Published: October 17, 2025
A group of West Auckland teenagers are giving back to their community. They're planting more than 200 native trees as part of a youth justice pilot programme.
Led by Oranga Tamariki, in partnership with Community Waitākere, the young people completing community service hours get a chance to reconnect with their whenua.
The project is aimed at restoring the Orangihina Harbourview Reserve in Te Atatū Peninsula. It contributes to the protection of local wetlands, home to native flora and fauna including the at-risk Fernbird | Mātātā.
“Part of our role was for Community Waitākare to understand who these rangatahi are,” said Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Manager Peter Alexander, who played a central role in helping to get the partnership off the ground.
The programme supports young people on Family Group Conference or Youth Court plans. Working alongside their social workers and community figures, they learn restoration techniques and ground them with their environments.
These plans mean young people aged 14-17 are referred to the youth justice system, rather than the adult jurisdiction, when they break the law.
It gives rangatahi a chance to help find solutions when they've offended. They get an opportunity to change their lives for the better without getting a criminal record.
It’s a chance for West Auckland youth to put their community service hours back into the area they live in and learn about their whenua, said Peter.
“There’s quite a technique to planting in the wetlands. A representative from Community Waitākare came in to teach the young people how to plant the trees, and Oranga Tamariki supplied them with some gumboots to muck in,” he added.
By working alongside existing community efforts, we hope to create opportunities for engagement, education and training.
The intention is to develop sustainable restoration efforts through a connection with the environment.
It’s been exciting to see how engaged the young people have been.
Olive Vatau, a Youth Justice Supervisor for this project
Olive also said it was heartening to hear from the young people that they were looking forward to going back in a few years and seeing the growth of the wetlands. One of them asked if he might be able to return to visit the trees once they'd matured, to show his children and mokopuna what he had achieved.
We hope the pilot will pave the way for future collaborations that combine youth justice with environmental restoration. This creates long-term benefits for both rangatahi and the wider community.