We’re excited to celebrate the amazing achievements of local tamariki and rangatahi through this year’s WeSTEM projects. In 2025, more than 380 students from across the West and beyond rolled up their sleeves to tackle real-world challenges through science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
With projects that ranged from restoring local streams and growing native seedlings, to exploring Pacific navigation and tackling food waste, these young innovators showed just how powerful curiosity and community can be when combined. Supported by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, WeSTEM helps young people see themselves in STEM. It’s not just about equations or experiments; it’s about solving problems that matter. Students worked alongside scientists, engineers, conservationists and cultural experts, gaining new skills in literacy, numeracy, digital technology and critical thinking, while strengthening connections to their identity and community.
The Trusts were proud to support Te Hononga Akoranga COMET in 2024 with funding, helping make STEM learning more accessible and relevant for our young people. It was also an honour for us to be present on the day of the WeSTEM Conference and witness first-hand the students’ creativity and confidence as they presented their projects to peers, teachers, whānau and community members.
Highlights from this year’s projects include Glen Eden Intermediate students designing accessible gym equipment for local parks, Waitākere College students using stars and Minecraft to explore Pacific wayfinding, and Kelston and Rangeview Intermediate students turning surplus food into healthy kai while exploring food sovereignty and nutrition.
Events like the WeSTEM Conference show that when learning is hands-on, locally connected and culturally grounded, it transforms lives. These young innovators are not just imagining the future, they’re building it right here in our community.
