Programme
Programme 2026 Ka Rū Ka Hā
Two days of ideas, kōrero, connection and landscape
Ka Rū Ka Hā brings our landscape architecture community together in Ōtautahi for two days of speakers, discussion, field trips and shared thinking about where our profession is now, and where it could have more influence.
Thursday begins with our international keynote and a series of conversations about practice in Aotearoa, truth telling, influence and the possibilities that open up when we broaden how we practise. In the afternoon, we head out into Ōtautahi for five field trips before coming together again for the Resene NZILA Awards Gala Dinner.
Friday brings us back into the room to reflect on what we’ve seen, explore climate change and influence beyond the profession, and take part in a series of smaller focused conversations before we close the Wānanga together.
Thursday 5 November
Thursday moves from keynote thinking and questions about practice into a wider conversation about where landscape architects can have influence. After lunch, we leave the venue and head out across Ōtautahi to experience projects and landscapes in place.
8.00–9.00am
Registration and exhibition
9.00–9.35am
Welcome
Opening the Wānanga and setting the scene for Ka Rū Ka Hā.
9.35–10.20am
International keynote | Alison Page
10.20–10.50am | Morning tea
10.50–11.20am
Hirini Matunga
Hirini explores truth telling, justice and reconciliation through design, and the role landscape architecture can play in responding to history, place and the relationships between them.
11.20–11.55am
What is an Aotearoa practice? | Sibyl Bloomfield
Sibyl asks what it means to practise landscape architecture here in Aotearoa, and what might shape a practice grounded in this place.
11.55am–12.45pm
Where can landscape architects have more influence, and what becomes possible when we broaden how we practise?
Four perspectives open up a wider conversation about where landscape architects could have more influence, how our skills can be applied differently, and what becomes possible when we look beyond conventional practice.
With Zach Barker, Joshua Joe, Hugh Smith and Dave Little.
12.45–1.45pm | Lunch
1.45–1.55pm
President’s update | Ralph Johns
1.55pm–approximately 4.30pm
Ōtautahi field trips
Thursday afternoon takes the Wānanga out into the city and wider landscape, with five field trips exploring landscape architecture in practice.
- Te Kuru Wetland
- Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre
- Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor
- Te Nukutai o Tapoa Naval Point
- Marokapara
6.00pm arrivals | 6.30pm start
Resene NZILA Awards Gala Dinner
One New Zealand Stadium.
Friday 6 November
Friday brings the ideas and experiences of the Wānanga back together. We’ll reflect on Thursday’s field trips, hear from the NZILA Climate Change Working Group, explore influence beyond the profession, then break into smaller sessions where you can choose the conversations most relevant to you.
8.30–9.00am
Exhibition and coffee
9.00–9.50am
Session announcement coming soon
9.50–10.30am
Field notes
Reflections from Thursday afternoon, bringing observations and ideas from the field trips back into the room.
Chaired by Nik Kneale.
10.30–11.00am | Morning tea
11.00–11.40am
Firth with the NZILA Climate Change Working Group
With Nicole Thompson, Wraight + Associates; Nicole Tune, Boffa Miskell; and Craig Pocock.
Facilitated by Bernice Cumming.
11.40am–12.25pm
Influence beyond the profession
A conversation about the influence landscape architects can have beyond the boundaries of the profession, and how our expertise can contribute to wider decisions about people, place and the future of our communities.
12.25–1.30pm | Lunch and exhibition
1.30–3.00pm
Choose your conversation
Friday afternoon becomes more participatory, with two rounds of concurrent sessions. Choose one conversation in each round.
Round one
Resilient Land Use
Natural Hazards Commission
A workshop exploring resilient land use and the role landscape architects can play in helping shape better outcomes as Aotearoa responds to natural hazards.
Every Body Active by Design
Sport New Zealand
A workshop exploring how the places we plan and design can support everyday movement and more active communities.
Round two
Living with water: place, people and adaptation
A conversation about water, changing landscapes and adaptation, bringing together experience from Linear Park and Westport.
When Mana Whenua Lead: Changing how we design, collaborate and deliver
A conversation about what changes when mana whenua leadership shapes the way projects are conceived, designed, collaborated on and delivered.
3.00–3.30pm | Afternoon tea
3.30–4.30pm
Closing panel and poroporoaki
We’ll bring the threads of the two days back together, reflect on what we’ve heard and consider what we carry forward from Ka Rū Ka Hā.
Wānanga closes at 4.30pm.
Three threads through Ka Rū Ka Hā
Across the two days, three interconnected threads help shape the kōrero.
Rū Te Tangata | People and Leadership
How we lead, support communities and draw on leadership models to navigate change.
Rū Te Whenua | Design and Practice
Landscape practice, innovation and design approaches that respond to a changing environment while honouring place.
Ka Hā Te Ranga | Systems, Policy and Advocacy
The systems shaping our landscapes, and how policy, governance and advocacy can enable more resilient futures.
Come and be part of it
Ka Rū Ka Hā isn’t built around two days of sitting and listening. It’s about hearing different perspectives, getting out into the landscape, asking questions and making time for the conversations that happen when our profession comes together.