ADL's positive impact on youth wellbeing

For over 30 years, ADL – formerly known as Adventure Development Limited – has been a driving force in bringing positive change to the lives of young people in the Central Lakes Trust region. ADL's commitment to adventure therapy, utilising outdoor activities to support young people facing various challenges, has been a cornerstone of its success.

“We believe outdoor activity has a powerfully positive impact”

 “We believe outdoor activity with groups of young people who are experiencing low mood, anxiety, impulsivity, substance misuse, or neurodiversity issues has a powerfully positive impact when used in a structured and carefully planned way,” says Clive McArthur, Chief Executive of ADL. “The need for our services has been steadily growing, with referrals into the Central Lakes Team increasing by 50% from 2019 to 2023.”

To meet this growing demand, the number of staff in the CLT region has grown significantly over the past few years, going from a team of three in 2018 to a dedicated team of 11 professionals today. ADL has recently invested in key roles, including a Journey and Activities Leader and Outdoor Activities Specialist, to further increase their capacity.

ADL's impact is truly transformative, underscored by the positive feedback received. A notable 89% of clients report a direct improvement in their wellbeing, attesting to the tangible positive change facilitated by ADL. Furthermore, an impressive 97% of whānau rate ADL’s services as good to excellent. This high praise highlights the organisation's effectiveness in making a meaningful and substantial difference in the lives of the youth and their broader support networks.

Central Lakes Trust supports ADL with operational funding to help sustain their services in the region.

We are incredibly grateful to the CLT for their donation, which is going straight towards supporting the operational costs of running the team in the region,” says Clive. “For example, we have experienced an increase in rental space costs of over 200% since 2021. The CLT donation will also support the Central Lakes Team’s increasing vehicle costs. ADL is committed to reducing barriers to young people throughout the region, and our team travels throughout the region daily.”

This high praise highlights the organisation's effectiveness in making a meaningful and substantial difference in the lives of the youth and their broader support networks.

ADL welcomes donations and support from the community to continue their important work. Currently, the organisation is fundraising for stand-up paddleboards and kayaks to expand its repertoire of activities. Clive McArthur encourages those interested in supporting ADL's mission to reach out to funding@adlnz.org.nz for more information

The ADL and Central Lakes Trust teams.

Headlight – making it easy to talk about mental health

While most people know how to look after their physical health, not many have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to support their mental health. This is where Headlight comes in.

Headlight's mission is to increase mental health literacy, a proven health promotion strategy for improving mental well-being. Traditionally, mental health education programs are limited to large workplaces or are on a user-pays basis, leaving diverse cultural and priority communities underserved.

In 2021, the team started developing and delivering mental health education to local priority communities through the GoodYarn Community Pilot Project. Seeing the value in this pilot project, Headlight was established in July 2022 to build the pilot project into a sustainable mental health education programme.

To date, Headlight has provided free or subsidised mental health education to nearly 500 community members, including migrants with English as a second language, parents, NGOs/volunteers, and small businesses.

Their unique community-led model has created a new way of making mental health education accessible and engaging and has established Headlight as a leader in community-based mental health literacy training. Headlight was recently recognised for their efforts, winning the “Excellence in Community Contribution Award” at the Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce 2023 Awards.

“I have loved this journey of making mental health education accessible and effective for our local communities,” says Headlight Chief Executive, Anna Dorsey. “It started in response to a clear need to do more to fill the gaps for our migrant and other priority groups, who were facing increasing pressures on their mental health post-COVID and experiencing many barriers to accessing support. By responding to community need, we have been able to design a whole new way of supporting communities which is incredibly rewarding and has significant potential to help more people in future.”

““We know that education is empowering and knowing that we are empowering our people to be healthier, happier, more connected, and more supportive is its own reward””

Funding from Central Lakes Trust (CLT) gave Headlight a solid foundation to build the programme further.

“Our organisation needed to set up operational structures to manage our programme activity, such as finance systems, HR contracts and reporting and so having funds to ensure we could pay people to do both the operational roles and the project work has been vital to our success.”

CLT is proud to be supporting Headlight and the amazing work they are doing for mental health education.

Wānaka Community Workshop for NGOs/ community workers

FOSTERING COMMUNITY UNITY AT THE CENTRAL LAKES POLYFEST 2023

The vibrant hues of cultural diversity illuminated the Queenstown Events Centre on the 18th and 19th of October 2023, as the Central Lakes Polyfest unfolded, uniting approximately 1,300 tamariki and rangatahi from Central Lakes and Central Otago. Hosted by Mīharo, two-day celebration showcased the rich cultural heritage of our region and highlighted the power of unity and understanding within our community.

