New Zealand
The eighth international “Fascination of Plants Day” around 18 May 2026 will be launched by plant scientists across the world under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO).
The goal of this activity is to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture and sustainable production of nutritious food, as well as for horticulture, forestry and the production of plant-based non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy and pharmaceuticals. The role of plants in environmental conservation is also a key message.
Everybody is welcome to join this initiative!
Year 10 students from Western Heights High School are travelling to Maungatautari Sanctuary Island. They will be guided around some tracks within the sanctuary to see the effects of nature restoration. A large predator proof fence has been built to keep exotic mammalian pests out of the sanctuary so the native flora and fauna can restore. Native plants have been replanted and native birds and reptiles have been reintroduced to the sanctuary.
Join Emma Haslam and Te Atatū Community Hub for a free rongoā hīkoi around our local reserve, Orangihina Park (Harbourview). Please register for this event, there are limited spaces available. This event is for rangatahi and adults (14+), all attendees need a ticket. This is an opportunity to connect with other keen learners, and practitioners of rongoā, while learning about local plant life and their uses in rongoā Māori.
Kaiako, Emma, will share tikanga and mātauranga around the practice of rongoā and its prominence through te ao Māori. Through plant identification, a walk around local scenery and grounding ourselves in the whenua, this hīkoi will bring new learnings as well as a sense of ease for our wairua.
The entrance to Orangihina Park is at the roundabout on Te Atatū Road. Meeting point is at the carpark.
In ancient times, people were dependent on nature, so that plants played a crucial role in the lives of our ancestors. Plant legends and myths shape traditions by giving certain plants symbolic meaning. These stories influence how people used them in rituals and celebrations.
Meet at the Herb Garden lookout and finish at the Rose Garden.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
Discover our developing food forest with the horticultural team.
We’ve planted a food forest at the Belvedere Garden and the horticulture team would love to take you on a tour.
Bring your curiosity and questions along to discover this unique and sustainable gardening technique including how you can start your own food forest.
Don’t forget your sunscreen, raincoat and water bottle. Suitable clothing and footwear are necessary. This walk goes ahead rain or shine. We will cancel the event via email on Monday morning if the weather is extreme.
Registration is essential and numbers are limited. To register for this event please register through our Eventbrite page or email info@cornwallpark.co.nz. Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements.
Location: Cornwall Park Band Rotunda, beyond the cafe. Vehicle entrance from Green Lane West.
This 60-75 minute downhill walk dives into the fantastic realm of foliage, and discovers what plants have to teach us about worlds present and past.
Meet at the Cable Car Entrance Lookout, Upland Road, Kelburn
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
Plants, both native and exotic, in the Wellington Botanic Garden and surrounding areas are or have been the basis for medicines that can enhance human health and well-being. This one-hour downhill walk will touch plant-based treatments for a range of afflictions from the ‘everyday’ to more serious.
Meet at the Cable Car Entrance Lookout, Upland Road, Kelburn.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
Explore the ecology of Cornwall Park and become your own nature guide with ecologist Maddie.
Explore the ecology of Cornwall Park and become your own nature guide with our Huia Lodge Discovery Hub Team. We’ll show you how to use resources like field guides, apps, and keys to identify plants and animals so you can teach yourself about nature everywhere you go.
This walk is suitable for older kids interested in nature and adults who want to be able to better understand and connect to nature.
We’ll also explore the amazing tools available on your phone. Closer to the event we’ll follow up with an email including all the details on the apps we plan to use so you can download them if you would like to bring your own device.
Don’t forget your sunscreen, raincoat and water bottle. Suitable clothing and footwear are necessary. This walk goes ahead rain or shine. We will cancel the event via email on Sunday morning if the weather is extreme.
Registration is essential and numbers are limited. To register for this event please register through Eventbrite or email info@cornwallpark.co.nz. Let us know if you have any accessibility requirements.
Location: Start from Huia Lodge Discovery Hub (next to the Cornwall Park Bistro).Vehicle access from Green Lane West.
Are you an iNaturalist newbie or expert? Join our newest citizen science project, discovering the diverse ecosystem of our stone walls.
Discover the hidden life in Cornwall Park’s stone walls!
Join us at Huia Lodge for our new iNaturalist citizen science project. Whether you’re a seasoned observer or a curious beginner, you’ll learn how to use iNaturalist and help identify the plants and creatures living in our historic stone walls.
Download the iNaturalist app before you arrive, as cell phone and Wi-Fi coverage in the park is limited. Instructions will be sent to participants.
Free event, no experience needed.
Food forests are a growing trend worldwide, celebrated for weaving together ecological restoration, community engagement, and local food production.
This workshop asks a simple question: Can we grow more food in public parks?
We say yes!
