Winner of:
Excellence in Environmental Leadership Award
Supreme Award Winner

Waiaroha – Loving water

Waiaroha is home to a state-of-the-art water treatment plant, built right in the city centre, that supplies clean, safe drinking water to Hastings. But it is so much more than that…

The discovery centre and its landscaping are fully focused on helping people of all ages to understand all things water, maunga to moana, from a te ao Māori and a scientific perspective; helping us learn from the past to guide us through the future. 

All those involved in the project are passionate about sparking curiosity through hands-on learning, inspiring adults and children to explore, discuss new ideas, and be inspired to look after this precious taonga. 

Our purpose-built discovery centre, believed to be a first in the world, is premised on everyone understanding that water is critical to survival, that you cannot pull apart the three waters – to impact one is to impact all, the important part we all play in protecting water, and how we might do better in this space.

See more award winning entries

Excellence in Environmental Leadership
Supreme Award

Predator Free Wellington

Predator Free Wellington (PFW) is a groundbreaking initiative with the ambitious goal of making Wellington the world's first predator-free capital city by eradicating rats, stoats, weasels and possums. This innovative
Award Year: 2025
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Excellence in Digital Local Government
Members Choice

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence COP Intelligence Dashboard

Following the Tairāwhiti flood event in March 2022, which revealed coordination challenges due to a lack of situational awareness, the Tairawhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) team initiated an innovative
Award Year: 2024
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Excellence in Collaborating for Results
Supreme Award

Transfer of Ownership of Panepane Purakau

This initiative involved the Council returning 172 hectares of land known as Panepane Purakau to the five hāpu of Matakana Island through a negotiation and a significant community engagement process.
Award Year: 2021
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