world wetland day | Matuku Link https://matukulink.org.nz Closing the gap - Linking untouched kauri forest, a river valley, wetlands and the sea. Fri, 30 Jan 2026 03:19:34 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 World Wetlands Day Festival 2026 https://matukulink.org.nz/events/world-wetlands-day-festival-2026/ Tue, 05 Nov 2024 23:34:12 +0000 https://matukulink.org.nz/?post_type=mec-events&p=506843 Celebrate World Wetland Day this year at Matuku Link! Our annual Wetland Festival will be on Sunday 1st of February 2026. With free family activities every hour including guided tours on bugs, birds, eels, and plants, and local conservation groups to chat to, you will have plenty to do all day. While you are here, […]]]> Celebrate World Wetland Day this year at Matuku Link!

Our annual Wetland Festival will be on Sunday 1st of February 2026.

With free family activities every hour including guided tours on bugs, birds, eels, and plants, and local conservation groups to chat to, you will have plenty to do all day. While you are here, look for our local pāteke (brown teal), spot a secretive spotless crake (pūweto), and keep an eye out for our cryptic namesake, the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern). See how much Matuku Link has changed since its beginnings in 2016, with over eight thousand volunteer hours spent annually improving the place, building accessible boardwalks, and a Wetland Education Centre.

There will be an all-day market with gifts, food, art, crafts, information, and entertainment.

Stallholders in 2026 include  Auckland Zoo, Arataki Visitor Centre, Forest & Bird Waitākere, Birds New Zealand, The Entomological Society, Whitebait Connection, Kauri Rescue, Auckland Council Biodiversity, Pest Free Waitākere Ranges Alliance (PFWRA), and more.

Enjoy homemade treats, BBQ (vegan and non-vegan), drinks including fresh coffee, all available for purchase. We’re proud to make this a low-waste event, using composting, recycling, and reusable items wherever possible.

We would love you to join us on this special day. All free and all welcome. See you there for a fun filled family day!

Sunday 1st February 2026 10 am – 3 pm

111 Bethells Road, Te Henga/Bethells, West Auckland.

Annalily & trustees Chad Wilkie, Dale Bainbridge, John Fawcett, John Staniland, John Sumich and all the volunteers!

]]> Wetland Festival https://matukulink.org.nz/events/wetland-festival/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 01:54:59 +0000 https://matukulink.org.nz/?post_type=mec-events&p=503170 Join us for a conservation festival-like atmostphere with stalls of other conservation organisations, guided walks, hands-on activities like bug spotting, bird banding and water quality testing. Groups like Forest & Bird, Auckland Zoo, Conservation Volunteers NZ, SeaWeek, Whitebait Connection, BirdsNewZealand, the Entomological Society and many more will provide info, freebies and fun. With local produce […]]]> Join us for a conservation festival-like atmostphere with stalls of other conservation organisations, guided walks, hands-on activities like bug spotting, bird banding and water quality testing. Groups like Forest & Bird, Auckland Zoo, Conservation Volunteers NZ, SeaWeek, Whitebait Connection, BirdsNewZealand, the Entomological Society and many more will provide info, freebies and fun. With local produce and our famous fundraising bbq and cake stall there, you’ll certainly have a jam packed day. See our eels gobble up their food, enjoy a leisurely walk on our new boardwalk and bridge or listen to the birdsong of fantails and tui. You might spot a kereru, and perhaps even spy on our resident pateke or the rare and elusive namesake Matuku (bittern) if you are extremely lucky.

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