Whāingaroa Environment Centre / Te Pokapū Taiao o Whāingaroa

18/06/2026

THIS SUNDAY! International Cooking: Türkiye 🌿

Inspired by Türkiye's celebrated herb festivals, discover how local winter greens such as nettle, pūhā, chickweed, cleavers, and kōkihi can be transformed into delicious Turkish-inspired dishes.

Together we'll make Wild Green Börek, Forager's Köfte, and Herbed Pilaf while
celebrating seasonal abundance, foraging
traditions, and nourishing food.

There are still some spots left. Click the link in our bio.

https://events.humanitix.com/international-cooking-tuerkiye

18/06/2026

THIS SUNDAY! International Cooking: Türkiye 🌿

Inspired by Türkiye's celebrated herb festivals, discover how local winter greens such as nettle, pūhā, chickweed, cleavers, and kōkihi can be transformed into delicious Turkish-inspired dishes.

Together we'll make Wild Green Börek, Forager's Köfte, and Herbed Pilaf while
celebrating seasonal abundance, foraging
traditions, and nourishing food.

There are still some spots left:
https://events.humanitix.com/international-cooking-tuerkiye

17/06/2026

The Government is changing how councils are organised across New Zealand under the 'Simplifying Local Government - Head Start Pathway' and Waikato District Council is seeking community voice to inform council's thinking.

Join the Community Forum:
Sunday 28 June
2pm - 4pm
Raglan Town Hall

We need people in our community to go along and share thoughts and ideas - who knows what this might help create!

Nau mai, haere mai - all welcome!

If you can't make the 28th here is a link to more information, including other community info sessions across the Waikato District https://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/your-council/simplifying-local-government

11/06/2026

What if one supermarket shop could help change the system? 🛒
The Break Free From Plastic Supermarket Audit is open now until 30 June.

By completing a single supermarket audit, you can contribute to a growing global dataset that is helping push supermarkets and brands to reduce plastic packaging and adopt more sustainable solutions.

Taking part is simple.
Do your usual shop, use the audit tool to record the plastic packaging you bring home, and submit your results.

Combined with thousands of other audits around the world, your data helps build a clearer picture of where plastic waste is coming from and where change is needed most.

Every piece of packaging counted helps strengthen the case for less single use plastic, more reuse systems, and greater accountability from supermarkets and manufacturers.

If you've ever looked at your shopping and wondered why so much of it is wrapped in plastic, this is an opportunity to turn that concern into action.

Find a link to the audit tool in the comment section below 👇🏾

10/06/2026

Please don't overlook those voting papers sitting on the kitchen bench.
WEL Energy Trust supports community organisations across the Waikato, including funding for our Food Resilience mahi here in Whāingaroa 💚

The trustees elected this year will help decide how millions of dollars are distributed to community projects in the future, so it's worth taking a few minutes to learn about the candidates and cast your vote.

Before you vote, take a look at the candidate profiles here:

http://tiny.cc/l8w4101

Plus this candidate survey from Community Waikato and Creative Waikato:

https://www.communitywaikato.org.nz/wel-energy-trust-survey-2026

Voting closes at 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026.

10/06/2026

When repairs become art…

The darning Meliors Simms does at Repair Café goes beyond functional. She turns holey clothing into something even more special than it was before.

Thank you so much Molly for your incredible work 💜❤️💛

Next Repair Café is this Saturday 10am-12pm in the Stewart Street Hall!

08/06/2026

Do you have broken items taking up space at home?

Repair Cafe is here to help! This Saturday 10am-12pm at Stewart Street Hall

Our amazing team of volunteer repairers can assess and often fix a huge range of things from:

+ Clothing and textiles with holes, rips and worn patches.
+ Small appliances like toasters, blenders, lamps, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines and more.
+ Knives and tools that need sharpening.
+ Computers, phones, printers, tablets that are malfunctioning.
+ Broken furniture, tools, toys that need gluing or screwing.

If you have something in mind, drop a comment and we'll let you know if we can help!

Full event details in the first comment below ⬇️

08/06/2026

Our second annual "Just a Choko Festival" was a wonderful celebration of the humble choko, bringing together a feast of creative dishes, enthusiastic cooks, and plenty of choko appreciation!

From sweet treats to savoury delights, the spread on the day was enough to turn even the most sceptical visitor into a choko convert. It was amazing to discover just how many ways this prolific garden favourite can be transformed into something delicious 🌿✨

A huge thank you to everyone who brought a dish, shared recipes, and joined in the fun. And a special shout-out to our Choko Chick Bexie, for her choko-lute dedication to championing choko.

03/06/2026

("forever chemicals") have been found across all whales and dolphins from 16 species across Aotearoa New Zealand 😞

At a time NZ is dismantling its Ministry for the Environment, our recent study finds ("forever chemicals") ubiquitously across all whales and dolphins from 16 species across Aotearoa New Zealand. From coastal dolphins to deep-diving s***m whales, is widespread, suggesting these persistent pollutants have permeated across marine ecosystems and food chains in NZ.

As of ocean health, cetaceans provide an important warning: PFAS are now a nationwide issue, not just a local pollution problem.



https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725023411?via%3Dihub