July 2026 project update

Ngā mihi o Matariki. The Māori new year has been celebrated in Rosedale through hundreds of Te Hōnonga a Iwi whānau coming together/noho tahi, remembering and honouring whānau who have passed across the year/whakamaharatanga, giving thanks for the safe birth of Rahi, brother to Aria, our youngest member, feeling gratitude for all our people and for new partnerships from new cultural groups, appreciating the growth in environmental, social and climate health locally, and caring for each other/manaakitanga and the future, by collaborating to support Papatūānuku to regenerate.

The opportunity to share time, get to know each other/whakawhanaungatanga, enjoy kai together, plant new natives, increase soil, stream and community health, and trial new regenerative techniques ahead of El Nĩno has been shared against the backdrop of clearing an untouched Apex, riddled with invasive vines and rubbish for over 70 years.

The promise of the new year has been reflected in new Te Hōnonga a Iwi partnerships with important communities who wish to offer aroha and hope for a better future for Te Taiao and for young people. Growth in community unity and sectoral cohesion are valuable opportunities that emerge as we work in primary partnership with iwi, welcoming and getting to know new people and organisations who bring their culture, wisdom and energy to rewild the rohe.

Partnering with the local Chinese and Ismaili community, and other important faith-based groups, Esez Star and Life Community, offers us new learnings and skills development within our whānau that directly contributes towards increasing our ability to respond to the complexities of climate change, biodiversity loss and future sociocultural needs within Albany Basin.

In collaboration with amazing communities, school leaders, and local businesses, we honour mana whenua vision, and future generations, by planting 2,400 new natives in bioorganic compost, with cover crops donated by Davenports Law, wool donated by local farmer Unya, and mulch donated by A1 Landscapes and Grow my Greens.

Auckland Council and the Upper Harbour Local Board continue to be a primary partner, funding half the natives this year, the machine clearance, wages for youth working bee coordinators, and most of all, offering their expertise to deliver services to increase environmental health in the best way possible. We thank you all.

The other half of our 2026 natives came from Paremoremo Prison nursery. We thank the prison team, Kaumatua, prison officers and prisoners for the opportunity to work together to restore the forest with their ecosourced plants.

One third of our actions increase social equity to support decarbonisation and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Partnering with the prison nursery offers workplace skills development to enable prisoners the opportunity for future meaningful employment, the chance to care for nature and the chance for men in Paremoremo Prison to support the development of the ngāhere. Being a part of the team taking climate action and increasing biodiversity while serving a term enables growth in self-esteem, connection to cultural values and traditions, reduction of recidivism, the development of hope and a sense of belonging.

As we move towards August, Te Hōnonga a Iwi is cementing its commitment to permanence-based rewilding of the Alexander Catchment and the heat island within Albany Basin. On the week where we planted totara for Rahi, young people were busy progressing their climate action vision through designing new roles: Maeva and Miriam become Volunteer Business Activators; Prakriti shifted her capstone role to remain a valued part of the team with plant pest mitigation. Madi led the waste mitigation model development and collateral production. Geethu designed a freshwater plan. Chris has been in the US on a bespoke sustainable business retreat.

Thomas, Anna, Oisin, Ceinwen and Miriam welcomed 15 new stakeholders to the restoration this month. Youth tested water quality, trapped, cared for chickens, managed plant pests, planted, cropped, mulched, activated business investors and research outcomes. All in aid of determining a greener, healthier, decarbonised future, operating within planetary boundaries with the use of a circular economy.

The education sector has continued to create significant ongoing value chains within the restoration. The Sustainable Schools group visited the restoration to share knowledge about holistic, integrated regenerative action. Rangitoto College youth continue to blaze a new path for community service offering thousands of service hours to regenerate a forest that was removed with early colonial farming.

Kristin School are doubling their sustainable development impact with commitment to scale their native nursery and work together to green the Albany Basin with 5,000 more ecosourced plants per annum offered free of charge to the business community. This serious commitment by a NZ school will increase their own sustainability, climate adaptation, resilience and local biodiversity as well as that of small to medium enterprises in the business development unit.

Kristin School has also developed a Saturday fortnightly Te Hōnonga a Iwi working bee, to escalate their school’s socio-environmental and climate adaptation services to the community and nature. They are at the forefront of changing the local landscape.

A local education leader has committed to undertake their PhD in 2027 centred around Te Hōnonga a Iwi youth wellbeing to support us to ensure that our roles for young people promote their wellbeing, and does not ask too much of them. Young child and adolescent psychiatrists, a paediatric public health specialist and AUT ReGEN have all offered their expertise and resources to bring this focus series to life. We are grateful.

Finally, two more youth leaders have achieved other significant gains for the project this month. Matt Wardle, Secretary, has negotiated the use of drone technology, including Lidar, RGB and MS technology, with Graham Hinchliffe and Rebecca Rogers, AUT to enable us to monitor and report change in the Te Hōnonga a Iwi land-based ecosystems over time! This includes longitudinal annual measurement of canopy growth, structure, weed pressures, and ground conditions. Data sourced through academic research and expertise helps us act quickly, solve problems, generate new knowledge, and share growth with stakeholders and potential new funding streams such as biodiversity units from the international market.

Olivia Li, Rangitoto College student and Te Hōnonga a Iwi Adult Mentor offered new insights into attracting and retaining young people to invest in the regeneration of the catchment. Youth are asking for more whimsy in our socials (far out, how?), consideration of personalised letters of gratitude for people who have made an extraordinary impact, consideration of a Te Hōnonga a Iwi points programme with a certificate or product like a pen, or plant, as a graduation offering.

The chance to work more intergenerationally with older adults would be valued by youth according to youth leaders, a competition that would engage young people with art or music, dance or design skills to invest in Te Hōnonga a Iwi to develop belonging would be useful, and development of images of what the work that is being undertaken might look like in a decade to help young people feel hopeful and that positive change is within their reach would help youth remain engaged.  Real thanks to all young people who invest their strengths in this project.

Download the full report for July 2026.