Usually, we invite our Impact Investors (members) along for drinks and nibbles and a chance to chat about the past 12 months and what they're looking forward to in the New Year.
That's how this year's event started, but not for long. Within an hour, some of our guests were taking selfies in front of a special downtown water feature while others were in a running race up one of the city’s steeper streets.
What happened?
The Sleigh Trail happened.
Quite simply, it was a fast-paced, collaborative experience that celebrated art and culture within 500 metres of SBN’s central city office in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
It would be fair to say not everyone was jumping with Christmas joy when it was announced we were heading outdoors into 26° heat.
There was a real sense of nervous excitement, perhaps due to some footwear choices or the prospect of stepping outside comfort zones. Three teams were randomly selected and handed a booklet of clues. The aim was to get people out and about, exploring the local area through civic artwork and local businesses.
For context, civic artwork act as pillars throughout the city, telling stories and encouraging us to care for what we can’t always see. Some of our teammates reflected on how these works connected us to the cultural history of our country; others spoke of the idea that to move forward, we must look back, walking backwards into the future. A fitting kaupapa to draw from, especially in the context of sustainability, where progress relies on both innovation and remembrance.
Works like Kaitiaki by Fred Graham on Queen Street revive stories of buried awa (rivers) such as Te Wai Horotiu, while less obvious pieces like Black Stump by Ralph Hotere & Bill Culbert remind us that small choices made in both lightness and darkness can create big impact. These artworks ground us in why our work matters and why investing in sustainability in Aotearoa New Zealand is so important. They stand as reminders of our obligations to whakapapa and kaitiakitanga. As we move through the city each day, surrounded by concrete, diesel, and consumerism, these nodes of protection quietly guide us. Every day.
When two of the teams sprinted back into the office to hand in their booklets, their energy had clearly shifted. Wairua lifted, cheeks flushed, laughter flowing. A few reflected that they had learnt something new along the way, noting that although they walk past these landmarks every day, they had never stopped to consider what they are, who made them, or why they exist. Now, they said, they would. They would pause, look and reflect on the deeper concepts that fill and ground our city.
As the evening wound down with a well-deserved drink, we looked through photos taken on the steps of the Ellen Melville Centre. These steps are a crucial part of the revitalisation of Te Wai Horotiu, the river buried beneath Auckland City. Flowing from the Waitematā to the Manukau Harbour, its tributaries once extended through Queen Street and up to Karanga-a-Hape Road, before being buried due to poor waste management and the colonial reshaping of the cityscape.
The photos captured more than just a moment in time; they held a shared understanding and brought joy and curiosity into a public space. They reminded us that sustainability is not only about systems and strategy, but about relationships, to place, to history, and to one another.
This evening was ultimately about connection. Connection that keeps kaupapa alive, especially in times where the work can feel heavy or complex. With our cups (and minds) filled, we set off home into the warm night.