Paekawakawa Reserve

Paekawakawa Reserve A community-owned and driven native forest restoration in Island Bay, Wellington. The Reserve is owned by the community and administered by the Trust.

Paekawakawa Reserve forms part of the prominent ridge in Island Bay and takes its name โ€” meaning the place of many Kawakawa โ€” from the Mฤori name for the local area. The 1.4 ha (3.5 acre) area of land was purchased by the Island Bay Natural Heritage Charitable Trust from a property developer in 2006 and is now protected under an Open Space Covenant with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. Our v

ision is to create an accessible open space that encourages the Island Bay community to gather together, share activities and raise awareness of the natural, cultural and historic heritage of the area.

We're excited to be hosting Conservation Volunteers NZ  for an extra w**ding bee this Saturday ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ‰If you've got some spar...
11/05/2026

We're excited to be hosting Conservation Volunteers NZ for an extra w**ding bee this Saturday ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ‰

If you've got some spare time, are keen to put on some hi-vis and get stuck into some w**ding, you can sign up on their website.

๐Ÿ‘‰ https://cvnz.volunteerportal.co.nz/Web/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=PKA16MAY

Pictured is a couple of CVNZ volunteers at the Reserve in 2012! They were some of our earliest helpers ๐Ÿ’š Thanks to Eva Kaprinay for the pic.

Many thanks to Wellington City Council for supporting our little reserve with this kind of mahi, it makes a big difference ๐Ÿ’š

03/05/2026

We had an extra special helper at yesterday's working bee ๐Ÿฆœ๐Ÿ˜

It was the first time any of us there had seen a kฤkฤ inside the reserve ๐Ÿคฉ We also spotted a kereru, as well as our usual piwakawaka friends, so an excellent day for birds at Paekawakawa ๐ŸŽ‰

Kia ora, we hope everyone is staying dry and safe with the heavy rain.While there is minimal damage in the reserve, we u...
20/04/2026

Kia ora, we hope everyone is staying dry and safe with the heavy rain.

While there is minimal damage in the reserve, we urge you to avoid entering Paekawakawa until the heavy rain warning is over.

The Paekawakawa stream has been running high and could be dangerous. If you wish to see the stream running please wait until the conditions are safer.

If you spot anything dangerous please message us here on Facebook but otherwise just take extra care when walking in the Reserve๐Ÿ™

A new feature on the Link Track ๐Ÿ’ฅ Thanks to one of our trustees, Ian, a new sign has been installed to signal when you a...
06/04/2026

A new feature on the Link Track ๐Ÿ’ฅ Thanks to one of our trustees, Ian, a new sign has been installed to signal when you are moving from Paekawakawa Reserve to Tawatawa Reserve (or the other way around!).

For those that don't know, Tawatawa Reserve is land owned by council and the restoration is run in partnership with the very wonderful volunteers of Tawatawa Reserve - SEA. Paekawakawa connects to it, but is privately owned by the Island Bay Natural Heritage Charitable Trust and is protected by a QEII covenant.

None of this makes the slightest bit of difference to the birds and trees ๐ŸŒณ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿฆ‰

Spotted these eggs at the Reserve over Easter๐ŸฅšThank you to those new folks who came to help, lovely to meet you and even...
05/04/2026

Spotted these eggs at the Reserve over Easter๐ŸฅšThank you to those new folks who came to help, lovely to meet you and even lovelier to see a bit of space being created for plants ๐Ÿ’š We would love helpers for the next few w**ding bees for planting season:

๐ŸŒฑ April 18, with Conservation Volunteers NZ, details on their website
๐ŸŒฑ May 2, 1pm to 3pm
๐ŸŒฑ May 16, with Conservation Volunteers NZ, details to come
๐ŸŒฑ June 6, 1pm to 3pm

Just DM us if you have any questions.

Kia ora, we hope everyone is warm, dry and safe after yesterday's wild weather! There has been a bit of damage at the Re...
16/02/2026

Kia ora, we hope everyone is warm, dry and safe after yesterday's wild weather!

There has been a bit of damage at the Reserve, so please take extra care on the tracks for the next few days.

One of our wonderful trustees Paul has already cleared the worst of it, and more work is planned, but we haven't had a chance to check and clear all the way up the link track.

If you spot anything dangerous please message us here on Facebook but otherwise just take extra care when walking in the Reserve๐Ÿ™

Money is always tight at Christmas, and we know many are feeling the pinch extra hard this year ๐Ÿ’› But if you do have any...
19/12/2025

Money is always tight at Christmas, and we know many are feeling the pinch extra hard this year ๐Ÿ’› But if you do have anything to spare, and want to give something for native trees as well as Christmas trees, this is a very good cause. The money needs to be raised by December 31 to make it happen โœจ

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ECevaUART/

Calling all Wellingtonians! We need your help to secure one of the cityโ€™s last remaining tracts of old-growth native forest.

Itโ€™s in South Mฤkara and is an absolute gem. Botanists are drooling over it. Kiwi have moved in already. The 71 hectares will flourish as we put effective pest control and monitoring in place.

Weโ€™re very excited to be partnering with Ngahuru Charitable Trust to purchase the property. Together we can secure this extraordinary landscape for future generations, honouring both the natural heritage of Te Whanganui-a-Tara and the enduring connection of mana whenua to the land.

Wellington Botanical Society and several generous private donors have committed funding. Weโ€™re also incredibly grateful to our friends at The Capital Kiwi Project whoโ€™ve worked alongside us to get this far.

The vendor has accepted our offer, which is subject to finance. We have until 31 December to find pledges for the remaining $98,000.

Will you join us to safeguard this local treasure for generations to come? Itโ€™s a legacy investment in the ecological and cultural future of Wellington.

Together we can make it happen! Are you in?!

Donate now on our Givealittle page https://givealittle.co.nz/org/wellington-natural-heritage-trust #! or email us to register your pledge: [email protected]

See more on: www.wnht.org.nz

Need some nature time this weekend? Join us for our last community working bee of the year, this Saturday, December 6, 1...
04/12/2025

Need some nature time this weekend?

Join us for our last community working bee of the year, this Saturday, December 6, 1pm to 3ish.

Meet us at the entrance to 46a Derwent St, or if coming a little later, just come find us. the Reserve is actually pretty small!

Bring decent shoes, gardening gloves, water and a willingness to w**d. We love meeting new people ๐Ÿ’š

21/09/2025

Another planting season is done, with 500 plus plants in the ground, thanks all for your help โญ๏ธ

Check out how the valley has grown from 2002 to present ๐ŸŒฑ in a time-lapse of aerial photography.

We're returning to our usual working-bee schedule of the first Saturday of each month. See you there, and come help the valley thrive!

We love this little write-up, thank you Wellington Alive for taking the time to have an explore ๐Ÿ’š ๐ŸŒˆ ๐Ÿคฉ
09/09/2025

We love this little write-up, thank you Wellington Alive for taking the time to have an explore ๐Ÿ’š ๐ŸŒˆ ๐Ÿคฉ

Address

46B Derwent Street
Wellington
6023

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