The Windsor Park Baptist Earth Team recently welcomed rangatahi for a native tree planting day at Centurion Reserve. Together they planted 207 native plants, learnt practical restoration skills, and prepared to share their knowledge with others during the church's upcoming Matariki Serve Day.

As part of World Vision's 40 Hour Challenge, the Good News Project 2026 gave young people from churches in Auckland and Christchurch a taste of hands-on conservation, discovering how caring for creation is one way to put their faith into action.

Five weeks in September were set aside to gently celebrate creation at Hemi Tapu. From green-decorated worship spaces and home-made communion bread, to kids’ church exploring trees, birds and worms, and community activities like a coastal wander and local wine tasting, the Season of Creation was marked by joy, creativity, and connection. By focusing on celebration rather than crisis, the parish laid thoughtful groundwork for deeper engagement with creation care in the seasons ahead.

What began as simple weeding and clearing has grown into something much deeper. On a warm Sunday morning in Whanganui, youth, families, and neighbours gathered for hands-on restoration—and found themselves building community, nurturing their faith, and practising kaitiakitanga together. Discover how a small gully regeneration project is transforming both the land and the people who care for it.

In October, young adults and youth ministry leaders from across Aotearoa gathered on Kamau Taurua / Quarantine Island for He Māhuri Tōtara, a weekend of reflection, learning, and connection with creation. Guided by mana whenua, we listened to stories held in the land, explored eco-theology, planted trees, and watched toroa soar over the harbour. It was a time alive with wairua — grounding, hopeful, and deeply moving.

At Praxis, caring for creation is becoming part of the organisation’s DNA. Through their ARO framework — Assess, Reduce, Offset — this national youth work NGO is learning what it means to turn toward creation as followers of Jesus, integrating care for the earth into everyday formation and practice. At our recent Eco Church Partners Kōrero, Praxis director Murray Shearer shared how this journey is shaping youth work, theology, and culture — helping young people reconnect with creation, each other, and the Creator.

During this year’s Season of Creation, All Saints’ Anglican Church in Dunedin demonstrated its ongoing commitment to caring for God’s earth through hands-on community action. Parish members joined with the Student Christian Movement to plant 145 native trees on a South Otago farm, helping regenerate native forest and restore riparian habitats. Later in the month, a smaller group took to Te Awa o Ōwheo (the Leith) for a local river clean-up, reflecting the parish’s deep connection to this waterway and its place in the church’s story. Together, these actions embodied All Saints’ vision of faith expressed through stewardship, community, and hope for creation’s renewal.

From building rat traps to sharing home-grown vegetables, the St George’s Epsom community is finding creative ways to live out Eco Church values. This story highlights youth-led conservation and a new approach to food growing that supports both creation care and local food security.

Fourteen young adults from across Aotearoa gathered in Whāingaroa for a He Māhuri Tōtara weekend of conservation, community and faith. From planting native trees and setting predator traps to sharing kai and exploring what it means to care for God's creation, the weekend was a chance to grow as leaders rooted in hope and restoration.

Young people from churches in Christchurch and Auckland have come together through the Good News Project 2025 to restore local ecosystems and explore the links between faith, climate justice, and food insecurity as part of World Vision’s 40 Hour Challenge. Coordinated by A Rocha’s Eco Church team with support from conservation project partners, the project empowers youth to be good news for creation through hands-on conservation and gospel-inspired action.

Since April this year, Co-Missioners Caro Willis and Maria Kirkland have seen the transformative power of community unfold at St Matthew's, Taitā, through their weekly commitment to the church’s community garden. The turning point came when a member of St Matt’s, a teacher from Capital Training who works with rangatahi (youth), approached the Missioners with a question: "Do you think I could bring my young people to the garden each week?"

Since then, a group of 4–6 rangatahi from Capital Training has joined the community gardening sessions each week for the last two school terms. They’ve gotten their hands dirty, participating in planting, harvesting, and cooking with produce from the garden. Each session concludes with shared kai (food) and whanaungatanga (connection time), bringing the participants closer together.

On June 22, 2024, The 40 Hour Challenge Good News Project, brought together A Rocha, Eco Church and World Vision in a collaborative effort to regenerate native bush at Spencer Park in partnership with Christchurch City Council. This event aimed to engage local youth groups and inspire young Christians to take part in practical environmental action, creating a space where participants could hear the Good News and actively be the Good News through environmental restoration.