Bring Nature to the Festival!

Restore Rodney East has been asked to share an exciting opportunity for our member groups to get involved in Matakanarama, a three-day music festival being held on private land at Cape Rodney over New Year 2026/27.

With 2,000–2,500 festival-goers expected, aged 20 plus, this is a chance to bring conservation into the festival experience and connect with a whole new audience.

We’re inviting environmental community groups to consider how their younger members, volunteers or enthusiastic conservationists could get involved. From leading a nature walk or helping with a trapping workshop to creating a fun nature scavenger hunt, there are plenty of ways to share the conservation story.

Imagine being passionate about the environment, getting the opportunity to be part of a music festival, meeting hundreds of people your own age, and inspiring them to care about nature too. It could be a pretty special way to combine passion with an unforgettable experience.

The festival has an environmental focus, with activities being coordinated by Leigh Harbour Valley Society alongside Ngāti Manuhiri and other conservation partners. The aim is to celebrate the restoration work happening across our rohe and encourage more young people to discover how they can make a difference.

COULD YOUR GROUP BE PART OF IT?

We’d love to hear from groups with members who might be keen to get involved, whether they have an activity in mind, knowledge to share or simply enthusiasm for connecting with other young people about conservation.

You don’t need to have all the answers. If your group has someone who would jump at the chance to share their passion for nature in a festival setting, we’d love to hear from you.

Volunteers will earn a full 3-day festival pass in exchange for two shifts volunteering, either at a separate working bee, the festival itself or both.

Interested? Contact Kathryn Erikson kathrynerikson@outlook.com with your ideas or to find out more.

Let’s give young conservationists the chance to connect, inspire and show their peers that looking after nature can be rewarding, social and fun!