New Zealand community action
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across New Zealand. It's an introduction to local networks, groups, and events. Resources New Zealand is a separate page.
News
Three New Zealand islands to join international initiative towards rewilding, news.mongabay.com (Mar 07, 2025) - The Māori climate activist breaking legal barriers to bring corporate giants to court, theguardian.com (Mar 06, 2024)
- Climate change is fanning the flames of NZ’s wildfire future. Port Hills is only the beginning, theconversation.com (Feb 22, 2024)
Video
Networks and sustainability initiatives
- Project Lyttelton, non-profit grassroots organisation committed to building sustainable, connected community. added 08:55, 16 April 2021 (UTC)
- Reconnecting Northland
- South Coast Environment Society, based in Riverton
- Sustainable Christchurch
- Sustainable Paremoremo
- Transition Towns New Zealand Aotearoa
- Waikato Environment Centre
Climate action
Government website: Climate change information
Biodiversity
Environment quality
Government website: Water quality
Community involvement
Arts, sport and culture
Coasts
Community energy
Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority - Sustainability Trust
Cycling activism
Critical Mass bicycle rides in New Zealand - Cycling Advocates' Network
Ethical consumerism
Food activism
Ooooby. Social network. Ooooby stands for Out of our own back yards.
Kai Rakau Project: Establishing a large collection of mainly fruit and nut bearing trees for the purpose of education, protection and heritage. facebook page
Food waste in New Zealand
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
eDay (Wikipedia), annual New Zealand initiative, started by Computer Access New Zealand (CANZ), aimed to raise awareness of the potential dangers associated with electronic waste and to offer the opportunity for such waste to be disposed of in an environmentally friendly fashion.
Sustainable transport activism
Campaign for Better Transport (New Zealand), Auckland based advocacy group that promotes alternatives to the private car, including public transport, cycling and walking.
About New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 600 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.
The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on and map New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi which paved the way for Britain's declaration of sovereignty later that year and the establishment of the Crown Colony of New Zealand in 1841. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.25 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pasifika. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration to the country. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with the local dialect of English being dominant.
Past events
- March 29 - 30, 2014, Neighbours Day Aotearoa
- September 8-15, 2013, Conservation Week
Near you
External links