Hello!
We've noticed that you are in .
Visit Canon .
Close
Cultural Grant Winner
In the Whangārei Heads area, a Māori-led team is working to bring the whenua back to life. Aki Tai Here works to eradicate invasive pests, restore native habitat, and build tangata whenua capacity to care for the environment. As part of this mahi, they're developing Tirotiro, a tool for tracking environmental change over time, recording plant recovery and pest damage using mātauranga Māori. Currently, that record-keeping happens on phones. The Canon camera will help them capture clear, lasting footage to build a proper archive of the restoration work for their community.
“Tukuna he mihi nui ki ngā whānau i pōti me te poāri kaiwhakwā. Ka tautoko tēnei pūtea i a tātou mahi tiaki te taiao me te ngāhere i roto i tēnei pito o te ao. Ka kawea ēnei whakaahua i ngā reo whakaorooro, e honohono i ngā iwi kātoa ki te ao taiao tūturu. Huge thanks to the board of judges and those who voted for our kaupapa to win this award. This grant will support us not only in our work to care for the natural world in our local area - the images will carry our stories, which allow others from across the world to form bonds with an indigenous worldview.”
Nicki Wakefield at Aki Tai Here
Community Grant Winner
Many of Taskforce Kiwi's volunteers have already spent careers running toward emergencies, in the fire service, ambulance, or defence force. Now they do it as civilians, supporting communities across Aotearoa and overseas, in the immediate aftermath of disasters and severe weather events. Its 970 skilled volunteers have responded to every major event from Cyclone Gabrielle to the recent Wellington floods, contributing more than 20,000 hours across 26 operations. The Canon grant provides essential equipment and training to document their work in the field.
“This grant will help us tell the story of our volunteers who put their lives on hold to help those they’ve never met, while also upskilling them through training and access to Canon’s high-quality camera equipment. Now we'll be able to document the impact of disasters and severe weather events on communities and ensure there is a wider understanding of the challenges they face. The funding will enable us to deliver photography training for our volunteers around the country so when they are deployed on disaster relief operations, they can effectively tell the story of our people and who they assist.”
Richard Adams at Taskforce Kiwi
Education Grant Winner
For rangatahi who may have struggled to access education and employment, Te Karanga Charitable Trust's Bridge the Gap programme offers a way back in. The free programme mentors 13 to 30-year-olds through hands-on branding, creative work, marketing, digital design, music and photography projects. With Canon’s camera and printing equipment, they’ll build practical skills in photography and videography, produce real work for events and exhibitions, creating genuine pathways into employment or further study.
“For rangatahi who may have struggled to access education and employment, Te Karanga Charitable Trust's Bridge the Gap programme offers a way back in. The free programme mentors 13 to 30-year-olds through hands-on branding, creative work, marketing, digital design, music and photography projects. With Canon’s camera and printing equipment, they’ll build practical skills in photography and videography, produce real work for events and exhibitions, creating genuine pathways into employment or further study.”
TK White at Te Karanga Charitable Trust
Environment Grant Winner
EcoQuest is on the hunt for one of New Zealand's most elusive creatures. Combining science and mātauranga Māori, its community-led Finding Franklin Bats project tracks the critically endangered long-tailed bat (pekapeka) to uncover where it roosts, feeds and travels. It also works with landowners and Ngāti Te Ata kaitiaki to restore the habitats these bats need. The Canon grant will fund cameras and printing equipment to capture its after-dark conservation work, turning it into stories that attract volunteers, engage landowners, and build public support to help the bats survive.
“This project has shown us just how much people care about our native bats when they are given the opportunity to learn about them and get involved in their conservation. The grant will help us build more resources for schools and communities, share the amazing mahi happening through Finding Franklin Bats, and raise awareness of pekapeka and their importance across Aotearoa. We’re particularly excited to use the Canon equipment to document our work in the field, including the often unseen world of bats at night, and to create and print resources that communities can take away and use themselves.”
Dr Natasha Bansal at EcoQuest Centre
