Greening Taupō Day 2026

Events of this scale simply wouldn't be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and partners. Our heartfelt thanks go to Contact Energy, our major sponsor, whose funding covered the essential operational costs of the event and helped make the entire day possible.

A huge thank you also goes to Mitre 10 MEGA Taupō, who supplied all of the gloves and planting tools needed for the day, while also bringing along a fun interactive activity and some incredible prizes for attendees. Epro Ltd once again made an extraordinary contribution by helping to protect our ngahere through hunting invasive deer, then transforming that venison into 2,000 delicious sausages that they cooked and served throughout the day. The sausages were enjoyed in bread generously donated by Pak'nSave Taupō—feeding hundreds of volunteers and visitors while also supporting conservation and community fundraising.

A very special acknowledgement goes to Jude Messenger from The Bistro, whose dedication has become one of Greening Taupō Day's treasured traditions. Using rescued vegetables donated by Misfit Garden, Jude spent an entire day preparing and cooking hearty vegetable soup before returning the following day to serve it to the crowds. This was Jude's sixth Greening Taupō Day. Over the years, he has transformed an incredible 540 kilograms of rescued vegetables into more than 900 litres of delicious soup for our community.

Thank you also to Blue Light Taupō and Mitre 10 MEGA Taupō for providing the BBQs, and to Glopac for donating their genuinely biodegradable, plastic-free cups. After enjoying their soup, attendees could take their cups to the Taupō Community Gardens stand to plant native seeds to take home, while any leftover cups were happily recycled by MyNoke's worms—a wonderful example of the circular thinking that Greening Taupō Day celebrates.

Behind the scenes, preparations for the planting site had been underway for many months before the event. Thanks to the incredible mahi of the Taupō/Tūrangi Department of Conservation and Ngā Whenua Rāhui crews, together with Hutch, Andrew, Micah, and the Wicked Weeders, the team worked through rain and shine to prepare the site. They dug 4,000 planting holes, filled each one with vermicast supplied by MyNoke and delivered by Double H2Go and Double H Haulage, before carefully laying out 4,000 native plants generously sponsored by Trees That Count.

This year's planting connected with restoration areas established in previous years, continuing the transformation of what was once a weedy landscape into a thriving native buffer protecting the fragile geothermal ecosystem. Led by Greening Taupō in partnership with Taupō Golf Club, the project is another important step towards the long-term vision of creating a continuous wildlife corridor from Mount Tauhara to the Waikato River.

On the day itself, the Kids Greening Taupō Student Leadership Team, their whānau, and hundreds of other dedicated volunteers kept everything running smoothly. From parking and traffic management to registrations, planting, educational activities, food service, and countless jobs behind the scenes, their enthusiasm and willingness to help made the day the success it was.

Greening Taupō Day is far more than a planting event. It is a celebration of community, collaboration, and collective action—showing what is possible when people come together to care for the environment and inspire the next generation of kaitiaki.