Mīharo held the first Central Otago Polyfest in 2018 and it has been growing ever since. This year, the event also welcomed a local Tongan community group, adding a new dimension to the festivities and enhancing the Polyfest's cultural mosaic.

A notable highlight of the Polyfest was the initiation of the Whakamanahia te Rangatahi-youth mentoring programme. Through this programme, youth from the Whakamanahia te Rangatahi (WTR) team engaged with students from Mt Aspiring College, promoting leadership skills and cultural pride.

“Next year we have high hopes that the new Central Lakes youth mentoring cohort will be able to lead the way in the volunteer space, get to have real life work experiences and embrace a kaupapa filled with art, culture and performances,” says Hiria Palmer, Mīharo Business & Finance Manager.

The Polyfest was more than just a series of cultural performances - it embodied the essence of community spirit. Volunteers, participants, and spectators joined hands to create an inclusive environment where manaakitanga and kotahitanga prevailed. The event served as a platform for building connections and enriching the cultural fabric of Central Lakes and Central Otago.

 CLT is proud to have supported the success of the Polyfest through the granting of $25,000 towards sound and lighting costs.  

Hāwea Flat School's bike park project

Hāwea’s new bike park/pump track was opened on 9 October 2023 to the great delight of the local tamariki.

Hāwea Flat School has witnessed significant growth in the past few years, with its student roll reaching 320 in 2023. To accommodate the increasing numbers, the school had to construct eight additional classrooms. This expansion, however, meant removing the original bike park that was on the school grounds - a space not only valued by the school but also frequented by the local community after school hours.

Responding to this change, the Hāwea Community Association investigated installing another bike park/pump track in Hāwea Flat at Long Grass Place, but it was decided that keeping the track at the school site would be most beneficial for the community.

Following consultation with over 60 local families and track-building firm Dirt Dynamics, the new bike park includes one sealed and two dirt pump tracks to cater to biking enthusiasts of all levels. CLT provided $48,000 towards the building of the 150m sealed pump track and the overall landscaping of the area.

While the bike park is a great recreational asset, it also provides learning opportunities for the community. Hāwea Flat School already collaborates with the Good to go BikeReady Cycle skills training programme and is looking into further opportunities with Wānaka Whānau – WORD and Bike Squad to name a few.

The Hāwea Flat School bike park project exemplifies community resilience and adaptability. It reflects a practical approach to change, ensuring that a valued communal space endures even in the face of uncertainties.

ARASAN NZ TRUST

The Arasan Foundation Trust supports migrants from South Asia to settle well in New Zealand. There is evidence that suggests that lifestyle changes, changes in diet, and the change in family structure from a joint family to a nuclear family unit may negatively impact the physical and mental health of t some migrants arriving in New Zealand.

To address this challenge, the Arasan NZ Trust held the first Queenstown Lakes Subcontinental Community Cricket Festival on 22 and 23 October 2022. Sport has been shown to improve mental and physical health while offering a natural opportunity for people to come together and participate in community and social life.

The festival had two days of cricket matches played in and around Queenstown, as well as a Community Gathering Cultural Evening featuring cultural performances and other family-friendly activities.

The Queenstown Lakes Subcontinental Community Festival, with its emphasis on health, social cohesion, and cultural wellbeing, successfully brought together South Asian communities and the wider public in a spirit of inclusivity and celebration. By fostering a sense of community and empowering the youth, Arasan NZ Trust aims to make a significant impact in promoting the overall wellbeing of South Asian communities in New Zealand.

 https://arasan.org.nz

ROXBURGH POOL, PUNAWAI ORA ‘SAFE WATER’

The Roxburgh Pool was originally opened in 1932. The 90 year old pool situated at the rear of the high school, has served the community well, but has reached the end of its life. Roxburgh Pool Punawai Ora ‘Safe Water’ Incorporated chair, Sally Feinerman says, “The pipework and plumbing is beyond repair, the boiler doesn’t work, the solar panels are unusable, and it leaks like a sieve.”

Roxburgh desperately needs a modern, safe swimming complex where kids can have fun and learn to swim, to be safe in the water or participate in aquatic exercise. For 16 years a core volunteer committee have worked tirelessly to fundraise for the replacement of the pool. It has been a long time in the making.

In March 2021 CLT granted $920,766 towards bringing the new Roxburgh Pool to fruition. The concept pictured will have new changing rooms, office space, a plant room, a dedicated learners' and toddlers’ pool with beach access, plus a 25m - four lane main pool.

The circa $3 million dollar new pool project will be a significant asset for the 1,500 strong Teviot Valley population.

The site is already cleared and the new pool is expected to be completed and ready for use by February 2023.

JOURNEYS CHARITABLE TRUST

Journeys is an outdoor adventure programme offered to girls aged 12 - 18 to use the challenge of various activities in accessible local ‘wild’ areas to enhance wellbeing, resilience, self-worth and belief.

It delivers a weekly two hour adventure in groups of up to 10 (with two to three instructors) taking girls / young women on supervised walks and mountain bike trips into the local ‘wild’ areas surrounding Alexandra. The programme runs for 12 weeks culminating with a longer more challenging adventure.

CLT staff had the joy of adventuring with a group of kõhine from Journeys Central Otago to see first- hand what a great initiative the Trust supports.

On the group’s last outing for the season, we set out from the top of Little Valley Road walking (sometimes scrambling) down through the Matangi Station Mountain Bike Park’s trails of ‘Hazard County’ and ‘5th Amendment’ finishing up at the Shaky Bridge. Matangi Station kindly provided all the girls and instructors annual passes to access the land. You’ll see Journeys’ markers along the trails for their orienteering adventures.

They celebrated their last trip reflecting on their favourite adventure from the 12 weeks over pizza, each one of them having different highlights.

From the initial pilot in 2018 with seven participants, the programme has grown to cater to 60 girls a week exploring the trails around Alexandra, and was a joy to experience.

CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU QUEENSTOWN (CABQ)

CABQ has been operating in Queenstown for 30 years. Central Lakes Trust has been supporting the bureau with operational grants since 2001.

In our 20/21 year CLT offered many of our long standing social service agencies that experienced increased demand due to Covid, the ability to submit a COVID-19 emergency funding application. In that same year we gave out 16 COVID-19 emergency grants, including to the bureau. This year overall COVID-19 emergency grants have reduced to five, the CABQ being one of them.

Due to the pandemic the demand on CABQ services increased substantially with much more complex enquiries ranging from employment and immigration to tenancy issues. CABQ was listed as a key local agency alongside the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), Happiness House, Salvation Army and Community Networks Wanaka as part of the QLDC emergency response to COVID-19.

CABQ fielded 4,500 enquires for the year ended June 2021, up on 4,270 the year prior. The total time spent with clients increased from 1,000 to 1,200 hours, an average of approximately 30 minutes per client.

Since the onset of Omicron, in early 2020, CABQ has struggled to offer its full service. Twenty volunteers are required a week and they currently have a pool of eight volunteers. With many volunteers being older people, they are not comfortable working in the office due to a real concern about catching COVID-19.

Due to this demand a COVID-19 emergency grant for 2022 was also granted. This is enabling CABQ to continue providing advice/distributing queries to key volunteers on issues such as specialty employment and tenancy queries along with the rights and responsibilities of the wage subsidy, actual and potential redundancies, tenancy rights and immigration visa enquiries while COVID-19 has been affecting our community.

THE KIWI KIT COMMUNITY TRUST

The Kiwi Kit Community Trust (Kiwi Kit) is a migrant and community reconnection programme in the Queenstown Lakes area.

Kiwi Kit is a relatively new trust operating since October 2020 and is focused on trying to address the disconnection of migrants in the Queenstown and Wanaka communities. The key purpose being to support and better connect migrants in our community to initiatives that will empower, educate, celebrate and provide a sense of belonging.

Their work has taken on increased importance in light of COVID-19 and the stresses that have been placed on the migrant community. This sector was not recognised for support in the COVID-19 response, many losing jobs and having a lack of security being on a working or holiday visa.

The group undertook the ‘Great Migrant Brainstorm’ in Wanaka and Queenstown to determine
the key issues and topics to look at from a migrant perspective.

From this they identified five key issues: disconnection from roots/ place of origin, disconnection from people and culture, disconnection from status, respect and dignity, disconnection from meaningful work and values, disconnection from sense of belonging.

They review this information three times a year, update changes and progress with the migrant community by reconnecting with a workshop.

