Programme for our 50th Celebration
Community Feast
11:30am-1:15pm Community Feast at the Lincoln Event Centre (Lincoln Township)
Symposium
1:45 Welcome
1:50 VC Welcome – Professor Grant Edwards
1:55 Panel One: How can the BHU support mahinga kai, kai motuhake and community food resilience initiatives over the next 25 years?
Chair: Harry Baitz (Manager, BHU)
2:00- Chrystal O’Connor, Lincoln University academic and BHU Board member
2:05- Gina-Lee Duncan, Te Waka Kai Ora and BHU Board member
2:10- Jade Moana – BHU Hauhake Programme
2:15- Charles Hyland – Soil & Health Association of New Zealand Chair
Discussion amongst panelists, and questions from the audience.
2:50 Short break
2:55 Panel Two: How can the BHU help build capacity in the wider organics and regenerative production sectors?
Chair: Brendan Hoare
3:00- Identifying sector needs: Scott Lawson, OANZ
3:05- Food Resilience Network: Hayley Guglietta
3:10- Periurban development opportunities: Assoc. Prof. Andreas Wesener
3:15- Research and Extension: Dr Charles Merfield
3:20- EatNZ. Developing our food culture: Angela Clifford
3:25- Discussion amongst panelists, and questions from the audience.
3:55 Short break
4:00 Panel Three: Reflections. What has occurred to you today about the needs for a facility such as the BHU? What might be ideas to consider and develop into the next 25 years?
Chair: Jon Manhire (Past Chair, BHU Organics Trust Chair)
4:05- Dr Sharon Raszap Skorbiansky, Lincoln University
4:10- Wilby Le Heux, Te Waerenga (Addington Farm)
4:15- Sol Morgan, Chair, Golden Bay Sustainable Living Centre (and past BHU student)
4:20- Penny Platt, Chair, BHU Organics Trust
4:25- Final thoughts
4:30 End
Our Community Feast is a collaboration of food and sustainability-related organisations, with delicious food prepared by local chefs.
The Symposium, taking place at Lincoln University, features over fourteen speakers who will share their collective wisdom and experience relating to kai motuhake, urban design, current needs of the organics sector, food resilience and much more.
Finally, the After Party at the BHU itself is a chance to debrief, relax and also take a look around the space. We can’t wait to host you there.
Tickets available from August 1st.
We are looking forward to welcoming you!
With thanks to our sponsors:
Further Information
Community Feast
The 2026 Community Feast brings together many key players in the local food system, including those with a focus on food justice, food resilience, food security and food waste as a dynamic way to celebrate the legacy of the BHU.
Food will be prepared by local chefs, supported by a host of exceptional volunteers. We can cater to a diversity of dietary requirements.
This will be a delicious moment to kick off our day!
The Community Feast will be held at the Lincoln Event Centre in Lincoln township, from 11.30-1.15.
The Community Feast was devised by a wide array of community partners in 2023 as a way of highlighting issues in our food system and demonstrating what can be achieved when we intentionally work together on them. Three hundred people attended the event. A report on the evening can be found here.
Symposium
After the Feast we shift to Lincoln University where we will be welcomed by Vice Chancellor Professor Grant Edwards. Three panels will then explore current BHU initiatives and opportunities, the needs of the wider organics, sustainability and food resilience sectors, and reflections on past, present and future for this work and the BHU.
The Symposium will run from 1.45-4.30pm.
The full programme is available here.
After Party
From the Symposium we then shift up the road to the BHU itself. Here, you will be able to explore the BHU as part of our farm tours. And you’ll be able to unwind, chat more and enjoy the end of a day of celebration and visioning in a relaxed and vibrant setting. We’ll be kicking this off at 5pm.