable and makes a profit. It includes a commercial kitchen, the
building and outfitting of which were funded initially via a grant from Ministry
of Social Development. The Eco Island is a new initiative of the programme,
and includes buildings and landscaping. In terms of set-up, the Board of
Trustees and school own and oversee the Sustainable Kids programme and
the facilities, and the Principal is the manager.

Curriculum

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

C U R R IC U LU M A N D L E A R N I NG OPP ORT U N I T I E S

The research identified that the Centre would provide significant


opportunities to increase Fairfield College students engagement and
achievement by:
n

providing an out of classroom learning environment which meets diverse


learning needs by providing a practical, real-life and hands-on learning
environment;
integrating with the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD) Stars peer
mentoring programme;
linking into all Curriculum areas including opportunities for creating cross
curricular learning contexts, developing learning programmes that
provide continuity of learning from junior to senior level; and utilising the
Education for Sustainability Achievement Standards; and
providing vocational career pathways including opportunities to link with
tertiary providers.

The Centre would offer a range of learning opportunities for people of


all ages, both from other educational institutions and the community
including opportunities for:
n

classes from other schools and pre-schools to visit and engage;

community education sessions on a range of topics;

tertiary students to undertake research projects onsite; and

speakers and conference groups to visit and present.

Interviewees also made key suggestions as to what the Project should


consider when it came to developing learning opportunities.
The Project should:
n

ensure there is continuity of learning that is focused on the different


Year levels;

encourage discovery and exploratory learning opportunities;

encourage rangatiratanga (leadership) amongst the College students;

have community gardens, a community orchard and a commercial kitchen;

provide opportunities for older people / kaumtua and families to access


the gully and to participate and be involved in the Centre;
ensure community involvement is included in all aspects; and

n ensure that mana whenua are included in the Project at all levels and stages.

Community

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

COMMUNITY AND COLLEGE

All interviewees were unanimous in their view that the Project would
benefit both the College and the whole community.
Specifically, the Centre would benefit the College because it would:
n encourage student engagement, achievement and retention;
n

inspire young people to consider working in environmental careers;

encourage school enrolments;

improve the image for the school;

make Fairfield College a school with a difference;

provide income streams for the school;

n
n

teach useful and needed life skills to students and by extension,


their families;
provide the College with assistance to manage the gully; and
be an opportunity for the College to be a leader in environmental
education.

The Centre would benefit the Fairfield community because it would:


n teach young people to care and be responsible for the whenua;
n

provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn about environmental


and sustainable living;
provide access for children and families in a low socio economic area to see
research in action, have contact with scientists, be part of an environmental
project, and be inspired; and
assist with protecting, restoring and making accessible the natural,
historic and cultural heritage of the Kukutaruhe Gully, for current and
future generations.

In terms of challenges, interviewees noted that the Project would need to


ensure that they: can meet the costs of ongoing running and maintenance;
have an appropriate management structure; have community, mana
whenua, and student inclusion; have an accessible site and plan ahead for
sourcing plants.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

G OV E R N A N C E A N D M A N AG E M E N T

There are different options for how the Centre could be set-up, and each has
their various advantages and disadvantages. Overall, the research findings
supported the governing trust option as the one that would be most
appropriate for this Project. This was primarily due to the need to mitigate
risk for the College, to spread the workload, and enable a focused approach
to setting up and running the Centre.
Regardless of which model is chosen it is important that mana whenua are
included, that there is support from the Principal and the Board, that there is
community (parents and residents) and student input and inclusion, and that
whoever provides the education component needs to be the right person
who can inspire and encourage learners.

Overall, the research findings supported the


governing trust option as the one that would
be most appropriate for this Project.
FUNDING

In general a project of this kind will be funded from a mixture of funding


grants (including both government and philanthropic grants), sponsorship
or donations (including in-kind support) and income-generating activities.
Grants from, for example, the Waikato Regional Council Environmental
Initiatives Fund, Waikato River Authority, the Next Foundation, Ministry
for Culture and Heritage, Ministry for the Environment, WWF, and other
philanthropic funds are options for seeding, capital works, gully restoration,
and ongoing funding.
The Project may also seek sponsorship, donations, and in-kind support from
businesses, organisations and individuals. Options for generating other
income for the upkeep, maintenance and work of the Centre include for
example, renting the premises for conferences, hui and workshops, housing
relevant organisations, hosting visitors, generating power, growing plants,
linking with the Te Awa cycleway, and hosting community events and
markets.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

