News

2025 Post Graduate Scholarship Award

The Coastal Restoration Trust’s committee is very pleased to announce the winner of the Coastal Restoration Trust Post Graduate Scholarship for 2025 is Natalie Prinz, a PhD candidate at Waikato University.

The aim of Natalie’s research is to determine if tuangi, New Zealand cockles, can help restore degraded estuaries.

Tuangi, Austrovenus stutchburyi can help reduce the mud content of estuaries and enhance oxygen flux into, and ammonium and phosphate fluxes out of, sediment, which supports estuarine health.

Natalie will hold a two-day wānanga with local iwi, hapū, scientists and the local community to increase awareness of her research findings. She will also organise a Restoration Education Day open to the public of Tauranga to share her findings.

Natalie will share her research with the Coastal Restoration Trust, providing updates for our newsletter and will also present her findings at a future conference.

Congratulations Natalie! We look forward to hearing from you later this year.

Posted: 19 May 2025

Our Coast - Tō Mātou Takutai Autumn Newsletter is out now

Our Autumn newsletter has been sent to out covering our 2025 Ūawa conference and is full of interesting articles.

If you haven’t received it, contact [Enable JavaScript to view protected content] or check your spam folder.

Posted: 28 April 2025

Ūawa Tolaga Bay Conference 2025

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the 2025 Coastal Restoration Trust Conference: Taihuanui - A Bountiful Coast.

Join us at Uawanui a Ruamatua Tolaga Bay from 12 -14 March 2025 at the historic Reynolds Hall as our venue.

Also enjoy marae accommodation at Hauiti marae and the hospitality of the local iwi, Te Aitanga a Hauiti.

Click HERE for more information on the conference website.

Click HERE to be taken directly to the conference registration form.

Posted: 19 November 2024

Hinetamatea Planting Day

The whole community joined in to help with a day’s planting at Hinetamatea Marae north of Ūawa Tolaga Bay where the 2025 CRT conference will be held.

The planting done compromised of sea salt tolerant plants as well as sand binders to aid in stabilizing the dunes in front of the Marae and Urupaa.

Also share in the excellent news that Alison Waru has secured funding to build a nursery to grow plants for the East Coast.

Thanks to Oriana Rojas - Gisborne District Council -for supplying Pingao, Wiwi and Sand Coprosma.

Thanks to Mere Tamanui - Ngutu Kaka Trust - for the Toitoi, Tauhinu, Karo and Mahoe.

And thanks also to the Hinetamatea Marae Committee and whanau for their foresight in wanting to try this method of protection from sea level rise for the precious Marae and Urupaa.

Posted: 19 November 2024

Pīngao & Toheroa Trophy Award 2024

The Pīngao & Toheroa Award is not given out annually. It is to celebrate the exceptional contributions of an individual to coastal restoration only when someone of very high calibre comes to our attention. Recipients of this award automatically become honorary members of the Trust.

This year however, the P&T Award went to a couple for the first time. Graham and Lyn Pearson compliment each other so well, and do such excellent work as a team, that they qualified for this honour together.

Graham and Lyn have been the heartbeat of the Whanganui community for years, and attended CRT conferences since 2011.

It is through their efforts that the Castlecliff Coast Care Group has gone from strength to strength. They work with university students, both local and international, to help with their research. Young school kids get invaluable education through planting days with the group, and each patch has a signboard to honour the class that planted it.

Graham and Lyn continue to take on wattle and replant at their own pace. They arrange community driftwood sculpture competitions and will always be there to present evidence based arguments if they don’t agree with proposals for Castlecliff.

They have always had enlightening and engaging presentations in the regional roundups at conference, which focus on a learning point for the year.

Their immense achievements in their community and coastal area makes Graham and Lyn the perfect double recipients of the Pīngao and Toheroa Award, and the Trust was thrilled to present them with the beautiful trophy that was designed and carved by James te Tuhi.

First image: Previous P&T recipient Jason Roberts, presenting Graham and Lyn Pearson with the trophy.

Second image: CRT Chair Laura Shaft, Lyn Pearson, Jason Roberts, Graham Pearson.

Photo credit to Simon Hoyle, Southlight Studios.

Posted: 4 April 2024