A collaboration in the Western Bay of Plenty is bringing together environmental restoration work and youth development.

Outflow Trust and Recreate NZ are creating opportunities for young people to build skills in a range of practical conservation activities across local coastal and natural environments.

Young participants from Recreate’s Moxie Work Experience programme have been working alongside Outflow teams on environmental projects across the Western Bay of Plenty.

Activities included beach clean-ups, dune restoration, weed removal, native planting, microplastic monitoring, and preparing native seedlings for future planting.

Outflow founder and chief Ash Morgan said the charity was created to connect environmental restoration with social support for young people who may be struggling or feeling overlooked.

“We’re a conservation charity focused on the environment and struggling youth,” he said in a media release.

“We wanted to bring both together to give purpose and restoration for everyone involved.”

Now in its third year, Outflow has expanded from environmental projects into programmes designed to help young people move towards employment, education and greater stability.

Morgan said the organisation deliberately chose not to rely solely on unpaid labour.

“We didn’t want to use volunteers as free labour. People are falling through the cracks who never really got a head start in life. We wanted to help create that opportunity.”

Alongside conservation work, participants receive mentoring and practical support such as CV development, preparation for the workplace and job readiness skills.

Morgan said his own life experiences shaped the charity’s direction.

“I grew up with disability and a troubled background,” he said.

“The environment was my healing. That connection with nature helped me, and I wanted to create something that could help others, too.”

The partnership with Recreate NZ began earlier this year and has already shown strong results.

“The first term was phenomenal,” Morgan said.

Volunteer Earl Fisher said the programme had provided both practical experience and a deeper understanding of environmental issues.

“We learned a lot about the capabilities of the young people involved and how we can better support them.”

Recreate Bay of Plenty programme co-ordinator Adam Barrett said the Moxie programme helped young people build confidence through real-world volunteering.

Each week, participants spent a day contributing to community projects alongside staff and supervisors.

“There’s also a big social aspect, a lot of our participants aren’t in fulltime work, so getting out, connecting with people and contributing to the community is really meaningful,” Barrett said in a media release.

He said the partnership had been “especially positive” because participants could see the direct impact of their efforts.

“They’ve [Outflow] been absolutely fantastic to work with, there’s good communication, good support and the young people feel appreciated.”

Volunteer Earl Fisher said the programme had provided both practical experience and a deeper understanding of environmental issues.

“It’s enjoyable being informed about what goes on with our beaches, and the good work people are doing.”

Fisher’s message to others thinking about joining is simple: “Just give it a go”.

New participant Alice Sampson said she was already enjoying being involved.

“I’m hoping to help the environment more and learn different things.”

Both organisations hope greater community awareness will strengthen support and encourage more young people to take part.

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