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.
Leigh cared deeply about people and the environment. Her values became part of an idea Adrienne and Gary had begun to form through practical restoration work on their Waikato farm.
They worked side by side with a Taskforce Green crew, weeding, planting and fencing. As they got to know the people behind the work, they saw capability, commitment and contribution first-hand. They also saw how often progress depended on someone being willing to advocate, open a door or simply keep believing in what a person could do.
That experience shaped the Te Whāngai model. Rather than separating social support from productive work, Adrienne and Gary began developing a nursery platform where people could contribute to real environmental outcomes, learn practical and workplace skills, and receive the mentoring and support needed to build their next pathway.
Pūkorokoro/Miranda became the first practical home for this approach. Te Whāngai was established in Leigh’s honour, bringing together her care for people and the environment with what Adrienne and Gary had learned alongside the restoration crew.
From that first nursery, the model grew into new nursery and project platforms at Glenbrook, Wesley and Te Auaunga. Nearly two decades later, the places and partnerships have evolved, but the founding insight remains: when people are trusted with meaningful work, genuine responsibility and steady support, capability has room to grow.
Timeline.
2007: Te Whāngai Trust Established by Adrienne and Gary Dalton.
2009: Waikato Sustainable Business of the Year, Trailblazer Award, Franklin Community Worker of the Year.
2012: Recognised by the Sustainable Business Network for Te Whāngai Trust's innovative model combining environmental restoration with employment and training pathways.
2016: Awarded the "Supreme Winner" Green Ribbon Award by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.
2017: Awarded by DoC as Community Nursery of the Year, Plant Conservation Award, and Auckland Balance Environmental Award.
2023: Commended for Social Impact at the Sustainable Business Network awards.
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.
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
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
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.