Key work programme areas are telling the stories of migrants in the area, research and data collection about issues for the migrant community, presenting this information to community leaders, the public and social service agencies. Kiwi Kit is also creating migrant community sharing experiences such as safe welcoming spaces or events where migrants can join in on community activities, holding an ethnic festival and ethnic dinner and education evenings to explore / celebrate and introduce the various cultures of Queenstown. In partnership with Volunteer South the group run a community integration project

LAKES DISTRICT MUSEUM RESTORATION PROJECT

The Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown has been operating for 72 years and is one of the cultural gems of the Queenstown Lakes community. It was established as a ‘Centennial of Otago’ project in 1948 and operates as the regional museum for the Lakes District. The museum occupies buildings in Buckingham Street in Arrowtown and includes the Historic Places category two building which was the former BNZ building. This was constructed in 1875 and was designed by the noted Dunedin architect R.A. Lawson.

The museum is a central point in Arrowtown, an information centre and one of the town’s biggest attractions. It also acts as a community hub, offering its boardroom as meeting space for local charities and groups such as Arrowtown Scouts and the Autumn Festival committee.

Artists use the display area to showcase their works and it has been used for social gatherings. In addition to this, the museum operates the historic Arrowtown Post Office for locals and visitors.

Well before the COVID-19 lockdown the museum’s former Bank of New Zealand building, built in 1865, was marked as earthquake-prone and required strengthening by 2025. A failure to meet the deadline would likely have resulted in the museum’s closure.

Along with the strengthening work, focused on the former Bank of New Zealand building and stables which houses the museum, the building is being restored, and museum displays upgraded.

The $3.5 million project, funded through Queenstown Lakes District Council’s annual plan ($1.04 million), $2 million from the government’s provincial growth fund, and a $426,000 grant from Central Lakes Trust to upgrade the internal displays, commenced in October 2020, and is progressing well, it is scheduled to be completed by March 2022.

ARROWTOWN MATARIKI LIGHT FESTIVAL

In a first for Aotearoa New Zealand, on 24 June 2022 we experienced our first public holiday to celebrate Matariki, which is the first appearance of a series of stars in our northeast horizon, indicating a time to celebrate the Māori new year or Te Tau Hou, a time for reflection and celebration, a time to think about the people that have passed in the previous 12 months, and do one final harvest before winter.

Matariki is the most significant event on the Māori calendar. When the Matariki cluster also known as The Pleiades rises mid- winter, Māori welcome winter and the start of a new year.

Matariki Arrowtown Lights was a three-day cultural event that took place in the heart of Arrowtown.

It involved visual storytelling, stunning light displays and projections down Buckingham Street. Buckingham Street was lit up with light installations and displays by the South Island Light Orchestra (SILO). Arrowtown Museum hosted an art exhibition “Stories of Matariki” by students of Arrowtown Primary School.

One of the world’s pre-eminent astrophysicists, Prof Brian Boyle shared the wonders of the clear Otago night skies, and his photographs of Matariki in an interactive session next to the Arrowtown Museum.

Dorothy Brown played a series of movies as part of the Māori Film Festival including Whale Rider, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Waru, and Whina.

GRAEME DINGLE FOUNDATION SOUTHLAND

The Graeme Dingle Foundation run a Stars Adventure Camp and Community Adventure annually at Wakatipu High School. The Foundation is about empowering children to overcome life’s obstacles.

Stars is a secondary school programme that enhances school culture and develops valuable life skills for both junior and senior ākonga. The programme uses positive youth development practices to engage and connect rangatahi to their school and community.

Stars incorporates the tuakana-teina (older guiding younger) mentoring structure. This involves the senior students building on their leadership capability and skills by supporting the year nine students through their first year of secondary school. The buddy system supports tuakana to increase confidence, develop problem solving skills and build resilience. It also strengthens positive bonds in the school community and helps teina transition positively into their new school.

The adventure camp component of the Stars programme challenges rangatahi to step outside of their comfort zone, build confidence and form bonds with other students.

The community adventure component of the Stars programme aims to engage students with their local community. Wakatipu High ākonga were encouraged to explore the local services, resources,
and opportunities available to
them through fun activities. This
year showcased three important organisations in the region that each ran a lesson in an interactive format: New Zealand Police (Citizenship); Search & Rescue (Wellbeing/Safety); and Wakatipu Youth Trust (Resilience).

MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION

The Whakatipu Music Festival celebrates music in all its many forms, bringing together New Zealand’s outstanding emerging artists and leading professional musicians, together with local performers, grassroots music initiatives and dedicated local and national educators.

The festival had over six days of concerts, public talks and workshops, 25 performances by local and New Zealand’s top classical, jazz and taonga puoro musicians, 148 musicians participated, 700 safe live attendances (in a COVID-19 red traffic light setting) and 21,000 livestream views.

Twelve of New Zealand’s most talented and promising musicians, who, were it not for Covid, would normally be offshore representing New Zealand in competitions and major events, were auditioned and selected to participate in the festival’s Young Artist Programme receiving coaching, essential career development, and performance opportunities.

WAI WĀNAKA SAFEGUARDING UPPER CLUTHA WATERWAYS

WAI Wānaka is the new name for the Upper Clutha Lakes Trust. WAI stands for Water Action Initiative. WAI Wānaka is an organisation where people who want to safeguard the health of our alpine waterways build communities that do.

WAI Wānaka coordinates the activities and needs of a diverse group representing the various segments of the community in the Upper Clutha water catchment area and beyond.

The group believes the iconic waterways of the Upper Clutha region are the community’s essential infrastructure, and that our community has a responsibility to safeguard the water and ensure water leaving the catchment is of high quality to avoid problems downstream.

WAI Wānaka believes that science lies at the heart of understanding how we balance the needs of
our community alongside maintaining the health of our environment, and advocates for the active management of waterways supported by evidence- based decision making.

Changing land use, population and tourism growth, invasive pests, climate change and loss of biodiversity are all bringing significant risk to freshwater. The group released Our Freshwater 2020, which paints a dismal picture of the current state of rivers and lakes in New Zealand. WAI Wānaka’s work in the community has
led to the development of a Community Catchment Plan which identified 60 actions addressing current and future risks to freshwater resources, to prevent decline in water quality and ecosystem function.

CLT provide operational support for this activator / navigator role to represent the wellbeing of the Upper Clutha lakes and waterways. The role coordinates the efforts and plans of well over 30 significant groups of local, regional and national stakeholders.

QUEENSTOWN BOWLS CLUB - BOWLS FACILITY BUILDING

Queenstown Bowls Club has been operating alongside the Queenstown Tennis Club since 1904 from their clubrooms situated amidst the magnificent Queenstown Botanic Gardens, with picture postcard views of the Remarkables and Ben Lomond.

The club offers two full-size artificial greens for play, enabling bowls to be played all year round. Other club facilities include a modern bar, lounge and barbeque area.

Over the years the Trust has supported the bowls club in replacing its bowling green with synthetic turf, sun shades and building upgrades.

The latest plan, now underway, is to renovate the current outbuilding to provide toilets and changing rooms along with an enclosed barbeque area with water for users of the facilities.

FOOD FOR LOVE

Food For Love prepares and distributes meals for those in need in the Upper Clutha area looking after nominees that find themselves in need of a little help. In our communities we see struggles with cancer, mental and physical illnesses, separation and divorce, injury, tragic events, poverty and domestic harm, as well as COVID-19 redundancies.

Food for Love provides home-cooked meals delivered free of charge to recipients for as long as needed. Often the recipients of these meals have no family support in the area.

The demand for Food for Love’s services has grown significantly since inception in 2016. An estimated 6,760 volunteer hours of work are donated annually from 186 volunteer cooks and bakers with 4,568 ‘client meals’ assisted in the past year. As a result in 2021 the organisation employed a coordinator to oversee the daily running of volunteers and nominations.

Community support for Food for Love has been strong and along with the in kind goods and services provided by a number of businesses and individuals, some capital items have also been donated including a chiller trailer (from the Rotary Club of Wanaka) and a delivery vehicle (from the Hugo Trust).

Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail awarded Great Ride status for first birthday

In May 2021, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Stuart Nash, who officially opened the trail a year earlier, announced that the Lake Dunstan Trail was awarded Great Ride status, taking the number of Great Rides of New Zealand to 23.

“The Lake Dunstan Trail is a fantastic addition to both the Great Rides network and the myriad of other trails in Central Otago and the lower South Island. It traverses some of the most breath-taking landscapes of the Cromwell Gorge and is a feat of engineering and design brilliance, with suspended boardwalks hanging off rock faces,” he says.

