About Us

Welcome to the Friends of Wellington Botanic Garden

A community group of volunteers supporting the work of Wellington Botanic Garden.

We are a group of supporters of the mahi of Wellington Botanic Garden. Some of us are gardeners, plant geeks, or ex-staff — but you don’t need to know anything about gardening or plants to join us! We are united in the kaupapa of supporting the gardens, their staff, and their mahi in conservation, education, and horticulture.

The easiest way to get involved is by following us on Facebook or to join us – send us an email to wbgfriends@gmail.com. We’d love for you to join us! See the Join Us tab at the top of the page for ways to support us.

Our purpose since early beginnings

The Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden, or ‘the Friends, first became an Incorporated Society in 1989-90. We set out to promote and support the development of the Botanic Garden, to raise funds and support Garden projects, and to foster public interest in its scientific, educational, cultural, and recreational functions.

This purpose continues today.

We are governed by a committee which is elected at the Annual General Meeting in August or September.

Our three areas of focus

  • Advocacy and Support — ensuring the Botanic Garden is well-funded and well-managed. We help raise funds for projects that make a difference. For a list of some of our projects to date click here.
  • Guiding and Hosting — the provision of well-trained guides to help make our Garden accessible to a range of visitors – public, students, tourists, specialists.
  • Events — organising and hosting Garden-related lectures, films and similar events.

Our guiding and hosting story

Since our early beginnings, one of our goals has been to provide a guiding service for the garden. The guided tours offered today sprouted from those early seeds.

As Wellington has grown to become a destination to hundreds of cruise ships each year, we too have grown our services to help travellers navigate the garden and see all it has to offer. Working in a joint effort with the Wellington City Ambassadors, we provide Guides and Hosts to help visitors get the best experience of the Wellington Botanic Garden.