Tauranga Shines Again At The 2025 Parks Awards
Tauranga is proving itself a leader in parks and recreation, taking home multiple honours at the Recreation Aotearoa Parks Awards held tonight in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The Parks Awards celebrate the people, projects, and places that positively contribute to Aotearoa New Zealand's parks, play, and open spaces. Following on from its success in last year's awards, Tauranga City Council claimed two category wins and two merit awards — dominating three of the five awards categories.
The Playspace of the Year award, split by project scale, saw both titles awarded to Tauranga City Council. Te Papa Tākaro o Matua Iwi was named Playspace of the Year (under $500,000) for refurbishing an outdated local park in Matua, Tauranga. Upgraded equipment and inclusive design created a space where all locals can play safely. Judges highlighted the project's strength in engaging local tamariki — especially the scout group — whose ideas helped shape a space that's both meaningful and fun.
Tauranga's Waterfront Playground was awarded Playspace of the Year (Over $500,000). Judges described this project as a standout example of innovative urban renewal, grounded in culture, equity, and environmental care. The former car park is now a modern recreational destination for Tauranga residents and visitors alike.
Tauranga City Council also earned merit awards for Waitaha Reserve in the Playspace of the Year (Over $500,000 category), and for Kōpūrererua Valley in the Healthy Parks Award category.
Kieran Smith, Parks, Play and Open Spaces Programme Manager for Recreation Aotearoa said, 'The Parks Awards are a way to recognise those places, spaces and people that help New Zealanders to experience our natural playground.'
Smith said the awards also highlight the broad benefits parks and recreation provide. 'As our cities grow, parks aren't just places to play — they're spaces for connection and local pride. They attract visitors and support wellbeing. It's great to see Tauranga projects continuing to set a high benchmark.'
Alison Law, Manager Spaces and Places for Tauranga City Council, said,' As Tauranga continues to grow and we welcome more people into our city, it's important we maintain investment. We know these spaces allow people to come together, play, and be active. We're delighted to continue to be recognised nationally for these spaces we're providing for our community.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Smith Construction's Mangawhai home sweeps Master Builders awards
'The accompanying boat shed cleverly includes guest accommodation and a tiki bar, further enhancing the holiday appeal.' The house was lauded as a 'celebration of outdoor living'. Noted was its outdoor bath area, said to feel 'peaceful and intentional' and bring 'a quiet sense of retreat'. Smith Construction in Mangawhai has picked up five awards at the Master Builders House of the Year awards. Photo / Sam Hartnett Smith Construction owner Nick Smith said they had a hard deadline of just over two years from August 2022 to create the owners' dream home. The owners had a vision for the property in which they wanted access to the outdoors no matter the weather, he said. It took just over two years to complete this home in Mangawhai, which Smith Construction aimed to tie in with its natural surroundings. Photo / Sam Hartnett Part of the judges' praise of the house was the build's ability to tie in the exquisite surroundings the Mangawhai area was known for. Smith said it was surreal to not only pick up one award but excel in multiple areas. 'We don't doubt the calibre of the home and the talent of our team, they are definitely worthy of winning those awards,' he said. 'But we didn't go with the expectation of winning everything.' He said every single part of the home was executed to a high standard. Smith felt it was great recognition to have done so well. He credited a team effort from the owners, architects, engineers and subcontractors. 'It evolved like any good architectural project. Everybody involved had input into the development of that.' There was even the work of an arboriculturist who ensured the existing landscape, such as the pōhutukawa, was cared for. They spent time with Smith on-site while civil and foundation works happened to ensure the trees were protected. Spring water was on the property and needed to be redirected so they could build. This year's Master Builder awards described the "exceptionally executed" home in Bream Tall, Mangawhai Heads as grounded and elegant. Photo / Sam Hartnett Smith said it was tricky building within a property that was 75% landscape, but once the house was finished they saw the true impact. 'The home was always designed to nestle into the landscape,' he said. Smith said his favourite element of the home was the 'first impression' when reaching the end of the driveway. 'It's understated elegance, that home.' This home in Mangawhai took home five awards at this years 2025 Master Builders House of the Year for Auckland, Northland, and Coromandel. Photo / Sam Hartnett Meeting the hard deadline was achieved through good, clear communication, he said. The clients wanted time to settle into their home and prepare for their daughter's wedding. They had to have monthly planning meetings with all involved and they tried to plan six months ahead. 'It just ensured there were no surprises and everything,' Smith said. Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Southland's wilding conifers: Concerns battle is being lost, amid funding uncertainty