Join us for a two-part session exploring how communities can design productive, regenerative public spaces.
Workshop Outline
Part 1: Presentation by Dan on the core principles behind syntropic agroforestry – one promising approach for establishing food forests.
Afternoon tea – 20 mins
Part 2:
Break into small groups to apply these principles to Olympic Park.
This hands-on design exercise will explore plant layering, complementary edible species, access and pathways, water considerations, public engagement, and more.
If your local park had a food forest, what would it include?
This event is part of EcoFest 2026 — a month-long, community-powered festival celebrating nature, sustainable living and everyday climate action across Tāmaki Makaurau. Discover practical ideas, inspiring events and ways to deepen your learning at ecofest.org.nz.
Starting at the Cable car lookout, this 60-minute downhill walk explores the Australian Garden and the diversity of our neighbour’s unique and unusual flora. This walk also passes through Hydrangea Gully and Succulent Garden, to finish at the Tree House
Meet at the City Lookout beside the Cable Car, Upland Road, Kelburn
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
Join botanist Ewen Cameron for a guided autumn walk exploring the fruits and seeds of Cornwall Park. Discover the dynamic ways plants disperse themselves through our ecosystem.
Don’t forget your sunscreen, raincoat and water bottle. Suitable clothing and footwear are necessary. This walk goes ahead rain or shine. We will cancel the event via email on Sunday morning if the weather is extreme.
Registration is essential and numbers are limited. To register for this event please register through our Eventbrite page or email info@cornwallpark.co.nz. Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements.
Location: Huia Lodge Discovery Hub next to the Cornwall Park Bistro. Vehicle access from Green Lane West.
FREE EVENT
—Your guide—
Ewen Cameron is a recently ‘retired’ Auckland botanist, after working 32 years as curator of botany at the Auckland Museum. Over the last four decades he has authored/co-authored many articles and papers on aspects of botany, ecology and conservation of northern New Zealand’s flora involving both native and naturalised plant species. He is an active member of the Auckland Botanical Society, including as president for 20 years. He served two terms on the Auckland Conservation Board, one as chair, and was awarded the Departments of Conservation’s Loder Cup in 2005.
A 75-minute wander on the lower west side of the Garden to enjoy the last burst of the sun’s energy and warmth before winter, and the plants that characterise seasonal change.
Meet at the Founders Entrance, Glenmore Street.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
In ancient times, people were dependent on nature, so that plants played a crucial role in the lives of our ancestors. Plant legends and myths shape traditions by giving certain plants symbolic meaning. These stories influence how people used them in rituals and celebrations.
Meet at the City Lookout beside the Cable Car, Upland Road, Kelburn.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
On this 60- to 75-minute walk we look at food plants from a wide range of countries and areas of the world, some of which have become familiar and available to us in New Zealand, but some of which are not readily available commercially.
Meet above the Childrens Playground
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
In this 75-minute walk we will get up close to some delightful pygmy pines before, on a gentle slope, passing under and being awed by their towering cousins en route to a wonderful view of Wellington City.
In the Herb Garden we will see and hear a little about the aromatic, culinary and medicinal properties of familiar and not-so-familiar herbs, before descending, possibly accompanied by some birdsong, through a tract of native forest down to Lady Norwood Rose Garden.
Meet at the Founders’ Entrance, Glenmore Street.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
To celebrate Botanic Gardens Week (18–24 May), join our curious curator, Barbara, for a guided walk exploring some of the botanic garden’s most fascinating plants. This gentle, relaxed walk is a chance to slow down, connect with nature, and enjoy the stories and surprises behind the plants you’ll encounter.
No bookings required. Meet at the Visitor Centre to start the walk.
In this 60-minute walk we will see a plant that cannot decide whether it is a lily or an asparagus, trees that can be tapped, tree trunks that are not really tree trunks, trees that shared space with the dinosaurs, plants that photosynthesise only at night, and a deadly poisonous plant that yields potent drugs for fighting cancer.
Meet at the Cable Car Entrance Lookout, Upland Road, Kelburn.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
FIRE! – both natural, and human-induced, and how plants have adapted to this ‘disturbance’ is the subject of this walk. Examples in the Wellington Botanic Gardens include plants from New Zealand, Australia, North America, Europe and Asia.
Meet at the Cable Car Entrance Lookout, Upland Road, Kelburn.
Cost: $10 or Free for Friends – bookings required (you’ll get the option to choose your ticket type after clicking ‘Buy Tickets’)
This is part of the regular walks run by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden. They run throughout the year with a different topic every time.
Join the Friends for only $30 a year and all the walks will be free, as well as other great benefits.
From forest to farm to internationally acclaimed native botanic garden – let us walk you through the fascinating story of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush.