News

Back to Blog

Circularising Organics Report

Recycling organic material back into the soil was a common practice among both Māori and Pākehā until the mid-20th century. However, in today's linear waste system, around half of the waste sent to landfills in the Waikato region is organic material. This not only represents a significant waste of resources but also contributes to pollution, as each tonne of food waste generates a third of a tonne of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases. Various organisations are working to address this issue, suc...

Spotlight on Awhi Healthy Homes Initiative

Awhi Healthy Homes is a free initiative in South Auckland and Waikato improving wellbeing through better housing conditions.Awhi equips families with skills and resources for healthy, safe homes by connecting them with essential services like repairs, bedding, heaters, and advice.Healthy homes are essential for preventing common illnesses. Many common illnesses are preventable and are linked to poor ventilation and dampness in the home. Awhi is leading the way in improving living conditions and ...

Rebalancing Our Food System

I have decided to lean into my optimism about this report, ‘Rebalancing our food system’ produced by the Public Health Advisory Committee in May 2024. There is a lot to love in here!...

Acessing Food Data

The Waikato Wellbeing Project has a target to reduce child poverty from 1 in 6 to fewer than 1% of children by 2030. There are no specific indicators for hunger, but the goal is that “Our children can thrive because none are hungry at school or cold at home. They can afford to participate in social, artistic, cultural and sporting activities”.As we move towards this target, I wonder what signs, signals and indicators will we look towards to confirm what we are hearing and seeing anecdotally?...

Waikato Wellbeing Project celebrates one year of Lots of Little Fires - sharing inspiring stories and positive impact

Waikato Wellbeing Project is thrilled to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Lots of Little Fires, marking a milestone in its mission to celebrate incredible people, doing incredible things, and inspiring others through the power of storytelling. As Lots of Little Fires turns one, we reflect on the journey thus far and look ahead to the future with renewed enthusiasm and purpose.At its core, Lots of Little Fires aims to amplify the voices of inspirational people and kaupapa that are working to...

WEL Energy Trust Funding Update

In our last newsletter we provided an update on the draft 2024-25 WEL Energy Trust Annual Plan. The WEL Energy Trust is the most significant partner and funder of the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP). Our funding is secured in a Partnership and Funding agreement between the Trust and the Waikato Regional Council. The draft plan proposed to reduce the 2024-25 funding for the WWP from $400,000 to $200,000. Because of the submissions and presentations made, the WEL Energy Trust agreed to restor...

WWP Business Plan

We have updated our 2024-25 Business Plan to reflect the changes and updates above. We have also made some changes from our earlier draft, in particular:Poutoko: Major Projects – we have sharpened our focus and for 2024-25 we will focus the majority of our effort on completing and amplifying the results of the Kai ChallengeTe Ara Poutama –will continue, and we will seek a person to lead this initiative for the next 12+ months to maximise the impact of greater knowledge and insight into wellb...

Clarifying our Role and Purpose

Following reconfirmation of our WEL Energy Trust funding, the Kaitiaki Advisory Board reflected on the wider messages we heard.  A key message was that people are not always entirely clear what we do. As now shown in our logo, the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP) is a research, knowledge and storytelling project focused on environmental and social equity in the Waikato.Our work illuminates the deeper stories of our regional wellbeing challenges, to awhi the real-life initiatives, people and ...

Poutoko: Major Projects Hunger and Poverty (SDGs 1,2)

An update by Dr Amber Hammill, Kai Challenge Activator...

Lots of Little Fires

An update by Lead Social Innovator, Joe WilsonLast month we released the beautiful story of Rainbow Hub Waikato and this has received such beautiful and heart warning responses from across our community.The video has enabled the team at RBH Waikato to engage in a safe and welcoming way to their current and new community members at a time where the social climate around the rainbow community has been incredibly turbulent.  Feeling seen, valued and supported through Lots of Little Fires and t...

Te Ara Poutama - Hauraki Opportunity

The Hauraki Opportunity is a flagship project of Te Ara Poutama, designed to deliver in co-construction with the people of Hauraki a repeatable Wellbeing Measurement and Management System that measures what matters to them, so that their needs, aspirations, and priorities can be further understood and evidenced, and so that – aligned to the intentions of Te Ara Poutama - important choices regarding the present and future wellbeing of the region can be made wisely.The purpose of the Hauraki Opp...

Waha | Advovacy

Councils in the Waikato region and across New Zealand are currently developing their plans for the next 12-36 months, through their Annual and Long Term Plans. Most people will be aware of the considerable pressure all councils are facing as their costs have increased over the past few years, driven by post-COVID increases in inflation, insurance and the cost of infrastructure.As they have worked to develop balanced budgets and rates which are achievable and affordable, many for-purpose organisa...

