Kumutoto Restoration Project

Kumutoto Restoration Project Welcome to the page of the Kumutoto Restoration Project. We will be updating this page each week as the restoration continues in 2026.

If you would like to be involved in the project you can contact us here or at [email protected].

We need your help! The Kumutoto Restoration Project has been offered an opportunity to host a group of VIP's at the awa ...
27/05/2026

We need your help! The Kumutoto Restoration Project has been offered an opportunity to host a group of VIP's at the awa for a private event. It's a great opportunity for us to get freshwater stream health in front of some influential people but we need to light the awa and dress her up to look magical at night! We're looking for fairy lights, head lamps, outdoor lamps (with stands if possible!), torches. They'll need to be battery or gas operated as there's no power in the forest. The event is happening on June 9 so if you can help us bring this magical evening into reality then please contact us here or at [email protected]. Ngā mihi nui!

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou Kirby, Poppy and the rest of the Victoria Student Volunteer Army for their help at our second pl...
25/05/2026

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou Kirby, Poppy and the rest of the Victoria Student Volunteer Army for their help at our second planting mahi taiao/working bee on Saturday. Another 500 rākau/trees put into Kumutoto ngahere/forest, excitingly including some native mistletoe which was gifted to us. The SVA have been on hand to help at a number of our events and we're excited to continue our relationship with these amazing students. Thank you team!

Our second planting for the season happens this Saturday and we're excited to be joined by the Te Herenga Waka Vic Uni S...
21/05/2026

Our second planting for the season happens this Saturday and we're excited to be joined by the Te Herenga Waka Vic Uni Student Volunteer Army! Details below

📅 When: Saturday, 23 May, 10am — 1pm, kai afterwards
📍 Where: Kumutoto Forest, 214 The Terrace
🌳 What: Planting some beautiful native trees to restore the Kumutoto Forest

🚶 Getting there: Access either via 214 The Terrace or via Salamanca Road by going down to the lower carpark of Club K and following the signs to the stream. It is super close to Kelburn Campus!

🤝 Meeting point: Kumutoto Forest

✅ What to bring:
- A bowl and spoon for some delicious soup!
- Reusable water bottle (filled up and ready to go)
- Closed toed shoes, sunhat/sunscreen
- A camera (optional) - we would love to see your event photos! Tag on Instagram
- An eagerness to get stuck in!

We would like to extend a massive thank you to the good folk at the Wellington branch of Conservation Volunteers NZ. At ...
20/05/2026

We would like to extend a massive thank you to the good folk at the Wellington branch of Conservation Volunteers NZ. At the end of the 2025 planting season Gemma and the team at Tawatawa Reserve approached us about the remaining 350 rākau (plants) they had remaining from their season. The only catch was we would have to store them over summer before the 2026 planting season began. Luckily our super plant guy, Stu Farrant, volunteered his deck space to house the plants for six months and last weekend we finally put the patient trees into Kumutoto whenua, their forever home. Thank you to Gemma and the team at Tawatawa for gifting us the rākau, thanks to the always supportive Kaibosh for helping us transport them and thank you to Stu for keeping them so healthy over the dry summer months. A true team effort!

With the consistant pouring of pollutant into the stormwater network and by default into the Kumutoto stream, one of our...
15/05/2026

With the consistant pouring of pollutant into the stormwater network and by default into the Kumutoto stream, one of our team approached the largest work site currently working in the catchment to talk to the foreman about off-flow of contaminants into the stormwater network. To his credit, the foreman was extremely approachable and open to discussion on the both the catchment and the Wahi Tūpuna stream and forest that this work site falls within. He admitted he was unaware of the stream but added that the building industry has been trying to be more responsible with the waste coming from their sites. The short meeting ended with details being exchanged and confirmation that the foreman would share the details with his team.
It's difficult to know if any positive outcomes will come from the meeting, however the discussion between the building site and the restoration site within the catchment can only be a positive thing for the future health of the catchment. We encourage all taiao protectors, from individuals to catchment groups to communicate with the tenants within your takiwa/area. Sometimes a short conversation is all it takes to create positive bahaviour change.

Our first event for the Pōneke Climate Festival were two hīkoi ironically/appropriately held during the freak weather ev...
13/05/2026

Our first event for the Pōneke Climate Festival were two hīkoi ironically/appropriately held during the freak weather event that saw so many of our piped urban streams overflow into streets causing massive financial and psychological damage to parts of our city. We held two walks tracing the length of Kumutoto and were joined by ecological engineer and KRP board member Stu Farrant, who added his professional expertise to our discussion around piped streams, reclaimed land and climate change. During our first hīkoi, as we walked beneath the motorway, a massive dump of rain hit and we got a first hand look into how Kumutoto stream may have looked pre land modification. We were joined by enthusiastic members of the public curious about urban awa and the consequences of covering stream paths during extreme weather events. It was a great start to the festival for us but a devastating time for others who were unfortunate to be in the path of the streams reclaiming the streets of the city. These hīkoi are held regularly, if you are interested in attending one, reach out to us at [email protected].

For the third time in the last month, someone has dumped what appears to be white paint into the stormwater network. Thr...
11/05/2026

For the third time in the last month, someone has dumped what appears to be white paint into the stormwater network. Through no fault of their own, this is most likely being done by a local home owner unaware that the drains outside their house connect directly to living streams and then out into our living harbour. For better or worse this is how our city has been built, but we can counter this through community education. When we arm ourselves with understanding we fortify the future health of our city. Healthy people create healthy cities, which create healthy awa, which create healthy people.

Thank you to everyone who came to help our first planting session for 2026. Approx 350 rākau were planted in surprisingl...
10/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to help our first planting session for 2026. Approx 350 rākau were planted in surprisingly good weather! We were joined by our usual Society for Conservation Biology students as well as Te herenga waka third year Geography students and others via the WCC Climate Festival event promotion. The day was led by ecological engineer Stu Farrant and our student leader Dan Percy. We're happy to get this first of six planting completed, our next will be held on Saturday May 23.

Mōrena, there's a bit of rain and wind but we're going ahead with planting today from 10am - 12pm. Come on down if you w...
08/05/2026

Mōrena, there's a bit of rain and wind but we're going ahead with planting today from 10am - 12pm. Come on down if you want to help us start getting our rākau into the whenua. Ngā mihi

At this stage our planting event is still on, the weather forecast is for occassional showers but generally fine.We'll m...
08/05/2026

At this stage our planting event is still on, the weather forecast is for occassional showers but generally fine.
We'll make a final call at 8.30am Saturday morning with a postponement date of Sunday should it be too wet or windy tomorrow.
Last week, Elsie planted her third rākau at Kumutoto next to her previous two plantings from last season. In honour of her effort, we have named this "Elsie's corner".

Address

Kumutoto Stream
Wellington

Telephone

+6421385503

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