Te Auaunga Awa
Oakley Creek Restoration: Stage 1.
Location: Puketāpapa | Mount Roskill
Client: Auckland Council Healthy Waters
Services: Nursery Establishment, Plant Supply, Planting, & Maintenance
Lead Contractor: Fulton Hogan
Te Whāngai Trust was the lead ecological delivery partner on one of Aotearoa’s most prominent urban stream restoration projects.
Delivered at scale in partnership with leading engineering and landscape firms.
Te Auaunga Awa (Oakley Creek) Restoration
Te Auaunga Awa (Oakley Creek) is a major flood mitigation and environmental restoration project delivered by Auckland Council Healthy Waters through Walmsley and Underwood Reserves in Mt Roskill / Wesley.
The project transformed a previously concrete-lined channel into a naturalised, meandering stream, with extensive native planting and strong partnership with mana whenua and the local community.
Our role.
Te Whāngai Trust played a key role in both environmental delivery and workforce development:
Established and led a native plant nursery social enterprise at Wesley Intermediate School
Supplied approximately 100,000 eco-sourced native plants for the project
Delivered large-scale planting and ongoing plant maintenance
Created local employment and work-readiness pathways through the Wesley nursery and project delivery
Created pathways for people facing complex barriers to participation and employment
Integrated work-readiness and life skills alongside hands-on environmental work
Contributed to social procurement outcomes alongside youth employment initiatives on-site.
A local nursery with a wider legacy.
The Wesley nursery opened at Wesley Intermediate School in 2017 alongside the launch of Auckland’s Mayor’s Million Trees programme. It created a local platform for native plant production, learning and community participation, and went on to support the delivery of Te Auaunga.
This connection between the nursery and the wider restoration project is an important part of Te Auaunga’s legacy. Plants were grown close to the project, people developed skills through real environmental work, and investment in the awa created benefits beyond the restored stream itself.
Underwood Bridge. Image attribution: Jay Farnworth.
Pedestrian walkways. Image attribution: Jay Farnworth.
Pedestrian footbridge and riparian margins. Image attribution: Jay Farnworth.
Te Whāngai Trust team members planting riparian margins. Image attribution: Mark Lewis, Boffa Miskell.
Te Whāngai Trust team members planting green spaces. Image attribution: Mark Lewis, Boffa Miskell.
What this project delivered.
This project reshaped both the physical environment and how the space is used by the community:
Approximately 1.5 km of stream restored
Seven piped tributaries daylighted
Around eight hectares of open space restored
Flood risk reduced for nearly 200 homes
Creation of a connected river park through the reserve corridor
Why it matters.
This project shows what can happen when environmental restoration is delivered alongside real employment opportunities — improving public infrastructure while creating pathways for people into work.
Project awards
& recognition.
NZILA Resene Pride of Place Landscape Architecture Awards (2019): Award of Excellence (Playgrounds), Award of Excellence (Parks), Award of Excellence (Te Karanga o te Tui).
DINZ Best Design Awards (2019): Silver Pin (Social Good Award).
Engineering New Zealand ENVI Awards (2019): Engineering Impact Award II (Winner).
NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards (2020): Winner – “Te Auaunga Awa: Multicultural Fāle & Outdoor Classroom.”
IPWEA / International Public Works Conference (2022): Excellence in Environment & Sustainability award winner for Te Auaunga (Australasian/IPWC context).
Green Flag Award (2023): Walmsley and Underwood Reserves recognised with a Green Flag Award (international quality mark for parks/green spaces).
