As Trinity’s Action Research participant at the 2025 International Boys’ School Coalition Conference, Mrs Melinda Bargwanna has been hard at work for the last year on her Action Research project.
After receiving the 2025 IBSC Action Research Award for her innovative work presented at the conference in Boston, USA, Mrs Bargwana returns to Trinity with renewed enthusiasm.
The project sought to explore whether engaging the boys in the creation of a biodiversity frog pond could strengthen their sense of belonging, enhance their wellbeing and deepen their connections with peers, school, and the local community. The results of the research of this environmental initiative have sparked exciting possibilities. She is eager to explore how the Green Patch can continue to evolve as a dynamic learning environment, delivering meaningful and impactful wellbeing experiences for her students.
Here’s a very brief overview of her findings:
“Finding a place of belonging during lunchtime can be challenging for some boys,” says Mrs Bargwanna in the opening paragraphs of her report. “The playground may feel overstimulating, while the library requires adherence to strict behavioural expectations. At Trinity Grammar School, however, the ‘Green Patch’ is a natural space that provides a special haven for the restorative effects of nature to enhance students’ wellbeing.”
It is a place that allows students to experience a “level playing field” where sporting prowess, academic ability or musicality hold no currency. With digital devices not permitted, boys are in a position to connect to their peers and the environment, allowing nature’s “calming rhythms to delay gratification and promote a sense of peace”.
Connection was at the heart of Mrs Bargwanna’s research. She reflects that from the very beginning her project was “grounded in the understanding that human development flourishes through shared experiences.”
The ‘Spiral of Connection’ guided her research and data collection across questionnaires, interviews, the Climate Emotions Wheel, a reflective researcher journal, photographs, and videos.
Early on in her report she states that her goal was to:
“Explore whether engaging the boys in an environmental initiative could strengthen their sense of belonging, enhance their wellbeing, and deepen their connections with their peers, their school, and the local community. I also hoped to foster student agency through their environmental action, which aimed to increase biodiversity in their local area, thus building hope by collectively making a positive impact on their future environment.”
Key findings from Mrs Bargwanna’s research fall under three primary statements.
- Connection to Place and Nature Enhances Boys’ Feelings of Responsibility for Environmental Stewardship
- Connection to Wellbeing Improves Boys’ Mental Health and Reduces their Eco-Anxiety
- Connection to Community Strengthens Boys’ Sense of Belonging
Connection to Place and Nature Enhances Boys’ Feelings of Responsibility for Environmental Stewardship
An increased number of boys reported that their favourite activity in the Green Patch was maintaining and nurturing the space → demonstrating deep care and protection over the Green Patch space as caretakers.
- “They took pride in their Patch, and increased weekly exposure times over the project enhanced their sense of responsibility and connection to the space they created,” says Mrs Bargwanna.
- Boys reported a stronger connection not just to the Green Patch, but to nature in general, increasing their commitment to protect the natural world, with one student commenting “I’m excited we made a difference for the animals to find a home”, with another saying “We made something good for nature and for the future”.
Connection to Wellbeing Improves Boys’ Mental Health and Reduces their Eco-Anxiety
- Over the project there was a significant rise in levels of calmness and relaxation, with this being articulated in post-action interviews by students who said “It makes me feel special and calm in nature” and “I feel good and happy”.
- Three times as many boys noted increased focus after participating in the project, a result that is beneficial when returning to classroom learning spaces with increased engagement.
- The positive impact of this project on the boys’ wellbeing is aptly encapsulated in one participant’s exit interview statement: “I think I used to just always hang on everything negative that happened in my day, but then we started doing the pond and I started just thinking of the good stuff that happened.”
Connection to Community Strengthens Boys’ Sense of Belonging
- “Gathering with boys from diverse cohorts and groups with which they do not usually associate gave students opportunities to cultivate new friendships in a fresh collaborative context.” Students said they felt “happy and accepted” and “part of the group”. The new friendships cultivated during the project also helped many boys to feel more connected in the playground. This increases their feelings of safety ensuring they feel valued.
- These feelings of being valued and accepted were further reflected when students were asked by Mrs Bargwanna ”How does being part of this project make you feel?” Multiple students used the word “important” when describing how they felt after the project and that their contribution made a difference to the project, with one student noting that it felt “good that we made something so special for the Green Patch and our classes to use”
Moving forward, Mrs Bargwanna says that she is excited to connect with other schools in our Hawthorne Water Catchment and beyond to share the impact of her research and understand how it has benefited students here at Trinity.
“We would love to form a network of schools focused on environmental initiatives to exchange innovative ideas, to enhance school environments and to inspire our students to take action towards future sustainable climate solutions.”
If you’d like to know more about research being conducted at Trinity, please get in touch with our Head of Research and Professional Growth, Dr Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn.
