WAI Wānaka

07/06/2026

Whether you grow vegetables, keep chickens, hunt, fish, forage, preserve food, or are simply curious about becoming more food resilient, everyone is welcome to Wao Aotearoa's next green drinks.

How resilient is our local food system?

Join us at Green Drinks: Growing Local Food Networks to explore practical ways we can strengthen food resilience across the Upper Clutha while building stronger community connections.

Hear from locals involved in growing, foraging, hunting and sharing food, and learn about emerging initiatives including Kai Connect, Carb Club and the Seedling Cooperative.

Whether you grow vegetables, keep chickens, hunt, fish, forage, preserve food, or are simply curious about becoming more food resilient, everyone is welcome.

📍 Armstrong Room, Lake Wānaka Centre
📅 Wednesday 17 June
⏰ 6pm–8pm
🙌$5 entry (registration essential)

21/05/2026

International Day for Biological Diversity (today, 22 May), tends to arrive with a familiar parade of charismatic megafauna. Meanwhile, beneath the surface of Lake Wānaka, a freshwater invertebrate the size of a fingernail quietly goes about holding an ecosystem together with absolutely no expectation of applause.

In our latest blog, Ben Youngman, WAI’s Science and Research Lead, explores why freshwater biodiversity matters. Why “biodiversity” means different things depending on who’s talking and why counting species alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Because biodiversity isn’t just something to admire – it's living infrastructure.

👉🏼 Read the full blog: https://waiwanaka.nz/richness-abundance-density-and-other-ways-to-argue-about-biodiversity/

21/05/2026

**Update: LINZ have said this will be delayed another two weeks, with a further update coming Monday 8 June.**

Between now and Friday 19 June 2026, a targeted aquatic w**d control programme is scheduled across several areas of Lake Wānaka, including Eely Point, Roys Bay, Stevensons Island, and the Wānaka Marina.

This work, led by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), uses the herbicide diquat to control Lagarosiphon major — an invasive submerged w**d that poses a serious threat to lake health. Left unmanaged, lagarosiphon can form dense underwater forests that smother native plants, disrupt habitats, and impact how we use and enjoy the lake.

WAI Wānaka is not responsible for this programme. Our role is to help the community better understand what’s happening, why decisions are made, and the trade-offs involved in freshwater management.

In our latest blog, WAI’s Science and Research Lead, Ben Youngman, explains:
• The challenge of managing invasive species
• What diquat is — and how it works
• What residents and lake users need to know

👉 Read more: https://waiwanaka.nz/why-lake-wanaka-is-being-sprayed-for-invasive-lake-w**d/

This programme is part of LINZ’s broader biosecurity work. For updates on timing and treatment areas, visit the LINZ website or call 0800 638 943.

13/05/2026

We're pretty big on sports and staying active here in Wānaka - in case you hadn't noticed 😉. So, when Sports Circle Wanaka set out to make all the incredible sports we have access to more affordable and environmentally friendly, we are all for it.

One year ago, they launched their second-hand sports gear shop - a place to find quality preloved gear in-store or online.

It's a win-win-win really:
♻️ Clear out gear you no longer use
⛷️ Help others get kitted out affordably
💙 Support local charities

Drop off your good-quality gear and Sports Circle will sell it on your behalf, with 1% of all commission donated to local charity partners - including Wao Aotearoa, Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust, Bike Wānaka, Wanaka Snowsports Club and yours truly. Thanks to our community's support, WAI received $245.33 from last year's sales.

👉🏼 Selling? You can nominate your preferred charity partner (hint, hint) or donate your gear outright, with 100% of the sale (after commission) going to your preferred charity partner. See what we're laying down?

If you're doing a pre-winter clear out, or looking for some new to you gear, you know where to go.

🔗 Head to https://sportscircle.co.nz/ for more.

📷: Deanna Gerlach

12/05/2026

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - and when it comes to environmental monitoring, that couldn’t be truer. 📸

We’ve recently added a WAI Wānaka Community Timelapse point on the lakefront, creating a powerful way to capture consistent, long-term visual data.

Over time, this shared photography record will clearly show how the lakefront changes across season and years, providing valuable evidence to support restoration efforts, monitor the impacts of climate and human activity, and celebrate the progress of local kaitiakitanga.

Originally a Fluker Post, the simple wooden post acts as a photo-point and is installed at a strategic location beside the Te Ara Wānaka Boardwalk, just past the Dinosaur Park.

There’s no camera attached. Instead, we invite everyone walking past to take a moment: use your phone to photograph the scene, scan the QR code on the post, and upload your image to our website.

The simple system of repeat photography creates a valuable long-term natural resource management tool – and puts the role of monitoring and guardianship directly into the hands of our community.

🔗 Head to https://waiwanaka.nz/community-timelapse/ to learn more.

06/05/2026

We're pretty lucky in wee corner of the world. There's some pretty neat people doing some pretty neat things in terms of showing up for Papatūānuku. ✨️

For Wānatravel Wānaka-Based Mobile Travel & Cruise Specialist, travel is at the heart of everything they do, but so is giving back to the community. They're running a Double the Good campaign, where every journey booked with them until 30 June 2026 doubles their donation to three community organisations: WAI Wānaka, Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust, and Mint Charitable Trust. Which means booking your next trip could result in a $60 donation for yours truly.

👉🏼 Not booking a holiday but would like to partake? Purchase a WānaTravel keep cup, and every cent of profit goes directly to their three charity partners.

Plus, you’ll go in the draw to win spot prizes and the main prize of two Eurail Global Mobile Pass 1st Flexi passes, donated by Rail Europe, so one lucky winner can explore Europe in style.

🔗 Head to https://www.wanatravel.co.nz/double-the-good to learn more.

05/05/2026

This month we celebrate World Biodiversity Day (22 May), with this year's theme of 'Acting Locally for Global Impact'.

23 May marks World Migration Day, highlighting the importance of migratory fish and free-flowing rivers. The 2026 theme: 'We Are River People' focuses on the deep connection between humans, kā awa (rivers), and fish, encouraging people to understand, imagine, and act, to protect aquatic ecosystems.

👉🏼 Join us for a Beach Clean Up: Hāwea on Sunday 24 May, with a community bike ride heading to the event (more details to be announced). Thanks to The Secret Sauna, Lake Hāwea, Wānaka for kindly donating prizes for volunteers.

👉🏼 Te Kura O Take Kārara Enviro Kids are hosting a student-led community Take Kārara Cardrona River Clean Up on Wednesday 27 May. We're proud to be supporting this passionate group of young environmental leaders as they take hands‑on action to protect their local awa.

🔗 Head to https://waiwanaka.nz/events/ to learn more.

📷️: Deanna Gerlach