Celebrations and Clean-ups for Seaweek

Coming together to celebrate and take care of our beautiful Moana strengthens connections to the sea and builds community bonds.

Seaweek 2025 included fantastic festivals, clean-ups, and social events that brought people together through sharing knowledge, passion, and efforts to preserve the beauty of our coastlines and protect marine life. These include some of the largest events taking place during Seaweek, reaching new audiences and creating so many opportunities for everyone to learn about the sea in new ways.

Farewell the Godwits – Christchurch, 1 March

There was an amazing turn out to this annual Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust event, with over 730 participants! The ceremony included a short talk on the amazing journey the godwits make as they prepare to fly back to Alaska followed by a guided walk with scopes and binoculars to view the birds up close. There was even a free sausage sizzle and wooden godwit painting activity for children! The event was also supported by City Council Park rangers, the Southshore Residents Association and Birds NZ.

Akaroa Seaweek Fair – Canterbury, 1 March

Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust’s annual Seaweek fair at Akaroa Gaiety Hall hosted activities, games, arts and crafts, a bake sale and stalls from local organisations. There was also a variety show with music and dance performances and an ocean-themed costume parade!

Community Beach Day Buffalo Beach – Waikato, 1 March

Seaweek kicked off on the Coromandel Peninsula with a community day at Buffalo Beach! Hosted by Waikato Regional Council and DOC and supported by the Mercury Bay Museum, Southern Seabirds Trust, Coastcare and Mercury Bay Library, the day included a beach treasure hunt, giveaways, marine pest identification and learning about seabird burrows.

Seaweed Fest 2025 – Wellington, 1-9 March

Hosted by Love Rimurimu and Mountains to Sea Wellington, Seaweed Fest 2025 brought together arts, science, and conservation communities for a vibrant week across Te Whanganui-a-Tara. The festival opened with a sunrise seaweed swim for Seaweek and welcomed over 4,500 attendees to explore 38 events. Highlights across the week included edible seaweed tastings, a tattoo ‘flash’ day, behind-the-scenes tours of Te Papa’s seaweed collections, art workshops, expert talks, a mystery movie night at the Roxy, film and photography exhibitions, and an open day at Vic Uni’s Coastal Ecology Lab. The festivities wrapped up on a high note with a fun festival whānau day and a lively sea shanty sing-along, bringing together community, music, and celebration to close out a remarkable week. There truly was something for everyone! 

Seaweek Tug of War Picnic – Christchurch, 2 March

The Sumner community celebrated the start of Seaweek with a picnic, kites and a game of tug of war at the Esplanade with Sumner Hub, Sea Cleaners Canterbury and the Junior Point Surf team. 

Pilates/yoga class for ocean lovers – Bay of Plenty, 5 March

Smidge Suncare hosted a morning yoga class and group swim by the ocean in Mount Maunganui. 

Seaweek at the Cinema – Waikato, 5 March  

A sold-out night of short films at Mercury Twin Cinemas brought marine reserve monitoring, the effects of kina barrens, identifying marine pests and more to the big screen. Films were accompanied by presentations on marine conservation including tracking seabirds with researcher Jamie Darby, the importance of estuaries with Coastcare, and learning about Aotearoa’s manta rays with MantaWatch NZ.

Estuary Fest – Christchurch, 15 March 

Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust’s annual estuary fest celebrated the local estuary with activities, talks and a walk along the estuary! There were live fish with EOS Ecology, games with stormwater heroes, and art with the estuary trust. Children were excited to learn about fish and macroinvertebrates in the estuary, and there were opportunities for local groups to connect and collaborate with each other.

Hahei, Cathedral Cove & Coast Beach Cleanup – Waikato, 3 March

Hahei Explorer’s clean up with Department of Conservation Rangers brought together over 30 volunteers, who collected more than 40kg of rubbish from Hahei Beach and Mautohe Cathedral Cove. 

Hirepool Big Clean, Auckland, 8 March 

The 5th annual Hirepool Big Clean, in partnership with Sustainable Coastlines, drew a crowd of over 300 volunteers to the Onehunga Foreshore to help clean up the Manakau Harbour! 

Beach Clean Up with Suzuki Marine – Manawatu, 8 March 

There was a fantastic turnout to this clean up, with over 100 people helping to collect over 667kg of rubbish from Castlecliff beach, including tyres, furniture and clothing! The event was organised by the Multicultural Council of Rangitikei/Whanganui and was held in collaboration with Surf Life Savers, DOC and Suzuki Marine.  

Lynfield Cove Cleanup – Auckland, 8 March

This annual clean up with Friends of Wairaki Stream gathered 40 people to help clean up Lynfield Cove! There was also an educational walk to a local sea cave, a free pizza lunch and interactive learning with Mountains to Sea. This year’s cleanup was held in collaboration with Migrant Conservation Volunteers NZ, and Urban Ark also attended to promote trapping in the neighbourhood. Supported by Foundation North through Seaweek. 

Community Beach Cleanup – Auckland, 10 March 

Tamariki, parents and volunteers at Lollipops Browns Bay’s community cleanup helped to collect over eight bags of rubbish from Browns Bay beach.

We know many other beach and stream clean-ups took place around the country and applaud everyone's ongoing efforts to protect our coasts and sea life. Please connect with us to share details of any events we are missing here!