Bus trip takes Southland volunteers to Waikawa River catchment

The Southland Ecological Restoration Network invites people to join its next in-person event, a bus trip to the Waikawa River catchment on 31 October 2026.

The network aims to connect potential volunteers with habitat restoration projects near them. It counted 60 projects at last count.

Its website lists and maps the groups doing conservation work around Southland, along with local events and news. A person in Te Anau, for example, can find nearby projects rather than driving four hours to the Forest & Bird Southland Branch projects in the Catlins.

The network holds two in-person events each year. Each visits restoration sites in one part of the region, and one of the two always includes a group bus trip.

Southland Branch committee members started the network in 2008. Environment Southland has backed it from the start, and the council’s biodiversity officer, Catriona Gower, helps the network committee organise trips.

More information about the 31 October trip is on the network’s website.