Living Springs

12/10/2026

Thanks Rick! We had a blast! Hope we don’t need this knowledge any time soon!

Always a great day at Living Springs

05/10/2026

Kia ora everyone,

Living Springs is hosting our next volunteer day, and we would love your help.

Last session, we successfully cleared a whole block of wilding gums before they had a chance to become established. A huge thank you to Trevor, Louise, Vicky, and Quentin for their hard work and awesome mahi.

This time, we’ll be laying gravel on a track that is being developed for wheelchair access. The track will allow children living with cancer to visit the trees they have planted at Living Springs over the past few years.

It’s another great opportunity to get outdoors, connect with others, and make a real difference to the restoration work happening across Living Springs.

📅 Thursday 8 October
⏰ 9:00am – 12:30pm (lunch provided, wrap up by 1:30pm)
📍 Living Springs Main Camp
RSVP to [email protected]

Please bring sturdy footwear, outdoor working clothes, a rain jacket, water bottle, gloves if you have them, snacks, and any personal medication. Living Springs will provide all tools and equipment.

No specific skills are required, just a willingness to get stuck in. Every helping hand makes a real difference.

This event is weather dependent.

We would love to have you join us. Thank you for your ongoing support and mahi!

20/09/2026

Kia ora everyone,

Living Springs is hosting our next volunteer day, and we would love your help.

After having to postpone our last two volunteer days due to poor weather, we’re going to give it another go on Thursday, 24 September!

Our focus will be removing wilding pines and gums from Forever Forest. This area was once a pine plantation, and young pine seedlings are now popping up among the native trees. We’ll be hand pulling them or using loppers to cut them at the base before they have a chance to grow any larger and compete with our natives.

📅 Thursday 24 September
⏰ 9:00am – 12:30pm (lunch provided, wrap up by 1:30pm)
📍 Living Springs Main Camp
RSVP by 23 September to [email protected]

Please bring sturdy footwear, outdoor working clothes, a rain jacket, water bottle, gloves if you have them, snacks, and any personal medication. Living Springs will provide all tools and equipment.

No specific skills are required, just a willingness to get stuck in. Every helping hand makes a real difference.

This event is weather dependent.

We would love to have you join us. Thank you for your ongoing support and mahi!

25/08/2026

We have made the decision to postpone our volunteer day this Thursday, 27 August, due to the poor weather conditions.

This is the first Thursday we’ve had to postpone because of the weather, so we’ve had a pretty good run so far!

Our volunteer days will resume as normal on Thursday, 10 September. Our focus will be removing wilding pines from Forever Forest.

Forever Forest was once a pine plantation, and we are now seeing young pine and gum seedlings popping up among the native trees. We’ll be removing these while they are still small, either by hand or using loppers, to prevent them from competing with the native plants.

No specific skills are required, just a willingness to get stuck in. Every helping hand makes a real difference.

📅 Thursday 10th September
⏰ 9:00am – 12:30pm (lunch provided, wrap up by 1:30pm)
📍 Living Springs Main Camp
RSVP to [email protected]

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We hope to see you all in two weeks’ time!

Take care and stay dry!

21/08/2026

Do you know the Ngai Tahu name for Lyttelton Harbour?

20/08/2026

🏕️ KIDS CAMP IS BACK!

Looking for something fun and meaningful for your child these school holidays?

Our Living Springs Kids Camp is happening 5th to 9th October for ages 8 to 14! 🎉

A week of adventure, games, friendships and plenty of opportunities to grow in confidence.

Spaces are limited, so get your child signed up today!

👉 Registrations are open now!

06/08/2026

A warm Living Springs welcome to our newest International Volunteers from ! 🌍

These legends have just arrived and are ready to jump into life at Living Springs. Over the coming months they'll be supporting camps, environmental restoration, hospitality and many of the behind the scenes jobs that help make this place thrive.

We're excited to have you here and can't wait to see all that you'll achieve. Welcome to the team! 💚

05/08/2026

We’re Hiring!

Do you enjoy working outdoors and want to help protect and restore native biodiversity?

Living Springs is looking for an enthusiastic and practical Conservation Field Worker – Biodiversity to join our team on a 40-week fixed-term contract in Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Harbour.

This is a varied, hands-on role where no two days are the same. You’ll be involved in ecological restoration, w**d control, native planting, track maintenance, and working alongside volunteers to help care for more than 400 hectares of native forest, wetlands and farmland.

If you’re passionate about conservation and want to make a lasting contribution, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more, download the Position Description and apply via the link in the comments.

Applications close Monday, 24 August 2026.

Know someone who might be interested? Please share this post.

03/08/2026

Kia ora everyone,

Living Springs is hosting our next volunteer day, and we would love your help. Our volunteer days run every second Thursday, weather permitting.

Last session, we removed old plastic tree guards from native trees planted five years ago. It was incredibly satisfying to free these well established trees so they can continue growing without restriction. A huge thank you to Louise, Andrew, and Vicky for all your hard work and enthusiasm.

This time, we'll be clearing kānuka trees from the slip that came through in February. Many of these trees have died or are struggling because the slip left them without stable soil. By removing them now, we'll prepare the site for future planting with species that will better stabilise the slope and help prevent erosion.

📅 Thursday 13 August ⏰ 9:00am – 12:30pm (lunch provided, wrap up by 1:30pm) 📍 Living Springs Main Camp RSVP by 11 August to [email protected]

Please bring sturdy footwear, outdoor working clothes, a rain jacket, water bottle, gloves if you have them, snacks, and any personal medication. We will provide all tools and equipment. No specific skills are required, just a willingness to get stuck in. Every helping hand makes a real difference.

This event is weather dependent. We would love to have you join us. Thank you for your ongoing support and mahi.