Interactive Event - 19 Sep 2025
Exploring Kāpiti’s Marine World
Check out the events page for other upcoming Explore Your Coast events.
Exploring Kāpiti’s Marine World
The event was held on Friday 19 September 2025 from 5.30pm to 8.30pm at the St Peter’s Village Hall, Paekākāriki as part of the Kāpiti Coast District Council (KCDC) Sustainable Spring Programme. KCDC support allows us to offer a limited number of free tickets for local school students through local schools. More info on Sustainable Spring and the full programme of events is available on the KCDC website.
Attendee Feedback
‘Congratulations for such a successful and interesting event’
‘The event was great from start to finish – I learned so much’
‘I was so impressed by the panel – everyone was so knowledgeable and brought a great mix of perspectives. You should take the panel on a road trip around NZ!’
‘The Q&A was great and the panelists explained everything really well!’
‘Such a great community event with everyone contributing where they could – real community spirit’
‘I’m so glad to hear that regional solutions can create a healthy ocean and local jobs, now we just need to get on with it’
Dive the Kāpiti Coast in 360 degree
Take a dive without getting wet and experience the marine environment of Wellington’s Blue Belt – from Kapiti Island to Wellington’s South Coast on VR headsets. This fully immersive 360-degree experience gets you up close and personal with local marine life, let’s you explore shipwrecks and the amazing kelp forests of the Wellington coastline.
Movie Screening
Short Documentary: Seaweed, A Love Story
Watch the trailer here on YouTube.
In the underwater world of Wellington, New Zealand, Dr. Nicole Miller dedicates her life to documenting the coastal ecosystems she holds dear. With over 800 hours spent underwater, Nicole embarks on her most ambitious mission yet: SCUBA diving 70 kilometers of Wellington’s coastline to assess the health of seaweed and giant kelp forests. Armed with her camera, Nicole brings these hidden underwater realms to life through photography, art, and immersive virtual reality experiences, while revealing the stark reality of kelp forest decline caused by overfishing, pollution and climate change. This short film chronicles Nicole’s monumental effort to inspire action, showcasing the urgent need to monitor and protect these vital ecosystems—essential to life both beneath and above the waves.
Directed and produced by Rebecca Pratt (www.saltyslate.org).
Panel Discussion and Q&A
Interactive panel discussion with audience questions. Panelists include Kāpiti Coast locals with whakapapa to Kapiti Island Himiona Grace, local fisher Scott McNeill and Chris Paulin from the Guardians of Kapiti Marine Reserve.
Mingle with panelists and artists after the Q&A. The event finished at 8.30pm.
ART by the OCEAN, for the OCEAN
Purchase a piece of ocean art and support marine conservation. Nicole’s artworks are available for purchase on the night with all profits supporting Explore Your Coast.
Ocean-inspired art from other artists will be on display and available for purchase at the event.
Teachers - get in touch!
We’re excited to bring our short documentary to Wellington schools to inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.
If you’re a teacher or principal interested in partnering with us, we’d love to hear from you! Our Q&A sessions can be tailored to fit your school focus and curriculum, covering topics such as: kaitiakitanga, marine protection & restoration, marine & community science, the power of film and art in environmental storytelling, and the global importance of kelp forests and the impacts of their decline.
Partner with us to inspire ocean action across the motu!
We are looking for partners and sponsors to bring the documentary to venues and events around New Zealand. If you would like to host a film screening, a Q&A or a fundraising event please get in touch!