Volunteer Events

Microplastic Lab

Day: Wednesday, 14th October
Time: 2pm-3pm
Location: WAI Office, 185 Riverbank Road, Wānaka

Update: This event is now full, but please feel free to email getinvolved@waiwanaka.nz if you would like to join the waitlist.

Join us at WAI HQ for a hands-on microplastics lab session.

Discover our A Teeny Tiny Truth project and learn how our citizen science programme is helping us better understand microplastic pollution in local waterways.

During the session, you’ll have the chance to examine real microplastic samples under microscopes, explore the differences between fibres and fragments, and learn how scientists identify and classify them.

No experience is needed, just curiosity and an interest in learning more about microplastics and using microscopes.

Spaces are limited, so be sure to secure your spot by registering here.

Beach Clean-up: Wānaka Lakefront

Day: Thursday, 22nd October
Registration: 9:55am
Time: 10am-11:30am
Location: Wānaka Lakefront (look for the WAI flags)

What to bring: 

– Gloves 
– Weather appropriate clothes 
– Sturdy footwear 
– Friends, co-workers and whānau 

Join us for a beach clean-up event at the Wānaka Lakefront.

A great way to get involved in citizen science as well as protecting Lake Wānaka.

Rubbish will be sorted and recorded in the national Litter Intelligence database by Sustainable Coastlines.

All welcome. Tamariki / children must be accompanied by an adult.

Beach Clean-up: Hāwea

Day: Saturday, 14th November
Registration: 9:55am
Time: 10am-11:30am
Location: Hāwea Boat Ramp (look for the WAI flags)

What to bring:

– Gloves 
– Weather appropriate clothes 
– Sturdy footwear 
– Friends, co-workers and whānau 

Come along to our beach clean-up at the Hāwea Boat Ramp and help keep Lake Hāwea’s lakeshore clean and healthy.

Together, we’ll remove litter from the beach and surrounding areas while gathering valuable data through citizen science.

Rubbish collected will be sorted and recorded as part of Sustainable Coastlines’ Litter Intelligence programme.

All welcome. Tamariki / children must be accompanied by an adult.

Community Stream Monitoring: Bullock Creek

Day: Saturday, 21st November
Time: 9am-11am
Location: Bullock Creek, meet next to Speight’s Ale House in Wānaka (look for the WAI flags)

What to bring:

– Gumboots (if you have them, we can also provide waders)
– Weather appropriate clothes 
– Water bottle
– Friends, co-workers and whānau 

Join us and a community of citizen scientists for a hands-on morning learning how to assess the health of one of our local urban streams and contribute to local environmental data.
Morning tea will be provided.

Community-based monitoring empowers local people to collect valuable environmental data. During this session, you’ll learn how to measure and record a range of stream health indicators using NIWA’s Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK) protocols, gaining practical skills that can be used to monitor freshwater ecosystems. Together with WAI, ORC, and Fish & Game staff members, you’ll learn about, measure, and record indicators that reflect stream health.

No experience necessary, everyone is welcome!
Please sign up here to confirm your attendance, as we have space for a maximum of 12 volunteers.

All welcome. Tamariki / children must be accompanied by an adult.

Out on the Roto
Visual Clarity Monitoring

Day: Get in touch
Time: 5pm
Location: Waterfall Creek

What to bring: 

– Water bottle
– Warm clothes

Join the team as we head out onto the lake with our secchi disks!

We want our community to be educated and aware of what’s happening in our lakes. By rallying together and gathering data, we’ll strengthen our sense of place and grab the attention of researchers who can help us out. The more data we have, the better we can protect one of our most precious resources.

If you’d like to come along, please email getinvolved@waiwanaka.nz

Photo Monitoring at the Boardwalk

Day: Any day, we aim for one photo per month
Time: Daylight hours
Location: On the grassy knoll just before the Te Ara Wānaka boardwalk

The WAI Wānaka Community Timelapse (originally a Fluker Post) is located next to the Te Ara Wānaka Boardwalk (past the Dinosaur Park).

WAI Wānaka facilitated the installation of the first ever Fluker Post in Aotearoa!

The Community Timelapse is a physical wooden post that acts as a photo-point, installed at a strategic location in the environment. There is no camera left on the post. Instead, people walking past use their phone to take a photo of the given scene, scan the QR code to navigate to the Community Timelapse page and upload the image they’ve just captured.

Upload your photo using this form and begin your journey as a citizen scientist.