The Whakatipu Reforestation Trust thrives on the goodwill and hard work of our volunteers. Volunteers help us turn our vision into a reality, one plant at a time.
Whether you have lived in the Queenstown-Lakes area all your life or are visiting for a short time, we would love to show you what we do and to get you involved.
Ways You Can Volunteer
Community Nursery Sessions
We welcome volunteers to our community nursery to help with all aspects of growing our native plants from eco sourced seeds. No experience necessary.
Spring/summer volunteer hours: Wednesday is nursery day!!
Wednesday morning: 9-12pm
Wednesday evening: 5.30 – 8pm
What to bring:
Gardening gloves, Water, sunhat, sunscreen.
(For evening sessions feel free to bring a picnic dinner)
Location: Jean Malpas Community Nursery, Poplar Drive, Kelvin Heights.
Community Working Bees and Planting Days
Planting is finished for 2025 but we are busy out on sites maintaining native plants. Come along to one of the following working bees or get in touch to get involved at other times.
Summer Working Bees: Every second Tuesday morning. Keep an eye on social media for other pop-up sessions.
Tuesday November 11th, 9am – 12: Whitechapel Reserve: Cut and paste of broom while it is in flower. Meeting on Whitechapel Rd. We will provide tools and morning tea.
Tuesday November 25th, 9am – 12: Bush Creek Arrowtown: From chinese village, walk upstream and you will see us in the planting area. We will provide tools and morning tea.
Tuesday December 9th: 9am – 12: Slopehill Reserve. Park at trail end and look for the flag, we will be in the riparian planting section.
What to bring:
Gardening gloves, Water, sunhat, sunscreen.
Autumn 2026 planting: Come autumn we will be planting native plants at our keystone sites. To date, we have planted over 135,000 natives throughout the Whakatipu Basin.
Volunteered Services
We welcome volunteers who can contribute their own expertise and help in other ways. For example by providing:
✓ Photography ✓ Writing ✓ Artwork ✓ Spraying ✓ Using Scrub-bar ✓ Fundraising ✓ Engineering ✓ Building
Become a Planting Partner
We can provide plants and support to other groups who take on the planting and management of sites on public land throughout the Whakatipu Basin.
We’d love to hear from you, your business, community association, community group or school if you are interested in taking on a planting site.
Newsletter Signup
Join our mailing list to keep up to date with news, community planting days and latest developments…