“Last night was so great! What an awesome room filled with great people. We loved being a part of your kaupapa for the night” – Kate Hall

 

How did the project/initiative you want to share about come to life?  

During Ecofest 2025, we hosted an array of events to get the Waiheke community involved in sustainable projects. One of which was part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. We had the pleasure of hosting Kate Hall, from Ethically Kate, and Tim. As part of the ‘Conscious Living’ category events for Ecofest, I hosted a panel with Kate and Tim. They described their learnings, trials, and challenges, as well as highlighting successes from their combined sustainability journey to date. 

 

Who were the main people involved? How did they come together to help?

Myself and Kate had met a few times during our careers. When I brainstormed this idea, I reached out to Kate to see if she would be interested in participating in Ecofest with an event on Waiheke. This could not have been possible without our amazing team of volunteers, who dedicated their time into the success of this event. Towards the end of the event, some attendees also stayed to assist with cleaning up and tidying the equipment away. Enthusiasm and recognition to both Kate and Tim, as they also assisted with keeping the audience engaged and involved throughout the running of the event. Kate and Tim involved the audience through a friendly competition at the end of the event, for a prize. This really engaged everyone and built the rapport between the hosts and those in the audience.

 

How have people/communities benefited from this project? 

With this event, we were able to tap into a completely new and fresh audience. The opportunity to learn from people who are not Waiheke locals, gained traction and attention from many people who were excited for the chance to meet Kate and Tim in-person. We had over 40 people to the event, with a great overall prior-registration-to-attendance rate. The question and answer session allowed for back and forth discussions, where audience members could engage with them on their specific niche sustainability queries. 

 

What were the best things about this project? What did you learn? 

Attendees learned how to build resilience as an island-based community. With a changing environment, it was vital for the attendees to leave the event feeling empowered by the ability for their on-the-ground actions to contribute towards reducing environmental impact. We had three volunteers create some amazing food that showcased Love Food Hate Waste recipe cards, which event attendees were encouraged to take away with them. We tied the link between hearing, tasting, and seeing, how food waste reduction can be achieved with the growth of knowledge, through the three senses. 

 

What possibilities lie ahead for your organisation/project/initiative in the future? 

We are looking forward to connecting further with this new audience, tapping into new ideas and ways of sustainable learning. I have been very inspired by being immersed in the work that Tim and Kate achieve, and how they communicate with their audience and encourage positive behaviour change.