Regenerating ecosystems. Restoring opportunity.
Te Whāngai Trust delivers large-scale native planting and maintenance projects across Tāmaki Makaurau - while creating real employment pathways for people facing barriers to sustainable workforce participation.
Our Story.
Te Whāngai Trust was established in 2007 by Gary and Adrienne Dalton.
It was inspired by their daughter Leigh, whose deep commitment to both people and the environment continues to shape the values that guide our work today.
In the early 2000s, Gary and Adrienne began restoring native bush on their farm, working alongside a Taskforce Green crew.
What started as a practical restoration project quickly became something more.
Working side by side — weeding, planting, and fencing — they saw firsthand the barriers many people faced in finding stable employment and long-term direction.
As Adrienne reflects:
“They had ability. What they lacked was someone to advocate for them and believe in their potential.”
A short time after, Leigh lost her life. Te Whāngai Trust was formally established soon after — not only to honour Leigh’s commitment to people and the environment, but to create meaningful pathways for others to rebuild confidence, skills, and opportunity through environmental work.
What began as informal restoration activity has grown into an organisation operating across Auckland and the Waikato — integrating native plant production, restoration projects, and structured employment pathways.
Our strategy.
To provide community-centred opportunity for people who are facing vulnerability through purposeful opportunities, respect and support, inspiring national change.
Our Purpose
A New Zealand empowered by the contributions of people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Our Vision
A sustainable Te Whāngai Trust that empowers the contributions of all people.
Our Mission
Whanaungatanga
Kaitiakitanga
Manaakitanga
Our Values
Prioritise the transition from dependency into self-reliance and wellbeing
Connect people to their place and the environment
Honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Our Principles
Our kaupapa
Te Whāngai means to nurture, to care for, to foster growth.
We exist to:
Provide meaningful, supported employment for people who have been excluded from the labour market.
Strengthen community connection to whenua and waterways.
Restore degraded ecosystems through high-quality native planting and maintenance.
Deliver measurable social outcomes alongside environmental impact.
We do not treat these as separate goals. They are one system.
How our model works.
Our delivery model is built around three integrated components:
Environmental Restoration.
We supply eco-sourced native plants, manage planting at the contract scale, and deliver structured maintenance programmes aligned with industry standards and PlantPass requirements.
Structured Workforce Pathways.
We recruit participants facing barriers to employment and support them through structured training, mentoring, and real on-site experience within live infrastructure and restoration projects.
Long-Term Outcomes.
NEET youth participants gain work readiness, industry-relevant skills, and pathways into ongoing employment - either within Te Whāngai Trust or with our partner organisations.
Unlike traditional contractors or standalone charities, Te Whāngai Trust operates as a fully integrated social enterprise.
We combine:
Commercial-scale native plant nursery capability
Professional project management
Established partnerships with councils and industry
Embedded pastoral care and employment support
Our partners work with us because we deliver reliably.
They continue working with us because we deliver impact.
What makes this unique.
Social impact.
Through our programmes we have:
Supported over 500 long-term unemployed participants into paid work pathways
Integrated people with complex barriers into structured employment
Delivered skills development programmes in environmental restoration
Strengthened community pride and stewardship
We believe infrastructure investment can build both resilient ecosystems and resilient people.
Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Te Whāngai Trust recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundational agreement for Aotearoa New Zealand and a guiding framework for how we work.
Our kaupapa brings together ecological restoration, rangatahi development, and community partnerships. In this work we aim to uphold the principles of partnership, participation, and protection by:
supporting Māori participation and leadership in our programmes
respecting and acknowledging mātauranga Māori in restoration practice
creating pathways for rangatahi Māori into training, employment, and environmental stewardship
working alongside iwi, hapū, and community partners to restore ecosystems and strengthen relationships with whenua.
Many of the native plants we grow hold significance within mātauranga Māori, including traditional uses in rongoā Māori. Where appropriate, we acknowledge these connections alongside ecological restoration knowledge.
Our goal is to contribute to the long-term wellbeing of both people and environment, recognising that the health of whenua and community are deeply connected.
Let’s build restoration that lasts.
If you are planning a restoration, infrastructure, or landscape project and want to integrate ecological excellence with meaningful social impact, we’d love to talk.