Taranaki
Photo by Simon O'Brien from Pixabay

Taranaki Strategy nominated for Recreation Award

Our Taranaki Tracks & Trails 2040 Strategy has been nominated for the Recreation Aotearoa Outstanding Research, Planning and Policy Award.

The Recreation Awards recognise excellence, innovation, and effectiveness of outstanding activity within the recreation sector.

To develop the Taranaki Strategy we engaged the DesignLab team at Lincoln University. Together we collaborated with councils, Sport Taranaki, local iwi, community groups and the Department of Conservation. DesignLab applied strategic and spatial design processes to identify relevant insights, opportunities and challenges. DesignLab’s report tells the story of Taranaki, the maunga, which embraces the whole region as it stretches from its summit out to the ocean.  

The resulting tracks and trails strategy outlines a potential network of pathways, biodiversity trails, tourist trails, cycle trails, coastal trails, river crossings and historic trails. People and organisations in Taranaki can use the strategy to plan and to inform future funding and development for years to come. 

The report is a gift to Taranaki and its people. It is not a formal document that councils or committees are committed to. Rather it is a tool that organisations in the Taranaki region can use to assess decisions they make about funding and development for the next two decades.  

As Taranaki develops this connected network of biodiversity trails, cycle trails, a coastal trail, river crossings, a tourism trail, trails for children, cultural and historic trails it will create many recreation and leisure opportunities, both for local people and for tourists. These opportunities will also connect to other important needs for the people and the mountain – environmental sustainability, celebrating the stories associated with local heritage and culture, and economic growth.  

Taranaki Tracks and Trails 2040 Strategy