Latest News & Resources
Growing Food in the Southern Lakes - September Edition: Digging in for Spring
Growing food in the Southern Lakes is a shared effort. Sixteen growers, foragers, and food-lovers from SLKC and local food growers are pooling what actually works in our climate, so beginners can start with confidence.
For September, the focus is spring garden prep, planting out your seedlings, caring for fruit trees and berries, and deciding whether a tunnel house is right for you. We'll also cover which spring weeds to pull (and which to eat), plus a foraging feature on plantain and simple pantry condiments from kitchen scraps.
Better Business: University of Otago partners with Wao Summit to reimagine the future of business.
Wao General Manager Monique Kelly explores what it means to build a successful business in a world where change and disruption are increasingly part of the operating environment, and why Wao is proud to welcome the University of Otago as presenting partner of Better Business Day at this year's Summit.
Te Taiao Day at Wao Summit 2026: Our Future Is Connected.
As we head towards the 2026 Wao Summit, Wao General Manager Monique Kelly takes a step back to look at the bigger picture and why understanding the connections between climate, nature, human health, energy and the resources we depend on matters more than ever.
Better Building Day at Wao Summit 2026: Building for the next hundred years.
What does it mean to build for the next hundred years? Better Building project lead Olivia explores the thinking behind this year’s programme and how the choices we make today can create more resilient buildings, communities and places for generations to come.
Food Resilience Tour at Wao Summit 2026: A day inside our local food system.
How resilient is the food system that feeds our region? This year’s Wao Summit Food Resilience Tour takes you behind the scenes to meet the growers, researchers and community leaders already working to create a stronger, more local and more connected food future.
Better Business Day at Wao Summit 2026: Equipping Businesses to Shape the Future
In a world where change is constant, the businesses that thrive won't be the ones that simply react - they'll be the ones that actively shape what's next. That's the driving philosophy behind Better Business Day at Wao Summit 2026.
Growing Food in the Southern Lakes - August Edition: Seeds, Spuds & Scavengers
Growing food in the Southern Lakes is a shared effort. Sixteen growers, foragers, and food-lovers from SLKC and local food growers are pooling what actually works in our climate, so beginners can start with confidence.
For August, we're covering seed raising, potato varieties, and what to sow and plant out this month. We'll show you how to garden alongside Central Otago's rabbits, from plant choices to fencing, how to identify chickweed and what to do with it, and share two recipes: sauerkraut and yoghurt flatbreads.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - July Edition: raised beds, manures and perennial propagation
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. This month we discuss how to build a raised garden bed, using animal manures, propagating perennial plants and seed raising basics.
A Fantastic Evening of Local Food Connections
Wao's Green Drinks event, Growing Local Food Networks, brought together growers, foragers, hunters, fishers, preservers, bakers, and food enthusiasts to explore three community-led food resilience concepts: Carb Club, Seedling Co-op, and Kai Connect. The evening sparked strong interest, new connections, and enthusiasm for strengthening local food networks across the Upper Clutha.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - June Edition: build a compost, improve your soil, plant garlic.
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. This month we discuss how to setup a compost, improve your soil and grow garlic.
Growing Local Food Networks Focus of Upcoming Wao Green Drinks Event
The Green Drinks event will explore how distributed local food network models could play an important role in strengthening resilience across the region.
Free Webinar Series Tackles Waste, Resilience and the Future of Construction
The initiative comes at a critical time for the Queenstown Lakes District, where construction and demolition waste now accounts for approximately 34% of all waste sent to landfill equating to around 309 tonnes every week.
Growing Food in Southern Lakes - May Edition: Build Soil, Save Seeds, Prepare for Spring
Growing food in the Southern Lakes just got easier. Fifteen local growers are teaming up with Wao each month to share what actually works in our climate, helping beginners get started with confidence. Up first: Build Soil, Save Seeds, Prepare for Spring.
Better Transport: Introducing Nat Simmonds
We’re excited to welcome Nat Simmonds to the team, leading our Ride for Change programme bringing even more energy to active transport in Wānaka.
Critical Materials and Why They Matter
At every step, fossil fuel is embedded in our industrial system. It is both a critical material in itself (think plastics and fertiliser) as well as an enabler for other critical materials. From the diggers getting the raw materials out of the ground, to the ships and trucks used to transport it to get refined, almost everything we touch has been shaped by oil.
Wao Green Drinks Recorded Session: Resilience Response with Nathan Surendran
Recorded Session: Global instability is no longer a distant threat, it’s already reshaping life here in Aotearoa. In this recorded Wao Green Drinks session, Nathan Surendran breaks down what’s coming and, more importantly, how communities like ours can respond with clarity, confidence, and practical action.
Understanding the Energy System We Built Our World On, and What Comes Next.
We’ve built our modern world on something we rarely stop to think about - energy. Cheap, abundant, and reliable energy has shaped how we live, move, build, and grow. But the conditions that created that world are changing.
Fuel, Food, Climate and the Fragility of Our System
Fuel, food, and climate are colliding in ways that are exposing just how fragile our current system is. This piece breaks down what’s happening, why it matters for Aotearoa New Zealand, and, most importantly, what we can do to build resilience in the face of growing uncertainty.
Wānaka organisations unite to strengthen community resilience amid global uncertainty.
A cross-sector group of community leaders, businesses, and local government representatives gathered at the Wānaka Community Hub last week to discuss how global instability
Wao Aotearoa launches Friday Bike Bus.
We have launched a new weekly Bike Bus in Albert Town as part of our wider Ride for Change programme — a six-month initiative designed to shift how students travel to school while reducing transport emissions across the Upper Clutha.