Community workshop 2: Building the Whangateau Harbour & Catchment Action Plan

Help shape the future of Whangateau Harbour, its waterways and catchment

Whangateau Harbour is a much-loved taonga, but it’s facing growing pressure from land and marine activities, climate change, and population growth.

We're coming together as a community to restore and protect this treasured place, for current and future generations. 

Please join us for the second community workshop to help build a long-term Action Plan for the Whangateau Harbour and Catchment. This is workshop 2 of 3 - we encourage both those who came to workshop 1 and those who haven't joined us before to attend - your voices matter.

🗓 Saturday 5 July
🕚 11:00am – 3:30 pm (arrive from 10:45 am for tea and coffee). Lunch provided.
📍 Whangateau Hall

Contribute your knowledge, values, and ideas into a community-led plan that will guide real, on-the-ground action across the entire harbour and catchment.

Whether you’re a landowner, long-time local, new resident, recreational user, kaitiaki, or simply someone who loves this place - your voice matters. 

In this workshop we’ll:

• Get an overview from Duncan Kervell of the catchment’s high-risk areas for contaminants, with Whangateau-specific examples. Duncan willl cover erosion, land use, riparian and wetland management, and outline best-practice mitigation options to guide local action;

• Discuss key remediation priorities on land and in the harbour using maps, science, and community knowledge.

• Work on goals, objectives and measurable outcomes for the Catchment Action Plan to restore, protect, and build resilience;

• Head out into a key catchment area and learn in the field (weather willing!)

Expert Guidance for the Action Plan

We’re thrilled to welcome the expertise of our Technical Leads for the project:

- Duncan Kervell – specialist in land and catchment management

- Leigh Marine Laboratory, represented by Professor Conrad Pilditch and Professor Simon Thrush – leaders in marine science and ecosystem health.

Together with Katie Owen (Healthy Waters Catchment Coordinator) and Alicia Bullock (Project Lead / Whangateau Catchment Facilitator), the team will work closely with the community to co-develop an effective and meaningful Action Plan.

Bringing science, tech and community together

Saturday 5 July is the second of three workshops to build a long-term Action Plan that treats the harbour and catchment as the connected, living system it is - from hills to harbour and harbour to hills.  We will use the latest drone imagery, GIS data, research, expert input, and local knowledge to create a living, interactive digital plan to guide and activate long-term care and build resilience across the Whangateau Harbour and catchment.

This is a truly community-led process and plan — and we’d love you to be part of the team.

If you have any questions please contact Alicia, Project Lead, at whangateaucatchment@gmail.com