Become a Friend - Arboretum

Love nature and want to make a difference?

Join our dedicated team of volunteers at the Percy Thomson Arboretum and help us care for this beautiful green space.  Whether you're planting, weeding or assisting with events and projects, your time and energy will help our gardens grow and thrive.

Our Objectives:

  • To represent the native flora of New Zealand as outlined in the will of Percy Thomson
  • To inform visitors to the arboretum about specimen trees and plants, particularly those that grow well in our local environment
  • To attract people to visit and encourage them to stay

Friends of the Percy Thomson Arboretum:

  • Support the Percy Thomson Trust to realise the above objectives
  • Assist in the maintenance and presentation of the arboretum
  • Promote the use of New Zealand indigenous plants
  • Are ambassadors for the arboretum
  • Encourage and educate visitors

No experience is necessary, just a passion for the outdoors and a willingness to lend a hand!

Contact the Arboretum Co-ordinator for more information.

  • Take a Seat

    A pair of bench seats entice you to sit amongst nature or take a picnic with family.

    Photo credit: Jim Clarkson

  • Entry Sign

    The striking, gabion rock column and cor-ten steel sign welcoming visitors into the Arboretum.

    Photo credit: Helen Cloke

  • Kererū in a Kowhai Tree

    A native wood pigeon enjoys a perch in a flowering Sophora microphylla.

    Photo credit: Jim Clarkson