We’re proud of the relationship we’ve built with I Have a Dream and Te Kura o Otangarei over the past three years.
At Sudburys, we like to get involved for the long haul. That can involves spreadsheets and conversations about cashflow, but every now and then it also involves steel-capped boots, hammers, paint brushes, and a reminder that accountants aren’t always best left unsupervised with power tools.
That approach sits behind our three-year partnership with I Have a Dream and Te Kura o Otangarei. Over this time, our team has worked alongside the school and foundation on a series of hands-on projects that support outdoor learning, wellbeing, and sustainable outcomes for students. One of the best parts for our team is being able to come back each year and see how our contribution continues to make a difference over time.
I Have a Dream provides long-term educational support and mentoring for young people, while Te Kura o Otangarei plays an important rolewithin its community, supporting students and their whānau through learning that goes well beyond the classroom. Both organisations are focused on setting young people up well for the future, which is why we were keen to get involvedand stick around.
In our first year or partnership, Te Kura o Otangareialready had garden beds in place as part of their garden-to-table programme. Our job was to help build this out further and make the space more usable. That meant mulching and weeding existing beds, building additional garden boxes, and putting up pergolas… all skills that definitely aren’t covered in an accounting degree, but were tackled with enthusiasm anyway. Coming back in later years andseeing these spaces in regular use has been a real highlight.
In the second year, the focus shifted to something longerterm. Working alongside the school, we helped centre-punch, dig holes (lots ofholes), and plant an orchard of more than 30 fruit trees. There were plenty of jokes about return on investment, but it’s been genuinely amazing to come backand see the orchard establishing and doing what orchards do best when left to grow.
By 2025, the gardens and outdoor areas were well established. This year was about maintenance, remulching and weeding the garden beds, and painting picnic tables to freshen things up.
This partnership reflects how we work at Sudburys. We believe in building on what’s already there, staying involved, and doing the steady work that keeps things moving in the right direction. It’s the same mindset we bring to working with our clients: practical support, long-term thinking, and progress that stacks up over time.
We’re proud of the relationship we’ve built with I Have a Dream and Te Kura o Otangarei over the past three years, grateful for the chance to return each year to see the impact of earlier work, and our hands on contribution to our local community.
