Celebrate Our Gold Star Award with an Open Week at Matuku Link 

Matuku Link has been recognised on the world stage, winning a Gold Star Award at the Wetland Link International Awards – one of only three wetland centres in the world to be given this award! We’re celebrating with a week of open days from the 22nd to the 30th November with fun activities, daily tours, and informative displays. 

Discover our expo showcase, sharing the story of how a small community of volunteers transformed an old barn and wetland into an award-winning education centre. Learn about our ongoing conservation work – restoring habitats, propagating native plants, and protecting threatened species like the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern), banded kokopū, and pāteke (brown teal).  

Enjoy a cuppa and home baking at our pop-up café, browse our gift shop, and connect with the dedicated volunteers and supporters who make this all possible. 

Daily tours – Guided Wetland Tours at 11am & 1pm ($5 per person)
Weekend extras – Free eel talk at 10:30am on Saturdays and Sundays. Local artist Derek March will be talking about his impressive 35 meter long mural Tuna Heke on 22nd and 23rd November at 12.30pm as part of the Waitākere Open Studios.

Whether you’re a nature lover, photographer, or simply curious, this is your chance to experience our hidden wetland sanctuary up close, celebrate community-led conservation in action, and be part of protecting Aotearoa’s last remaining wetlands. 

Get tickets for the guided walks here: https://matukulink.org.nz/product/wetland-tour/

We hope to see you there! Team Matuku Link

Celebrate Our Gold Star Award with an Open Week at Matuku Link 

Matuku Link has been recognised on the world stage, winning a Gold Star Award at the Wetland Link International Awards – one of only three wetland centres in the world to be given this award! We’re celebrating with a week of open days from the 22nd to the 30th November with fun activities, daily tours, and informative displays. 

Discover our expo showcase, sharing the story of how a small community of volunteers transformed an old barn and wetland into an award-winning education centre. Learn about our ongoing conservation work – restoring habitats, propagating native plants, and protecting threatened species like the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern), banded kokopū, and pāteke (brown teal).  

Enjoy a cuppa and home baking at our pop-up café, browse our gift shop, and connect with the dedicated volunteers and supporters who make this all possible. 

Daily tours – Guided Wetland Tours at 11am & 1pm ($5 per person)
Weekend extras – Free eel talk at 10:30am on Saturdays and Sundays. Local artist Derek March will be talking about his impressive 35 meter long mural Tuna Heke on 22nd and 23rd November at 12.30pm as part of the Waitākere Open Studios.

Whether you’re a nature lover, photographer, or simply curious, this is your chance to experience our hidden wetland sanctuary up close, celebrate community-led conservation in action, and be part of protecting Aotearoa’s last remaining wetlands. 

Get tickets for the guided walks here: https://matukulink.org.nz/product/wetland-tour/

Matuku Link, a community-led wetland restoration project in Te Henga, West Auckland, has been recognised on the global stage, winning one of only three Gold Star Awards in the world at the Wetland Link International (WLI) Star Wetland Centre Awards, announced during the UN Wetlands COP in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The Star Awards are the world’s only accreditation recognising excellence in wetland education and visitor engagement. Matuku Link joins centres in Australia and Hong Kong as the only Gold Star winners, selected from 39 recognised centres worldwide.

Judges praised Matuku Link’s volunteer-led model, strong educational focus, and deep community roots. “Matuku Link has achieved something extraordinary,” says Connor Walsh, Chair of the Awards Judging Panel. “They’ve shown that a small local centre, powered by passion and purpose, can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best.”

With only 9% of New Zealand’s wetlands remaining, Matuku Link is working to shift perceptions from “smelly swamps” to “biodiversity beauties.” Wetlands are vital ecosystems, filtering water, storing carbon, and providing habitat for rare species like the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern), tuna kuwharuwharu (longfin eel), and pāteke (brown teal).

Founded in 2016 after a $2.04 million fundraising campaign, Matuku Link is a charitable trust run by five trustees and powered by a dedicated team of volunteers. Since purchasing its wetland and bush property in Te Henga, the group has transformed an old barn into a purpose-built Wetland Education Centre, constructed two native plant nurseries, and with support from Jobs for Nature, created accessible boardwalks and trails through Auckland’s largest mainland wetland.

Every year, Matuku Link also sees over 1,000 school aged children visit through their education programme, school holiday programme, and family-oriented events. Matuku Link’s hands-on education programme focuses on real hands-on science within the wetland. By fostering curiosity and connection, Matuku Link is helping inspire the next generation of kaitiaki to protect New Zealand’s last remaining wetlands.

Matuku Link will be celebrating this achievement with guided tours and an exhibition on wetlands during open days on the 22nd –30th November. 

We thought being a finalist for the ‘Restoration’ category of the inaugural Mayoral Conservation Awards was already a great effort and quite an achievement. The other finalists in this category were:

• Restoration of Mangemangeroa Reserve
• Tararata stream
• Introduction of tieke to Shakespear

Very worthy opponents, with the people of Mangemangeroa in the business of restoration and planting for the past 22 years, and the team at Shakespear headed by one of our most recognizable rangers (Matt Maitland). The team at Tararata Stream were doing great work as well by looking after native fish, and working with artists and scientists in this South Auckland neighbourhood.

But the jury, in their wisdom, chose us as winner! Our project, not even two years old but run by experienced and dedicated people, with rare native birds and plants, and funded without council money: they must have liked some or all of it ;).  A huge thank you to Auckland Council and their sponsors for organizing this event and another huge thank you to the jury, among them Councillor Penny Hulse, Councillor Alf Filipaina, Glen Wilcox and local board members.

The awards were presented by Mayor Phil Goff and the keynote speaker Dr Michelle Dickinson (aka Nano Girl) shared her lively story of becoming a New Zealander and did an impressive job of convincing us of the need to get our next generation into science and conservation.

With the other category winners like Frazer Dale, Windy Hill Reserve, CatchIT Schools, Kaipatiki Project Nursery, EcoTrack and The Chewcard Project, Matuku Link was in very good company.

John Sumich got on stage, Colleen as our Rivercare representative and yours truly were there at the night, but Matuku Link couldn’t have done it without all of you! This is OUR Mayoral Award, let’s celebrate together at our upcoming second birthday party in November.

Annalily van den Broeke – secretary Matuku Link