Upcoming Events
Summit Green Drinks - Mata-Au, the Mighty Clutha
The mighty Mata-au (Clutha River) was, and is still, an intrinsic part of communities living in and around Wānaka. Join us for a discussion with the trustees of the Mata-Au Trust to learn about their work as kaitiakitanga of the awa (river).
Summt Green Drinks - Building Banter
Join us for a networking event and an expert panel to learn how the building ecosystem is leading action towards a sustainable future.
Summit Green Drinks - Climate Solutions Cafe
Join us for an open conversation about the climate crisis, how it makes us feel, and what we can do about it, combined with real-life local solutions everyone can apply.
Summit Green Drinks - Let's Do Better Business
Join us for a networking event and panel discussion to learn how businesses are driving towards a sustainable future.
Wao Summit 2024 Programme Launch
You're invited to Wao's Summit Programme Launch event, a friendly gathering of our audience, partners, volunteers, stakeholders and supporters. Join us to discover the programme for this year's event and enjoy mingling over drinks at the fun and fabulous Rhyme & Reason. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
June Green Drinks
Wao Green Drinks is proud to present an insightful discussion on "Housing for the Future - What Will our Community look like in 2050?"
April Green Drinks
Join us or another Green Drinks and find out about what local businesses have been up to in the B Corp field.
August Green Drinks
Join us for another Wao Green Drinks. This Green Drinks topic will be Civics 101: Your Voice
The event will be held at The Albie Tavern* located at 20 Alison Ave, Albert Town between 5:00-7pm.
Speakers will include:
Cody Tucker - Queenstown-Lakes District councillor
Ethan Reille - An 18 year old national level political candidate running in the upcoming elections.
Kathy Dedo - Professional director, community champion, and civics enthusiast. Kathy is the Deputy Chair of the Central Lakes Trust and former Co-Manager of Community Networks/LINK.
Join us to learn about the basics of the New Zealand political system, how you can get involved and how to vote in the upcoming elections.
Who is this for:
Anyone who has never voted and would like to find out more.
Anyone who might need a refresher on what our voting system is.
Anyone new to New Zealand who would like to understand how our voting system works.
We will also launch the much anticipated Wao Summit 2023 program - an occasion to celebrate together!
Free event, but limited space. Please book your free ticket using the button below.
*Note that the venue has changed. We are no longer hosting the event at Federal Diner.
June Green Drinks
Join us for another Wao Green Drinks hosted by Wānaka’s very own Ground Up Brewing. This Green Drinks topic will be: Green Energy
Where: Ground Up Brewing @ 4 Gordon Rd, Wānaka
When: June 30th @ 5:00pm
What: We'll be exploring how non-fossil fuel energy can be found in different sources, industries or uses and how we can use them and why we should use them. Following three short presentations Ground Up Brewing will be putting on a related pub quiz with the chance to win some prizes!
Who: We'll have speakers from H.W.Richardsons, New Zealand's largest transport company, that has introduced the first hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel truck in the Southern Hemisphere as well as representatives from Wanaka Solar talking about solar energy. Forest Lodge Orchard, "the world's first 100% electric, zero fossil fuel orchard", based just out of Cromwell will also provide a remote presentation.
March Green Drinks
Future proof - building our region’s food resilience
Wao and the Wānaka Festival of Colour are teaming up to bring you our next Green Drinks: future proof - building our region’s food resilience
In the light of recent events up North, and other disruption events happening in our periphery, like the war in Ukraine, it becomes more apparent to all how important it is we look at our food system and identify ways to make it more resilient.
Wao is currently undertaking a research project on local food resilience and we invite the community to gain insight on this project with lead researcher Julia Blackford, in a brief but impactful session.
We would all like a food system that can be prepared for, withstand, and recover from disruptions and changes in a way which enables sufficient supply of food for all. How can we understand where our biggest risks and opportunities in the Queenstown Lakes District lie, so we can address these and move towards a more resilient food future?
Who is this for: anyone in our community interested in
who our local food stakeholders are
how we feed ourselves as a community
how to keep feeding ourselves when natural disaster, political unrest, supply chain interruption or disruption to the energy systems occur.
what the current situation is
why we need to setup a Local Food Network group
Join us from 4.45 to 6pm on Wednesday 29 March to understand the current local food system and see why it needs improvement.
The Wānaka Festival of Colour bar will be open briefly between 4.45-5pm for you to grab a drink and a snack before the talk.
The event will come to a close at 6pm sharp, so the Wānaka Festival of Colour can prepare for their next show that night!
Don’t miss out, tickets are FREE but limited in numbers, so register your interest now here.
See you at Armstrong Room, Lake Wanaka Center on the 29th!
February Green Drinks
Wao Green Drinks is a collaboration with Wastebusters to kick off Slow Fashion Month in March.
#whomademyclothes #whatsinmyclothes #lovedclotheslast
Green Drinks: The Risk With Our Food Supply
Join our speakers to discuss local self sufficiency in our food system here in the Queenstown Lakes District, and learnings from other corners of Aotearoa.
Green Drinks: Sustainable Transport
Find out more about what is currently happening around urban and active transport in our community and across the hill.
Future of Snow
How much snow will we see on the mountains this winter? Is the snow level reducing each year? Will we still be able to ski in Wānaka over the coming decades? If the mountains are doomed to become dirt year round, is there anything we can do about it?