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.
Winter volunteer hours (From May 13):
Wednesdays 10.30am – 2pm
What to bring:
Gardening gloves (if you have them), Water, sunhat, sunscreen.
Location: Jean Malpas Community Nursery, Poplar Drive, Kelvin Heights.
Community Working Bees and Planting Days
We have now finished community planting and working bees until Spring 2026.
Keep an eye out for planting dates in September and join us in restoring our keystone sites.
To date, we have planted over 140,000 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…