WRT | What We Do

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What We Do

There’s no shortage of work that needs to be done to improve the environment both locally in the Hauraki Gulf but also nationally and internationally. At the WRT we have chosen to work towards sustainability for Waiheke Island with the aim of showcasing Waiheke as a sustainable community in action. We work with individuals, households, businesses, schools and community groups by providing information and practical advice in a number of core areas: food, water conservation, energy, waste & recycling, transport and the natural environment. Some of our current projects and events include:

Toward Zero Waste Tool Kit

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This ‘kit’ of signs, T-shirts and containers includes everything needed to set up recycling stations (including food waste) at public events. We have applied to Waiheke Rotary for funding to expand and promote the kit to event organisers on Waiheke.

We also provide consultancy services for groups & businesses wanting to run Towards Zero Waste events on Waiheke Island.

For more information on our services see our Towards Zero Waste page.

Sustainable Community Organisations Project

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In 2011 we worked with community groups to improve their ‘carbon footprint’ by reducing food waste and saving energy. Watch the video below made as part of the project and featuring local people talking about how they work towards sustainability. This project was funded by the ASB Community Trust.

Environment Centre

This is our grand vision! We are applying to the Ministry for the Environment for funding to establish an environment centre that would be the ‘nerve centre’ of sustainable practice on Waiheke. It will include displays, a resource library, shop, demonstration gardens and composting, a data base of relevant community groups, services, businesses and individuals, and workshop space.

Sustainability Festival

Run by the Waiheke Resources Trust, the inaugural Waiheke Sustainability Festival ran from the 16th to 22nd January this year. The festival line-up included movies screenings, a Sunday market, pecha kucha (small talks), Junk 2 Funk 7 Day Challenge, Oxfam climate change photographic exhibition, Ready Steady Cook Waiheke style, workshops and more. The event was a great success and we're looking forward to a similar event in the summer of 2013!

The Garden Project

A ‘grow your own’ initiative undertaken in partnership with the Waiheke Budgeting Service. Teams of volunteers dig over garden beds and grow seedlings and we have written an introductory booklet so families can start to produce their own vegetables. Check out the garden project on Facebook or here. If you’d like to volunteer in a garden or raise seedlings for the project contact us. And if you've been thinking about starting your own garden but don't know where to begin, have a look at our Grow Your Own page.

Children’s Activities

We enjoy running recycled art workshops for children such as paper making and simple sewing projects during the school holidays. Check out our events page for upcoming kids workshops.

Engineered Composite Board

ECB (Engineered Composite Board) is a building material made from waste plastics and fibres - things like coffee cups, toothpaste tubes and tantalized timber. It is able to be worked using normal hand tools and so far we have successfully made a compost bin and an edging product that can be left in situ when pouring concrete. We have applied to the Ministry for the Environment Waste Minimisation Fund to develop the concept.

Electric Powered Vehicles

We have recently completed a collaborative research project between the WRT and School of Engineering at the University of Auckland to assess the most viable low-energy private transport option for Waiheke Island.

Sustainability Database

We are building a comprehensive database of sources of information, education, action, and goods and services, all related to creating a more sustainable way of life on Waiheke. Click to sign up to our database to receive regular e-newsletters from the WRT or register your interest in volunteering for us.