Volunteering at the nursery provides an opportunity to learn propagation/ cultivation techniques, meet like minded people, and help create an environment where native flora and fauna thrive.
There are regular volunteer sessions at the nursery for potting up, maintenance and weeding. Our Nursery Manager will lead the session so no prior experience is required.
Our volunteer sessions are very social and inclusive, and we welcome everyone in the community. No experience is required, this is a great opportunity learn new skills and gain knowledge about growing native plants. Sessions are drop in style, with morning tea provided.
Please bring your own gardening gloves, hat, water & sunscreen.
Our Community Nursery is open every Wednesday morning from 9.00 am- 12.00 noon (drop in style).
Volunteering at our nursery has many benefits, including:
- learning about NZ native plants in a hands-on, supportive environment,
- playing an active role in helping to restore the biodiversity of the Whakatipu Basin,
- helping to grow native trees that will absorb carbon and help to mitigate climate change,
- making new friends with like-minded community members.
No gardening experience required | Morning tea provided
What to bring: Gardening gloves, water, hat & sunscreen.
Location: Jean Malpas Community Nursery, Poplar Drive, Jardine Park, Kelvin Heights.
Full details and updates are listed on our Facebook page.
Jean Malpas Community Nursery (est. 2014)
The Jean Malpas Nursery is the cornerstone of the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust.
Jean Malpas was a Queenstown community stalwart and an active, hardworking environmentalist. The Jean Malpas Environment Trust funded the establishment of the nursery and we are extremely grateful for her Trust’s ongoing support of our work.
The nursery was initially set up with three key objectives:
1. To provide free or low-cost native plants for community planting around the Whakatipu Basin in order to restore some of the natural heritage, provide a food source for native birds and strengthen recent plantings.
2. To provide a source of native and/or exotic trees that can be used to replace existing shelter belts and plantations of conifers (mainly Douglas fir) where seedling spread threatens public and conservation land and requires a continuing maintenance cost.
3. To provide an educational facility to enable children and adults to learn about native plants, their benefits to native bird life and insects and their propagation and planting.
At first small seedlings were bought from Pukerau Nursery in Southland and grown on. Now most plants are propagated from our own eco-sourced seeds and cuttings. The nursery currently produces 10,000 plants each year.
Eco-sourcing is the process of collecting seeds & cuttings close to where they are to be re-planted. Each batch that is collected has its location recorded so that the source of any plant at the nursery is known. Eco-sourcing assures that the nursery is growing plant varieties that are already well adapted to the local area.