The tripartite funding agreement between central government ($13.15 million), Central Lakes Trust ($11.15 million) and Otago Community Trust ($2 million) was announced in 2016 to fund the 170km network of trails joining the Great Rides of our region. The Lake Dunstan Trail is the first of five to be completed by COQTNT.

The vision from the outset was to create a world-class and accessible trail network linking the Great Rides in our area. Joining of the trail network is a huge initiative, and The Lake Dunstan Trail’s success is testament to that vision for our community and to what the entire network will become.

The trail has had over 80,000 people utilise it in its single year of operation. The economic benefits for Central Otago in the trail’s first year of operation is calculated to be in the millions.

Cycle trails have experienced a boom in popularity over the past couple of years, with COVID-19 lockdowns and kiwis staying on our shores, more have got out on their bikes to experience our beautiful landscapes. None more so than the unique Lake Dunstan Trail with its several bluff clip-ons and swing bridges traversing imposing rocky bluffs amongst other stunning features. Add to that the advent of e-bikes making our trails even more accessible and one can begin to understand the numbers through the trail.

The trail provides benefits to residents within the region beyond simply the health and wellbeing of getting out walking and cycling.

That the Trust has been able to contribute to this legacy asset for our community is something we are enormously proud of. We look forward to the future benefits and opportunities that joining the entire network will provide.

CROMWELL YOUTH TRUST

Central Lakes Trust provide operational funding support to four youth trusts within our region. This year, we look at the growth and success of Cromwell Youth Trust.

The youth trust is about creating a community where young people are being encouraged and supported to take up challenges. Over the past couple of years the Trust has seen significant change to cater to its growing demand.

Cromwell itself and the surrounding areas are experiencing record population and development growth. In just 12 months the demands on the youth trust have doubled. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new pressures to our community and over time we will see the impact on our youth - our future leaders.

To cater to this increased demand, the team has grown to four full-time staff - including a manager, youth programme coordinator and youth workers, and most recently employment of a dedicated youth
counsellor and a social worker in schools.
The numbers throughout all their programmes have increased and new
initiatives are being introduced:

• ‘The Hangout’ (youth drop in centre) has continued to see increases in numbers attending after school (up from 2,629 in 2019 to 5,623 in 2021).

• Youth development programmes, including Brew like a Barista, Cooking around the World, Choose to Reuse, Expand your Horizons, iFly Skydiving and Into the Wild have seen a 232% increase in participation compared to 2020.

• Holiday programmes (75% increase compared to 2020) one-on-one mentoring, counselling, community events, youth workers in schools, breakfast programme, Cromwell Youth Council and Rainbow group.

• Total engagement numbers have increased to 6,275 up from 4,405 over the past 12 months.

TE ATAMIRA ARTS AND CULTURAL FACILITY

In December 2018, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) undertook a review of community facilities which identified that 50% of 189 groups would outgrow their facilities in the next five years.

In 2019, the Three Lakes Cultural Trust (TLCT) was established to support and encourage arts and culture in the Queenstown Lakes District in ways that enrich the quality of life of residents and contribute to the cultural, social and economic vitality and resilience of the district. They commissioned AEA Consulting, preeminent cultural strategists, to undertake an audit of QLDC cultural provisioning and built infrastructure and create a strategic cultural masterplan. Presented in February 2020, one of the key findings was the urgent need for a fit-for-purpose place to practice, rehearse and showcase creative activities.

The Te Atamira refit in Remarkables Park has created the facility to house arts and culture from the region.

We all know Queenstown Lakes has experienced phenomenal population growth over the past years. It stands to reason that community facilities also need to grow in order to accommodate this rapidly growing population. Te Atamira caters to more than 40 groups and organisations. It has two dance studios, two theatre spaces, a recording studio, multiple artist studios and music spaces, a pottery workshop, a workshop classroom, a curated art gallery, and a flexible youth focused space.

CLT recognises the need to respond to the region’s population growth and the importance of arts and culture to our region’s long term resilience. Arts and culture enrich people’s quality of life and contribute to the cultural, social and economic vitality of the district, something we need more than ever.

The number of people expected to benefit from the establishment of Te Atamira is estimated to be just over 2,500 people a week (350 people a day). It is anticipated this will be a diversified user group, including all ages and backgrounds, and a wide range of community groups and different arts and cultural disciplines. Users include groups providing lessons, workshops, exhibitions, students attending lessons, visitors in all the spaces and visitors attending events