Around the motu

Recreation Aotearoa’s Green Pavlova conference highlights the overlapping and intersecting fields of parks, play, and open spaces. This year it took place on 13-14 May at Claudelands Park, Kirikiriroa Hamilton.

Recreation Aotearoa’s annual Parks Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the shaping of our parks, play and open spaces across the motu. Award winners for 2026 were presented on the evening of Thursday 14 May.

The new ‘mega-ministry’ MCERT is set to become operational on 1 July, and before then the Ministry for the Environment or MfE, logo above, will have been formally disestablished after 39 years as a significant cog in the machinery of the public service.

Peter Sergel held the pencil on development of the globally recognised work done at the Hamilton Gardens across four decades. Now a movie titled The Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens has faithfully documented the evolution of this ‘museum of humanity’.

Looking for insights into all things housing in Aotearoa New Zealand? Look no further - the CHA Hub, officially launched in March, offers access to in-depth articles, case studies, videos, podcasts and research - courtesy of Community Housing Aotearoa.

Unitec graduate Lyrck Maiava has been making a mark in the world of play theory and decolonisation, and was named best student presenter at the Architectural Science Association (ASA) conference held at the University of Melbourne in December.

The matching of Peter Sergel, creator of the Hamilton Gardens, and photographer Grant Sheehan has resulted in a not-to-miss film soon showing as part of the Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival: The Time-Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens

Given we live on a planet being buffeted at regular intervals by disruptive turmoil and converging challenges, the determination of Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy to prepare new pathways through permaculture is inspirational. Check out their fundraising campaign.

The public realm design for Te Ngākau is guided by mana whenua’s aspirations to give te taiao (the natural world) primacy, embracing the Māori world view which positions us within nature, a state of taupuhipuhi: symbiosis with all flora and fauna.

This year’s NZPI conference - NZPIC26 - featured a bountiful range of award presentations, keynote speakers, breakout sessions and a precursor of the level of political debate we’ll be hearing more of as Election campaigns gather pace during the year.

Cinema-goers and popcorn-lovers have a treat to look forward to from later this month, with the nationwide roll-out of the 15th Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival - which coincides with Resene’s 80th birthday.

It’s no understatement to characterise Te Ngākau Civic Square as a ‘new beginning’. Citizens of Wellington flocked to the revitalised open space and to the drawcard re-opening of the central library Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui on Saturday 14 March. See more photos here.

The opportunity for voicing concerns about the Coalition Government’s proposed new planning system was taken up by New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora on 12 March via a compelling oral submission. Now comes the ‘wait and see’.

Finlay Thompson, of data science company Dragonfly, gets to hover across an exceptionally broad range of data-driven projects. It’s work focused on “doing good with data” and providing insights into landscape impacts and biodiversity challenges.

In its submission on the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill the Natural Hazards Commission has made strong arguments for the role that effective land use planning makes to reducing and managing the recurrent risks posed by natural hazard events and the effects of climate change.

A valued aspect of being practitioners in professions like landscape architecture is the enjoyment of taking part in activities that bring light to completed projects. In January the Auckland branch of NZILA organised Te Rimutahi, Raumati Kōrero, a designers talk at Te Rimutahi, to do just that.

The green light given to the Rangitoopuni Riverhead Development is envisioned as a catalyst for iwi-led development and for culturally grounded, environmentally responsible projects on Treaty Settlement land.

Wellington-based writer and editor Susette Goldsmith has produced two companion works that ask important questions about the adequacy of our defence of trees: Tree Sense and Capital Trees.

The first hill to climb on responding to the proposed new Planning and Natural Environment bills has been completed by more than 1300 individuals and organisations: The Submission. Next up is the opportunity to speak to the Environment Committee about why landscape matters!

With the deadline for submissions to the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill set to fall on Friday 13 February, LAA looks for insights from the planning legislation pathways in Australia.