Friends of Wairaki Stream

11/07/2026

What a fabulous planting day at The Avenue Reserve on Saturday thanks to Urban Ark - Manawa Taiao for organising it. And especially thanks to so many people being there to join in.
The Reserve is looking good, what a transformation we have made.
But wait, there is more. Urban Ark and Friends of Wairaki Stream have a planting day this Saturday 17 July at 9.45am meeting by the skatebowl to plant in the bush. It will be another good day.
Here's the link to register

Winter planting of native plants in Lynfield Reserve with Urban Ark and Friends of Wairaki Stream

08/07/2026

A reminder about the Urban Ark - Manawa Taiao and Friends of Wairaki Stream Planting Day in Lynfield Reserve Sat 18 July from 9am to 12.30pm, meeting by the playground/skate bowl.. We have 183 plants so need plenty of volunteers. Urban Ark are providing tools, equipment and refreshments. PLEASE register so we know how much we need to bring.

https://events.humanitix.com/lynfield-reserve-winter-planting-2026 is the registration link for this.

Come and be part of the legacy being created in Lynfield.
NOTE this is a separate event to the planting at The Avenue Reserve this Fri 10 July.

Winter planting of native plants in Lynfield Reserve with Urban Ark and Friends of Wairaki Stream

02/07/2026

HI Friends. So sorry for the late notice but the garden bird survey is on this year! A great opportunity to share all the wonderful and interesting birds you see in an hour.

Here is the link:
https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/take-part/

Enjoy an hour of autumn sun and do some bird spotting. :-)

Get out into your garden, count the birds you see, and contribute to building a picture of the state of our environment. This survey is NZ's longest-running citizen science project.

22/06/2026

A reminder of our 'prepare for planting' volunteer morning this Saturday 27th in Wairaki/Lynfield Reserve meeting 9.45am by the skate bowl. Please wear covered shoes and long sleeves and trousers.
Refreshments as usual after.

11/06/2026

Hi All. A reminder about our planting this year. We have more preparation to do so have a Community Volunteer Day (CVD) scheduled for Sat 27 June, meeting 9.45am by the Lynfield skatebowl. All welcome as usual, and refreshments after.

Planting Day is Sat 18 July in association with Urban Ark - Manawa Taiao, again meeting by the skatebowl at 9.45am. Here is a link to register https://events.humanitix.com/lynfield-reserve-winter-planting-2026 We will be happy to see you help out on the day. Sturdy footwear will be needed.

Winter planting of native plants in Lynfield Reserve with Urban Ark and Friends of Wairaki Stream

28/05/2026

A reminder about our Community Volunteer Day on Saturday (30 May) 9.45 to 12pm to prepare for this years planting. We will be meeting by the skate bowl with refreshments to follow. Wear covered in shoes and long sleeves and trousers, we have tools.
Hope to see you there. Monday is Kings Birthday so an extra day to the weekend.

21/05/2026

We have Friends of Wairaki Stream (FOWS) events coming up. All start at 9.45am, meeting by the skate bowl behind the playground in Lynfield Reserve. As usual there will be refreshments to follow.

Sat 30 May FOWS preparation of this years planting area

Sat 27 June FOWS (if needed) for planting preparation

Fri July 12 (Matariki Day off) - meeting and planting at The Avenue Reserve from 1.30pm. Note this is an Urban Ark event - all welcome to join

Sat 18 FOWS July planting day
Sun 19 FOWS July backup day for planting if unable to plant Sat 18th

Always good to have people join us to make our work easier, thank you.

06/05/2026

In association with Urban Ark we have two planting days this year. They will both be good days, as usual.

The first is FRIDAY 10 July (Matariki Day off) at The Avenue Reserve in The Avenue, Lynfield. This is a small fairly open area which will be enhanced with native plantings and tracks.
https://events.humanitix.com/the-avenue-reserve-winter-2026-planting

The second is Saturday 18 July when we will be planting on the skate bowl side of WSR. We will be having a Community Volunteer Day Sat 30 May to prepare the area, meeting 9.45 by the skate bowl.
https://events.humanitix.com/lynfield-reserve-winter-planting-2026

Winter planting of native trees at The Avenue Reserve in Lynfield

22/04/2026

On Friday, Urban Ark teamed up with a group of enthusiastic weeders from Conservation Volunteers NZ to remove more than 80kg of wild ginger off site near Wairaki stream in Lynfield.

This site is home to king fern- an indigenous fern species that can grow up to 5 meters tall. However it is also rife with wild ginger, a pest plant whose thick roots obstruct the growth of all other species in the area. With the help of our incredible volunteers, we were able to remove this ginger so king fern have more space to reach maximum growth potential. See slide 6 to see the before and after shots of what a difference a few hours of weeding can have!

But we're only just getting started!! This weeding bee the first of a Ginger Knockdown series, the next one is taking place on Friday the 22nd of May.