The school will be on 25ha of land adjacent to the Hunua Ranges Regional Park where this picture was taken.

Exploring shrubs and catching prey are just some of the things students will get up to at the country's first "bush school".

The Deep Green Bush School, just outside of Clevedon in south Auckland, is set to open next year and is ditching the classroom for the outdoors.

The nature-immersion school is the first of its kind to be registered with the Ministry of Education.

Nigel Moffiet Deep Green Bush School co-founder and teacher Joey Moncarz.

A roll of up to 50 primary and college aged students will learn how to live off the land on the 25 acre site.

Woodworking, planting, flax weaving, hunting and preparing food and tending to chickens, ducks, bees and other animals is all part of the curriculum.

Co-founder and teacher Joey Moncarz​ says being "gadget free", apart from a few computers for study, is one of the few rules.

Other than that, the students are free to roam and explore, he says.

"Registered teachers are available for assistance with any academic work — but only at the request of students, not parents.

"There are no set classes, no tests and no homework."

Moncarz, who moved to New Zealand 10 years ago from Florida, taught in New Zealand high schools for a number of years before setting up the Kaitiaki Collective.

The initiative used the same ideas to learning but was available mostly to home-schooled students. The bush school is taking it one step further.

It's all about a "rewilding" philosophy, he says.

"Rewilding means more than just spending time in nature. It means forming a deep connection with the natural world and it means seeing the natural world as an extension of ourselves.

"Rewilding also involves recognising that humans are, at their core, gatherers and hunters."

The goal is to teach kids about sustainability in the face of environmental and social challenges such as "ecological devastation" and "the death-trap of debt", he says.

Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Kim Shannon says temporary registration has been granted for the school and is "the first registration of its type".

"When their Clevedon site is ready for use we will visit it to ensure the conditions for provisional registration are still being met.

"For the school to obtain full registration it will depend on the outcome of a review by the Education Review Office, which will occur within 12 months of the school's operation."

* Go to deepgreenbushschool.org for more information.