2026 winners announced
Winners of the 2026 awards were announced at the National Fieldays event in Hamilton on 12 June 2026.
Celebrating New Zealand’s native forest champs – Beehive
Catchment or Community Group
Styx Living Laboratory Trust.
Forestry Company
Kingheim Limited.
Large Scale Restoration Project
Waingake Transformation Programme.
Lifestyle Block Owner
Ollie Langridge.
Mana Whenua
Ngāti Koata Trust.
Trees on Farms
Philip and Jenny Leith.
Recognising those growing native forests
The Growing Native Forests Champions awards aim to:
- celebrate people who are growing native forests
- help others learn about the importance of native forests in New Zealand
- inspire more people to grow native forests.
Recognition and reward
Award winners in each category received:
- a trophy and certificate of achievement
- tickets to Fieldays and funding towards travel and accommodation costs to attend the awards ceremony.
They were also included in the awards' information materials, media, and communications programme.
Who could enter?
The awards were open to people and organisations across New Zealand who are growing native forests.
There are 6 award categories. Each category had different criteria.