F I N A N C I A L E VA L UAT I O N
As part of the feasibility study an economic analysis was completed by
Russell Armitage, B.Com; B.A.(Econ). The analysis involved estimating
financial implications, including capital and ongoing operating costs.
Under the governing trust option, all costs will be met by the independent
governing body of the Project, however many benefits will flow onto the
school. The economic analysis also covered estimated increases in student
numbers due to the potential of the Centre to attract new students and
achieve a higher retention level in subsequent years and the related
Government grants to cover such increases. The potential use by other
schools and potential income was also scoped.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

KEY FINDINGS

The overall findings of the economic evaluation were that the Project would
provide significant benefit to Fairfield College as a result of increased student
numbers, and have the potential to generate income to offset a proportion of
operating and maintenance costs. Key points from the analysis are as follows:
n

The overall findings


of the economic
evaluation were that
the Project would
provide significant
benefit to Fairfield
College as a result of
increased student
numbers.

Assuming an annual growth rate of 5% per annum in Year 9 entrants and


an improved retention rate in subsequent years, the total roll at Fairfield
College is forecast to grow from its current student numbers of 751 to 1,209
students after 10 years.

n The use by

Fairfield College of the Centre will increase from 1,022 classroom


hours in year 1 to over 2,500 classroom hours by year 10.

Expected increasing use by other schools will take the total classroom
hours used to almost 2,950 in year 10.
Due to the increasing school roll at Fairfield College, projected by this
evaluation, the Government grant to the College will steadily increase from
an additional $66,000 in the second year of the operation of the Centre to
$603,000 by year 10.

n The cumulative benefit

to Fairfield College for the first 10 years of the


project is $2.9 million. If this income stream is discounted at a rate of 3.5%
to arrive at a net present value (NPV) the amount reduces to $2.6 million in
present day value.

n The Centre will have an initial two

classrooms when it is first built. Based


on the projected use of the Centre it is predicted that by years 3-4 the Centre
will have almost reached capacity. By year 5 it will be over capacity by an
estimated 14% and therefore another classroom should be added to the
complex. This should be just sufficient to cope with growth up to year 10.

n The capital costs are estimated to

be approximately $235,000 for the first


stage involving the relocation of existing prefabs and then in years 2 and
early in year 3 an amount of $4.25 million for the purpose designed Centre.
Then in years 8 and 9 the provision of a further $1.4 million for a third
classroom. It may be financially sound to build an additional two classrooms
at this stage.

n The annual operating costs,

including a teacher/supervisor and a technical


assistant but excluding depreciation are provisionally budgeted at $144,000
per annum increasing to $186,000 per annum by year 5.

A figure of fifty cents per student per hour has been allowed for course
consumables (printed material and equipment) directly related to student
hours at the Centre. This amounts to $10,500 in the first year and increasing
to $18,740 in year 5 in line with projected use of the Centre. Of this sum,
between $5,000 to $7,000 will be recovered from users other than
Fairfield College.

n Total income for

the Centre, which will be from various sources as detailed


in the body of the text, is estimated at approximately $60,000 in year 1 with a
further $20,000 pa nett from the nursery when it is operational.

n The nett

benefit to Fairfield College when taking account of the projected


costs and income of the project and the increase in student numbers is an
expected surplus by year 3 of $45,700 increasing to $442,000 by year 10.

n These are cash surplus figures which do

not take account of deprecation or


the capital costs of the Project and are not discounted to present day values.

It should be stressed that the capital costs of the Project are not included
in this economic evaluation as it is assumed they will be funded by
philanthropic sources (grants and donations).

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY

The research indicated that this


project would provide students
with access to a range of career
pathways to jobs or tertiary
education...
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
The feasibility study together with the economic evaluation
indicate that the Project is one which would be likely to
have substantial benefits for the College and its students, in
particular improving student engagement, achievement and
retention. The Project would also benefit the local community
and the environment over generations.
The research indicated that this Centre would provide
students with access to a range of career pathways to jobs or
tertiary education, generate positive media coverage, provide
a point of difference and enable the College to become the
leading secondary school in environmental and sustainability
education.
The success of the Project would require, at the least, the
support and commitment from the College and the Board,
the inclusion of mana whenua, community, parents and the
students, and a robust governance and management structure.
There was evidence that the community aspect of these
success factors was already on its way to being put in place;
the Project already has a group of community people keen
and involved, and the feasibility study identified further people
from the wider community, local agencies, hap, and partner
organisations, who were highly enthusiastic about the Centre
and willing to support it and be involved if it was
to go ahead.

10

Contact
e thefairfieldproject@gmail.com
f facebook.com/thefairfieldproject

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