Join the WWP Team- Te Ara Poutama Knowledge Lead

Are you interested in the betterment of intergenerational wellbeing in the Waikato with a particular focus on wellbeing knowledge and systems thinking?We are looking for somebody to lead, coordinate and facilitate the further development of Te Ara Poutama. This is the Waikato Wellbeing Project's wellbeing knowledge initiative. This initiative seeks to be an active yet independent initiative that helps people understand what enables wellbeing, and to move towards implementing action that achieves...

National Science Challenges

The National Science Challenges are wrapping up in June this year, rounding out several years’ worth of research initiatives.One of these Challenges, Our Land and Water | Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Wai, has been hosting a series of regional engagement events to report on various aspects of the work. Healthy land and water are essential to a functional food system, so the opportunity to learn more about this research was great for the Kai Challenge.I was able to get to the events at Karapiro ...

Updated WWP Logo

We’re thrilled to share our updated logo!As we have travelled from the original concept for the WWP to the programme we have today (see business plan update) it has become clearer that at its heart, the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP) is a research, knowledge and storytelling project focused on environmental and social equity in the Waikato. We have updated our logo to make it clear these are our major contributions to wellbeing in the Waikato, which aligns fully with our purpose statemen...

Long Term Plans - Regional and District Submissions

It’s Long-Term Plan season!Think ‘festive season’, but more logos than baubles and more strategy documents than greeting cards. What Long-Term Plan season has given us this year, however, is an opportunity to come to the table with a bunch of our community capacity-building whānau around the region to raise our collective voice. Think carol singing, but with more verses.The WWP are proud to have worked collaboratively with Community Waikato, Creative Waikato, Go Eco, Seed Waikato, and HMS...

My Long Term Plan includes food

By Dr Amber HammillLocal councils might not seem like the most obvious actors in the food system, but both city and district councils can have substantial impacts on local food environments. Councils, after all, have influence over where food is grown and produced, how and where it can be prepared and sold, what happens to food waste, as well as the food councils are responsible for buying and selling themselves.Right now, councils around the region are consulting on their long term plans.A...

Hauraki Opportunity: Research Project Underway

We want to hear from you if you live, work, or play in Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki or Matamata-Piako, from Mount Moehau to Mount Te Aroha, across the Hauraki Plains, and up to the Wharekawa Coast.We want to know what you think we should ask everyone about.Click on the link to take the 2-minute survey now, and share your whakaaro—your thoughts—to be in the loop when the survey comes out later this year....

Submission of the Waikato Wellbeing Project to the WEL Energy Trust 2024/25 Annual Plan

Ma te whakaatu, ka mohio         By discussion, comes understandingMa te mohio, ka marama           By understanding, comes lightMa te marama, ka matau           By light, comes wisdomMa te matau, ka ora                  By wisdom, comes wellbeing 1. IntroductionThis su...

Hamiilton City Council Waste Minimisation Strategy Submission

The annual $50,000 fund is for waste minimisation projects that involve or benefit the Hamilton community, and lead to long-term waste reduction and behaviour change – in line with the vision of Hamilton City Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Strategy.Our Submission: In addition to national and waste reduction targets and as part of its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs ), the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP- Waikato Wellbeing Project | Waikato Wel...

WEL Energy Trust Funding Update

Since its inception, the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP) has been honoured to be supported by a broad range of people and organisations, both financially and in-kind. Amongst these, the Waikato Regional Council (WRC) and WEL Energy Trust developed the original concept for the project, and the WEL Energy Trust is our most significant financial supporter. This relationship is captured in a Partnership and Funding Agreement covering the first 5 years of the project. The agreement was signed by the ...

Hunger and Poverty (SDGs 1,2)

An update by Dr Amber Hammill, Kai Challenge ActivatorOver the past few months we have been working alongside Community Waikato, GoEco, Creative Waikato and Trust Waikato to put together a community event, ‘Thriving Tomorrow: Navigating Resilience’. This event arose in response to reflections on a(nother) year of climate-related disruption, and the impacts of these events on communities. As we said in the event invitation, in reflecting on these events, “we are reminded of the power that e...

Looking After and Restoring our Awa (SDG 6)

The WWP has been proud to support two amazing initiatives which are working to clean up and restore the Waikato River, especially between Ngaruawahia and Kemureti | Cambridge. Both Deep Dive Division and the Waikato Kaitiaki River Sweepers are bringing together the community to restore the mauri of the mighty Waikato River which is at the heart of our region. Their complementary skills mean that we can fully support the shared vision of Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato which is:“where a hea...

Lots of Little Fires

An update by Lead Social Innovator, Joe Wilson...

Te Ara Poutama- Hauraki Opportunity

We have now partnered with Huber Social, Te Tara o te Whai (the Hauraki Primary Health Organisation (PHO)), TCDC, Hauraki and Matamata-Piako District Councils to deliver in co-construction with the people of Hauraki a repeatable Wellbeing Measurement and Management System that measures what matters to them, so that their needs, aspirations, and priorities can be further understood and evidenced, and so that important choices regarding the present and future wellbeing of the region can be made wi...