Ngaio has a rich history as an active community with a wide ranging interest in all matters related to sustainability, the natural environment, and mitigating climate change. Community leaders have for several years had a keen interest in harnessing all of this energy in a way that supports all of the projects, gets the most out of the limited volunteer time available, and develops a true sense of community involving everyone in Ngaio and Crofton Downs.
Informally, a number of community initiatives were starting up, which come under the broadest umbrella of sustainability – these include the Ngaio Repair Cafe, the Vegetable Co-op, Ngaios monthly recycling station, and so much mahi to restore and improve our natural environment.
Out of this common interest, we developed our ambitious dream to become the first carbon-neutral suburb in New Zealand. We’re the perfect community to make this happen – compact, lots of public transport, a range of great shops and businesses, local activities and a connected active community.
Wellington City Council came on board with our dream, when our application for a modest amount of funding from the Council’s Sustainability Fund was approved in late 2024. This grant enabled the community to fund for a few hours each week, a Project Manager whose job would be to drive the project, put in the time required to bring people together, and manage a small governance group of local residents. We also have some funds for a social media manager whose role is to get our message out, keep everyone enthusiastic about the project and report progress.
Our goals for 2025 are:
- Bring to life our goal of Ngaio and Crofton downs becoming carbon neutral
- Raise awareness of ways that emissions can be reduced, and increase particpation
- support wide adoption through our community of low carbon activities
- Have households committing to reducing emissions and measuring their success
- support community based initiatives
- Building an enduring sense of community
.. and how will we know if we are being succesful? We have the key milestones that we are working towards:
- December 2024 – develop our project plan
- February 2025 – Our carbon calculator selected, and first people signing up
- March 2025 – public event to raise awareness of Ngaio Climate Crew
- June 2025 – achieve 50 Ngaio Climate Crew members (households) signed up to our carbon calculator.
- October 2025 – evaluation report completed, with baseline data and three most impactful areas for reducing emissions
- End of November – a guide is prepared so that other Wellington communities can share our experiences and learnings.
NCC is based on the principle that by working together our actions, no matter how small, will make a difference. We are focused on the things that we can do together that will help us to reduce all of our impact on climate change. We are all about collective action, and supporting each other to make change easier for our members, and everyone else who lives in or visits Ngaio.
Want to talk or find out more?
- Keep your eyes peeled at community events and come chat – the organising team is local and gets to many community events, such as the Ngaio Repair Cafe and recycling stations. Come down to ask any pātai/questions, or share any ideas for actions we can take together. Feel free to send us an email at ngaioclimatecrew@gmail.com to confirm we will be at any events before you come along
- Join the Facebook group and Instagram page where we post stories about progress and ideas for change:
Become a crew member and share our vision
By signing up to become a Ngaio Climate Crew member you will join the amazing team of people working to reduce emissions in Ngaio & Crofton Downs. Together we’ll map out projects, dream up new initiatives, and see our emissions shrink.