The Whau River Catchment Trust is the umbrella environmental organisation for the Whau River catchment in west Auckland, based at 36 Rathlin Street, Blockhouse Bay. It is a charitable trust set up in 2012. Friends of the Whau, whose volunteers have worked on the river since 2000, is now part of the trust. Together they work for healthier streams and river through community participation and kaitiakitanga. Projects cover ecological restoration and conservation, mostly in collaboration with Auckland Council, and the trust promotes greenways with walkways and cycleways along the river.
The trust reports that in its most recent year, 2,130 volunteers took part, 3,088 native plants went in the ground, and 948 volunteer hours on litter clean-ups removed 9,000 kg of rubbish. Animal pest control took 378 volunteer hours, and plant pest control took 96. Volunteers can join as Friends of the Whau volunteers. Visitors can enjoy birdwatching, kayaking, walking, cycling and fishing along the river. Our pick in Blockhouse Bay for a way to help look after the Whau River.