Onlookers would have been justified in their confusion as the group of community servants — dressed in tight fitting clothing and protective helmets and glasses — set about the relatively benign work of picking up small pieces of paper and plastic from the lake front, but there was good reason, as this was the latest litter-picking collaboration between cyclists, a world-leading cycling clothing company and WAI Wānaka.
The origin of the collaboration is the Help Wanted initiative run by Australian cycling apparel company MAAP, which seeks to acknowledge and draw attention to issues facing the environments cyclists ride in.
In 2025, MAAP approached their Wānaka stockist, Heatwave, in search of a Wanaka-based environmental initiative to back. Heatwave, together with the MAAP-sponsored CouldbEkeen collective, put WAI Wānaka forward as an organisation doing positive environmental work in the town.
For Heatwave co-owner Alice Todd, in looking for an initiative to back, WAI Wānaka, with its focus on water, was the obvious choice.
“The water is part of almost everything we do and what everyone does in Wānaka.
“Part of the reason everyone moves here is for the lake and its surroundings, so it made sense that its what we would look to protect,” Ms Todd said.
Now when MAAP post about their Help Wanted campaign on social media, the issues facing Lake Wānaka’s fresh water are put on the map globally, alongside those facing the Santa Monica mountains in Los Angeles and the French Alps in Annecy.
“Part of why I like riding my bike is the flora and fauna that you can see on the trails, and obviously in Wānaka the lakes and the rivers are vital to that,” Mr Shaw said.
“I grew up in Rotorua and saw what happened with issues caused by algae bloom in Lake Rotoiti, and obviously we need to do what we can to avoid that happening here.”
For WAI Wānaka chief executive officer, Cat Dillon, working with a wide range of groups within the community is vital to furthering the community’s understanding that the lake’s health is in decline and change is required to protect it.
“Our role is to speak for the water and to provide information that mobilises the community to take action,” Ms Dillon said.
“We’re trying to mobilise all corners of our community to join the movement and to ensure that everyone who touches the water understands their impact and what they can do about it.”
To do this, WAI Wānaka was working with a range of groups in Wānaka, including cyclists, dog owners, farmers, schools and businesses, to show how groups that affect, or rely on clean water from Lake Wānaka can take steps to protect it.
“The hope is that if someone then takes their dog for a walk, that they take care to pick up the dog poo, or if they’re out for a bike ride and they see something on the side of the road, they pick it up,” Ms Dillon said.
“The more that people feel connected to the water here, the more they will care about it, so it’s really important that we connect people to place.”
ruairi.oshea@alliedmedia.co.nz
