Canon Oceania names four New Zealand grant winners

Canon Oceania has named four New Zealand winners in its 2026 Grants Program, marking the programme's 20th year.

Each recipient will receive NZD $5,000 in support: NZD $2,500 in funding and NZD $2,500 in Canon equipment. Aki Tai Here also received the overall Judges' Award, which includes a NZD $2,000 content creation package with a professional photographer or videographer.

The New Zealand winners, selected across the community, education, environment and cultural categories, are Taskforce Kiwi, Te Karanga Charitable Trust, EcoQuest Centre and Aki Tai Here.

Since launching, the grants initiative has invested more than AUD $700,000 in grassroots organisations across Australia and New Zealand. It focuses on helping local groups document their work and raise public awareness of their activities.

Kotaro Fukushima, Managing Director & CEO of Canon Oceania, said the anniversary highlighted the programme's long-running support for community groups.

"For 20 years, our Grants Program has been grounded in the simple belief that when you give passionate local people the tools to share their stories, the positive impact ripples right across the community. This year's New Zealand winners embody the dedication found at the heart of our community. We are proud to back their vision and provide the technology and funds that they need to drive lasting, positive change," Fukushima said.

Community work

Taskforce Kiwi won the community grant. The organisation supports communities in the aftermath of disasters and severe weather events in New Zealand and abroad, drawing on volunteers with emergency services and defence backgrounds.

Its 997 volunteers have responded to major events including Cyclone Gabrielle and the Wellington floods, contributing more than 20,000 hours across 26 operations. The grant will fund equipment and training to help document field work during deployments.

Richard Adams of Taskforce Kiwi said, "This grant will help us tell the story of our volunteers who put their lives on hold to help those they've never met, while also upskilling them through training and access to Canon's high-quality camera equipment. Now we'll be able to document the impact of disasters and severe weather events on communities and ensure there is a wider understanding of the challenges they face. The funding will enable us to deliver photography training for our volunteers around the country so when they are deployed on disaster relief operations, they can effectively tell the story of our people and who they assist."

Education and environment

Te Karanga Charitable Trust received the education grant for its Bridge the Gap programme, which mentors people aged 13 to 30 in branding, creative projects, marketing, digital design, music and photography. The funding and equipment will support practical training in photography and videography and help participants produce work for events and exhibitions.

TK White of Te Karanga Charitable Trust said, "Receiving this grant means so much to Te Karanga, particularly because our community helped make it possible. Their support throughout the voting campaign sent a powerful message; that our young people, their stories, and their perspectives matter and deserve to be seen and heard. With Canon's equipment and funding, we can now put quality creative tools and mentorship directly into the hands of our young people and help bring those stories to life. We can't wait to see what the world looks like through their eyes."

The environment grant went to EcoQuest Centre for its Finding Franklin Bats project. The initiative combines scientific research and mātauranga Māori to track the critically endangered long-tailed bat, or pekapeka, and works with landowners and Ngāti Te Ata kaitiaki on habitat restoration.

The support will fund cameras and printing equipment to document field work at night and produce material for schools and communities. EcoQuest aims to use that material to attract volunteers, engage landowners and build broader public support for conservation.

Dr Natasha Bansal of EcoQuest Centre said, "This project has shown us just how much people care about our native bats when they are given the opportunity to learn about them and get involved in their conservation. The grant will help us build more resources for schools and communities, share the amazing mahi happening through Finding Franklin Bats, and raise awareness of pekapeka and their importance across Aotearoa. We're particularly excited to use the Canon equipment to document our work in the field, including the often unseen world of bats at night, and to create and print resources that communities can take away and use themselves."

Cultural grant

Aki Tai Here received the cultural grant for its work in the Whangārei Heads area, where it leads pest eradication, habitat restoration and environmental monitoring. Part of that work includes Tirotiro, a tool used to track environmental change over time through mātauranga Māori.

The group currently relies on phones for record-keeping and plans to use the Canon camera to build a stronger visual archive of its restoration work. In addition to the category award, it also received the Judges' Award.

Nicki Wakefield of Aki Tai Here said, "Tukuna he mihi nui ki ngā whānau i pōti me te poāri kaiwhakwā. Ka tautoko tēnei pūtea i a tātou mahi tiaki te taiao me te ngāhere i roto i tēnei pito o te ao. Ka kawea ēnei whakaahua i ngā reo whakaorooro, e honohono i ngā iwi kātoa ki te ao taiao tūturu. Huge thanks to the board of judges and those who voted for our kaupapa to win this award. This grant will support us not only in our work to care for the natural world in our local area - the images will carry our stories, which allow others from across the world to form bonds with an indigenous worldview."