Events

This park in Sandringham has a fringe of native vegetation where we’ve been clearing invasive pest plants. Now we’d love your help with a native planting event designed to fill gaps and introduce a few species (typically found in similar lava flow areas) which are currently missing at this site. The intention is to turn it around from being a weed hotspot into a strip of thriving native habitat.

Meet on the grass by the playground at the end of Watson Street, Sandringham - see red dot on banner image.

Bring: Water bottle, sunhat/cap.

Wear: Sturdy closed footwear with good grip (boots ideal as we’ll be planting in uneven terrain).

Urban Ark will provide:

-Spades and gloves (but feel free to bring your own).

-Refreshments provided when the mahi is done.

Please register here- so we know how much gear and catering to bring.​​

For those in the Puketapapa area, Roskill Together are hosting a fun family day out! Urban Ark have a stall promoting community flood resilience and our mahi in the local environment

Regular, monthly working bee. Check out our Facebook page for details https://www.facebook.com/OakleyCreek

Group: Ngā Ringa o Te Auaunga Friends of Oakley Creek

Waterview Glades, Great North Road - opposite the Alford Street Dairy and south of Te Piringa Bridge - look out for the signs and flags.

We will be putting another 500 plants down in the valley - to expand on previous years’ plantings and further enhance the biodiversity around this part of the awa.

If you are free, we would love it if you could join us. Bring your whanau and friends for a fun morning on the creek. And enjoy some great company and delicious home baking - from one of our amazing ‘creek caterers’.

Group: Ngā Ringa o Te Auaunga Friends of Oakley Creek

Join the Second Sunday Weeders, this month visiting a new site at the southwest corner of Coyle Park. Our friends at Urban Ark have scheduled a planting session there in July and some areas of kikuyu will need to be sprayed out before planting. We’re planning to get in there before the spray-date to tidy up a few problem areas. There’s no experience necessary; we can point you in the direction of weeds and teach you what needs to be done.

Bring your favourite gardening gloves and secateurs if you have them, but we’ll also have spare gear you can borrow. And if you don’t have two hours to spare, but drop in for as long as you can manage.

Sometimes there is cake, often there is good chat, and always there are weeds to pull.

When Sunday 10 May 2026 9am–11pm

Where Coyle Park parking area, 528 Pt Chevalier Rd, Pt Chev. Look for the Urban Ark flag.

Contact Mary ([Enable JavaScript to view protected content]; 021 162 5160) or Paul ([Enable JavaScript to view protected content]; 021 150 8284)

Group: Pest Free Pt Chevalier

Join us for a Flood Resilience Treasure Hunt to explore local waterways and learn how we can build flood resilience together. This guided walk will help participants understand how water moves through our neighbourhood, identify flood-prone areas, and discover nature-based solutions that can help reduce flood risks.

Along the way, we will:

• Share local knowledge

• Discuss past flood experiences

• Identify flood-prone areas

• Explore nature-based solutions

• Learn practical actions to stay safe and prepared

This event is organised in collaboration with Auckland Council, STEPS, Urban Ark, SPICE, and Mt Albert Library.

The whole family is warmly welcome. Children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult.

This is a great Saturday activity — a relaxed, educational, and engaging opportunity to connect with nature and your community.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

Come along, share knowledge, and be part of building a safer, more flood-resilient community.

Follow the link here to get your free ticket

When registering, please select free tickets for EVERYONE attending — including all children. Don’t forget to enter each child’s age so we can prepare appropriate gifts for them!

Friends of Wairaki Stream are absolute legends who have been restoring native habitat in Lynfield Reserve for many years, by planting natives and controlling pest plants and animals. Urban Ark is now proudly supporting them to continue this mahi. Together we’ll be adding further plant species and filling gaps to help stabilise the stream banks. You’re invited to come along and join us!

Please make sure you register here - so we know how much gear and catering to bring!

Bring: Water bottle, sunhat/cap.

Wear: Sturdy closed footwear with good grip (boots ideal).

Urban Ark will provide:

-Spades and gloves (but feel free to bring your own).

-Refreshments when the mahi is done.

This project is generously supported by Puketāpapa Local Board. Thank-you!

We recently activated a band of roving eco warriors to deal to pest plants in local parks on the third Wednesday of each month. Thus, the mighty Wednesday Weed Warriors group was born!

This month we’ll be working to restore a small (and currently rather weedy) hidden part of Melville Park in Epsom. The plan is to replace pest plants with suitable native plant species and provide a wider range of habitat options for native wildlife. We’d love you to join us!

Don’t worry if you’re a newbie, we’ll have experts on hand to teach you how to tell your ecological weeds from your natives. We’re into learning together.

Please register for this event so we know how much gear and catering to bring - Register here

Urban Ark will provide:

-Tools and gloves (but feel free to bring your own).

-Refreshments when the mahi is done.

This project is generously supported by Albert-Eden Local Board. It aligns with Urban Ark’s long terms strategy of enhancing wildlife corridors through Urban Auckland and it falls within our Maungawhau Ecological Halo project area.

Get ready to knock out some kahili ginger with us. We need you and your strong ankes to help us tackle ginger that is suffocating our threatened king fern. Welcome to session 2 of 6 !​​​​​​​

Group: Conservation Volunteeers NZ

Join Kaipātiki Project to help regenerate the native bush along the Waipapa Stream, a beloved piece of local history close to Parnell railway station. This is an area Urban Ark will be increasingly involved in over the coming year.

As a community project, we need your help to ensure that this beautiful stream is protected and preserved for generations to come. And it’s not just about hard work and making a difference, it’s also a great opportunity to socialise and have fun with friends!

Registration is important so we know how much catering and tools to provide. Spread the word and invite your friends to join us on this meaningful journey towards a greener future.

What to Bring:

• Gloves (if you have)
• Hat
• Water
• Old Clothes
• Sturdy Closed-Toe Shoes

All tools provided.

Please see the meeting spot indicated with a yellow star below:

Register here

Celebrate the new track work and reopening of Belfast Reserve.

We will meet at 1.30pm on the green at the bottom of Belfast Reserve, Frederick St Hillsborough.

This event is a collaboration between Urban Ark and Friends of Belfast Reserve. Urban Ark will introduce their trap and species monitoring gear, someone will introduce the iNaturalist App for recording species in the reserve, there will be a children’s tree and scavenger hunt.

We will also be planting out in the old tracks which are no longer used. BBQ, baking and tea/coffee to finish.

Finish at 3.30pm.

Come along to plant, to learn, to connect and to be inspired.

This event is a collaboration with Kaipatiki Project, and offers a unique opportunity to explore the Waipapa Stream in Auckland Domain at night.

Join us as we embark on a journey to discover the hidden jewels of nature and appreciate the interconnectedness between trees and the wildlife they nurture. From rustling leaves to nocturnal calls, experience the forest as it comes alive at night.

Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.
Spaces are limited – registration is essential!

Register here