In late July, the Government announced an extra $3 million over three years for wilding pines controls in Molesworth and Mackenzie Basin areas, funded by the International Visitor Levy, adding to the $12m already allocated this financial year. Industry group Federated Farmers' pest animal and weed spokesman, Richard Dawkins, said wilding pines posed an 'ecological crisis' – and while the funding was welcomed, it fell short of what was needed. 'The battle against wilding conifers is being lost,' he said. 'Some funding has been allocated over the years, but it's been patchy and nowhere near enough to tackle the problem properly.' Southland Regional Council councillors were told this week the spread of Douglas fir in particular was accelerating across the region, and current investment and control methods were 'inadequate' to keep pace with the scale of spread. Environment Southland's report author warned that the cost of controls increased exponentially over time, once trees matured and seeded. 'Without further intervention, vast areas of northern Southland could be overtaken within 30 years, resulting in irreversible environmental and economic loss,' it said. 'Wilding conifers are spreading at a scale and speed that outpaces current control budgets and operational efforts can contain.' Biosecurity New Zealand co-ordinated the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme with landowners, industry groups and councils. Manager Sherman Smith said it was working to manage a dozen problematic species across 42 areas nationwide that threatened biodiversity. 'They form a monoculture of these unwanted and pretty much useless trees,' Smith said. 'They shade out all the native plants and animals, they increase the fire risk warning because wilding pines are quite flammable and there are no fire breaks, so they can cause some significant increase in fire risk. 'They can also reduce the amount of water that is going into streams, particularly in those drier areas of the country, which has some flow-on effects in terms of irrigation and hydro generation.' Smith said they also had effects for tourism. 'Obviously, it has quite a landscape impact; it cloaks a lot of the iconic New Zealand areas in these forests that are exotic, so collectively those impacts are worth billions [in costs] to New Zealand if we allow these things to keep spreading.' He said the programme prioritised areas, then developed plans with regional councils and landowners that contractors helped implement. 'I think at peak, we had about 500 contractors on the ground. 'It's a little bit less than that at the moment, obviously with their funding being a little bit lower than it was at peak.' More than $150m of government money has been committed to the programme since it was launched in 2016, with another $33m from landowners and communities. The Government established a baseline funding model of $10m in 2023/2024, excluding top-ups, which deferred some work and prompted concerns among Southland officials. Smith said there had been some success in control areas where seeding trees were removed, then seedlings were controlled in three-yearly cycles before they coned. 'We've got some really good success stories that are getting to the end of the journey and really at a point that we can hand back the management to the landowner to manage as part of their day-to-day farming operations or land management work.' However, he said there was more work to do. 'There are still some big challenges in front of us,' he said. 'We've done the first round of control across about three-quarters of our known infestations, so there's a quarter out there that we haven't started into yet, and obviously, the gains that we have made, we've got to keep on that maintenance to lock in those benefits that we've achieved.' Smith asked farmers to check that there were no 'problem-tree species' in their shelter belts and small woodlots, which were two major sources of the trees. – RNZ
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
How Waikato potter Janet Smith turned a woolshed into a vibrant art community
Roto-o-Rangi potter Janet Smith has spent her childhood and working life on dairy farms. She started pottery classes in the mid-80s. 'Back then, I made thrown pieces to replace the endless bowls broken by our large family,' Smith said. 'My neighbours decided I needed a pottery and
