But it’s much more than just a beautiful location with abundant birdlife and pretty plants.
Manager Tim Park describes Ōtari Wilton’s Bush as having four key pillars.
“The first is it’s a place of recreation where people can come and discover the kilometres of varied trails and beautiful native flora.
“Secondly, it’s a place of education. We have partnerships with schools and organisations who come to learn about nature, as well as being a place where individuals can come to learn and study native plants. Many are inspired with what they might like to do with natives in their garden at home!
“It’s also a place of research and developing our understanding of nature, with it being a key site for science and mātauranga. We need to know how our streams and forests function naturally if we want to restore them well.
“Last but not least, it’s a place of conservation. We have collected plants from across the motu and sustain them in our gardens. In some cases, plants in our care have since become extinct in the wild, due to the impact of pests and habitat loss, and many more species are threatened. We are involved in repatriating those species back into the wild where they belong.”