Paekawakawa Reserve

14/09/2026

We were very saddened to hear of the passing of local legend Annette Moffat on the weekend.

Annette was one of our trustees between 2012-2013, and a supporter for much longer than that. She volunteered from the very early days of the Reserve, when there was more rubbish than trees, and led fundraising efforts over many years, always bringing creativity as well as a plan.

Newer trustees and volunteers got to know her as a neighbour who let us use her garage window as a noticeboard, frequently walked her dog through the Reserve, leaving encouragement with volunteers and at the Easter working bee, hot cross buns.

Her presence at Paekawakawa will very much be missed, but we know the contributions she made to our Reserve (and to many other local community groups) will continue to have impact.

Our thoughts are with her whānau and friends 💚💛💚

15/08/2026

Thank you so much to Team Tawatawa Reserve - SEA for helping us finish up winter planting yesterday! Team work makes the dream work and we are very lucky to have such great neighbours 💚

Because planting is all done, we're cancelling the next working bee, we'll be back the first Saturday of October.

The Tawatawa Reserve - SEA team spent the afternoon with the Paekawakawa Reserve posse getting the last of their plants in for this planting season.

Lots of hard work has gone in realigning the walking tracks to give the ephemeral stream right-of-way, and battling the tradescantia.

Paekawakawa is looking awesome, and Nīkau palms in particular are thriving in the valley 💚

11/05/2026

We're excited to be hosting Conservation Volunteers NZ for an extra w**ding bee this Saturday 🐝🎉

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.

👉 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 💚 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 💚

03/05/2026

We had an extra special helper at yesterday's working bee 🦜😍

It was the first time any of us there had seen a kākā inside the reserve 🤩 We also spotted a kereru, as well as our usual piwakawaka friends, so an excellent day for birds at Paekawakawa 🎉

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 Reserve🙏

06/04/2026

A new feature on the Link Track 💥 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 🌳💚🦉

05/04/2026

Spotted these eggs at the Reserve over Easter🥚Thank 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 💚 We would love helpers for the next few w**ding bees for planting season:

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

Just DM us if you have any questions.

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 Reserve🙏

19/12/2025

Money is always tight at Christmas, and we know many are feeling the pinch extra hard this year 💛 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 ✨

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

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

It’s in South Mākara 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.

We’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. We’re also incredibly grateful to our friends at The Capital Kiwi Project who’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? It’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

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 💚