News

Our volunters are in the finals!

Take a bow, all of our many Trust volunteers. Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust has been announced as a finalist in the 2026 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards for Wellington City.

The awards recognise the valuable contribution of volunteers to community groups and organisations across the Wellington Region, across five categories – Art & Culture, Education & Child Youth Development, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage & Environment and Sport & Leisure, and our Rising Star award celebrates new and emerging groups. The Trust has been nominated in the Heritage and Environment category.

It’s a fitting tribute for the more than 200 volunteers who, each year, spend an estimated equivalent of seven full time employees working across Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. Volunteer efforts include forest weeding, gardens weeding and maintenance, track maintenance, predator control, weekend hosting, nursery propagation, and hosting guided tours. Some of our volunteers have been working with us for more than quarter of a century!

It’s also timely recognition in this, the centenary year for the Ōtari Native Botanic Garden.

Posted: 14 July 2026

New sign celebrates Ōtari’s Centenary and Dr Cockayne

It’s Centenary Year and Ōtari has a new sign to celebrate it. The role of Dr Leonard Cockayne, in establishing the ‘Ōtari Open-air Native Plant Museum’ in 1926, is the focus of the sign now in place on the wall outside Tāne Whakapiripiri, the visitor centre.

Cockayne developed a four-point scheme to safeguard the future of the ‘museum’ and the native plants brought here from throughout New Zealand. His scheme included restoration of Ōtari’s native forest. Cockayne’s legacy continues today in what is known as the Ōtari Native Botanic Garden, the only public botanic garden solely dedicated to New Zealand native species, and the adjacent forest, Wilton’s Bush Reserve.

The new sign has been an Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust project, completed with support from Ōtari Manager, Tim Park, Wellington Gardens and WCC’s Communications and Creative Team. It features an artwork of Rubus ×barkeri, a bush lawyer hybrid favoured by Cockayne, drawn by botanical artist, Eleanor Burton.

Posted: 14 July 2026

Raise a glass for Wilbur

When coordinator, Wilbur Dovey, sent his regular email to the Kaiwharawhara Revegetation Group in June, he dropped a bombshell. “Unfortunately, after 21 years, the time seems to have come when I’m going to have to give up leading you all each month. Old age and unfitness is catching up. I’ll keep on providing morning tea until someone takes the job on.”

Fellow Ōtari volunteer, Ron Fountain, says that Wilbur, together with his late wife Liz, have been outstanding volunteers at Otari-Wilton’s Bush. ‘For more than 20 years, many of them as a Trust Board member, Wilbur has co-ordinated and led the Kaiwharawhara Revegetation Project. He also skilfully managed and guided cruise passenger tours at Ōtari for many years. Many of us have benefitted from his knowledge, wisdom and unwavering encouragement as our friend and mentor. Thank you Wilbur.’

And this, from Ōtari Manager, Tim Park. ‘Wilbur has diligently enabled volunteers to chip away at the ecological restoration of the Kaiwharawhara valley over many years. He should be proud of the massive achievement his group has made by planting native trees and keeping on top of weeds throughout the planted areas. When the big slip happened (in 2023), Wilbur was the first to offer help to remove the rubbish and replant the area. This was a big boost to our morale as it seemed like an enormous task at the time. Thank you Wilbur for your sustained efforts, you are truly a local legend!’

Take a well-earned rest, Wilbur, but we know you will likely be there at the next working bees anyway, no doubt doing more than serving morning tea.

Posted: 7 July 2026