WA$TED gave an eco twist to the DIY renovation genre, by giving homes a green makeover. In this first episode the young family learning about sustainability are the Petelos, a household that guzzles gas and churns out trash. Patrick Petelo learns that if his example (taking the train a couple of days a week) was widely followed, Aotearoa’s carbon emissions would be reduced by 15%. Created by Carthew Neal, the show's format sold overseas, including to US channel Planet Green (now Destination America). Co-presenter Francesca Price later launched sustainability mag Good. 

In this 2011 series Te Radar re-teams with company JAM TV (Off the Radar, Radar’s Patch) to meet people making a difference to sustainability issues. This first episode sees the comedian exploring green motoring: he visits a Kiwi project to make potato starch wing mirrors for a Nottingham F3 racing team; checks out the Trekka (the only NZ designed and mass-produced car) with journalist Todd Niall; rides a battery-powered Citroën in Whangarei, and tinkers with his Dad’s Land Rover. The first season won a 2012 NZ Television Award for Best Information Series.

In this 2010 series, comedian Te Radar ditches his lawnmower to take on the challenge of transforming an overgrown quarter acre lawn into a lush garden bursting with produce. Using recycled material and organic methods, Te Radar has six months to hit his goals — including making a profit from selling his food. "You can almost smell the fertility in the air," he claims in this first episode, filmed in Riverhead north of Auckland. In true Te Radar style, comedy ensues. He forgets to build a gate for a fence, and heads to a neighbour's shed for help turning an old reel mower into a mulcher. 

Young scientist Logan Williams became "infatuated" with an invasive algae called didymo, while studying at university. Outraged that his beloved South Canterbury rivers had been destroyed by this "rock snot", Williams developed an idea to turn it into recyclable consumer goods, such as plates and cups. Williams was a 2018 finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year Award; he has also developed polarised contact lenses for people with photosensitive epilepsy. This Loading Docs short documentary is directed by commercials producer Jane Mahoney.

In 2014 Ngāi Tūhoe completed construction on Te Uru Taumatua, a sustainable ‘living building’ built entirely out of materials sourced from Tūhoe land. Ever the Land captures the construction of the building, from its initial design stages through to its opening, and explores the history and values reflected in its design. Premiering at the 2015 New Zealand International Film Festival, Ever the Land is the debut feature as director for German-born editor Sarah Grohnert.

In this series about living sustainably, comedian Te Radar swaps the farm for town to transform a quarter acre overgrown lawn into a lush garden. Using recycled materials and organic methods, Te Radar faces a mission to clear the jungle that is his property and make a profit selling his produce. Throughout the series he visits eco-friendly businesses, including a firm that converts waste cooking oil into biodiesel, and turns to locals to help with his challenge. The series followed on from Off the Radar, in which Te Radar aimed to live solely off produce from his farm.

This 2014 series looks at the role of architects on Kiwi building projects, as they respond to the challenges of budget, environment, site and client expectations. In this last episode of the series, host Peter Elliott asks if "architectural design can be financially achievable". He meets company Herbst Architects, and talks space, emotion and design for a steep Waiheke Island section, and a modular bach. Two fathers share the build of a John Irving-designed beach house; and a Point Chevalier house designed by A Studio aims for zero energy. Plus Elliott recaps the series' grand designs.

New Zealand artist Michael Smither (well known for his idiosyncratic realist paintings, such as Rocks with Mountain) is a man of many theories and ideas. This film, made for TV, documents his experiments rebuilding eroded beaches around Taranaki with driftwood. Only partially successful, these experiments nonetheless reveal Smither as something of a visionary. They contrast with the New Plymouth City Council's own efforts to check sand erosion; and over two decades later, Smither's less orthodox methods look the more sensible, and sustainable.

Mediarena was an exhibition of contemporary art from Japan on show in New Plymouth in 2004. Held at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, it showcased 17 artists and a video installation. Hosts Serena Bentley and Yuri Kinugawa travel to Taranaki for the Artsville series and find out how artists are transforming and subverting traditional images and ideas and bringing them into a contemporary form. Themes include female subservience in Japanese society, celebrity culture, the commuter experience, genetic modification and ecological sustainability.