More than 400 EcoFest events are expected to take place in next years’ third, Auckland-wide EcoFest with at least 100 in and around West Auckland, facilitated by the original founders of the event, EcoMatters.
True to the organisation’s local festival goals of 13 years ago, the regional EcoFest is all about sparking sustainable behaviour, fostering a love of nature and raising environmental awareness. Waiheke Resources Trust, Kaipātiki Project and the Beautification Trust gradually joined with EcoMatters to offer Tāmaki Makaurau much wider access to four weeks of fun and education.
As in previous years, a range of enterprises, charities and individuals will set up stalls, creative demonstrations, open gardens, studio or shop doors with a range of free and paying events. In 2025, EcoFest will run from March 22 to April 22.
2024 saw Aucklanders take part in night-time bike raves, zip-line adventures, Fair Food sorting, workshops on edible mushroom growing, butter making, landscaping and even climate anxiety. Attendees got the chance to try new plant-based and organic foods and condiments, and even learnt to draw flowers and plants with finesse.
Next year is set to offer many of these popular events as well as the fifth Street Art Bike Challenge, a new harvest festival, a rammed earth wall-building demonstration and book launch, and much more.
As organisers busy themselves with preparations for another vibrant event, they recognise that environmentally reckless political decisions both in Aotearoa and the world means our natural spaces, our whenua, needs more protection than ever. They believe the festival is the perfect public antidote to worrying global trends and a place to feel positive, proactive and hopeful in our West Auckland backyard.
“EcoMatters has been supporting great and necessary mahi for our natural environment for 22 years and it’s absolutely wonderful to see this festival grow into a collaborative project with like-minded partners,” says EcoMatters CEO Carla Gee.
“At the same time as we celebrate the good, we can’t ignore that this a challenging time in history - a time to amplify our care for Papatūānuku in Tāmaki Makaurau. Being part of EcoFest is a fun and meaningful way to do this, so we encourage people to think about supporting the environment and their communities by joining in the fun. Ultimately, we can protect nature and tackle climate change if we all do it together.”
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