News

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2024 Community Open Day
We are excited to invite you to our Annual Community Open Day:
Saturday, October 26th, 2024!

It will be a day packed with educational talks, interactive experiences, and a chance to connect with conservation and sustainability organisations from both local and national levels.

2024 marks 14 years of Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre’s much-loved annual fundraiser – the Wairarapa Garden Tour, Nov 9 & 10

Visit Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre on a day trip from Wellington or within the Wairarapa!

2022 marks 12 years of Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre’s much-loved annual fundraiser – the Wairarapa Garden Tour. This two-day, self-drive tour will feature 15 beautiful gardens in South Wairarapa.

Bird news  Despite the winter cold, there's been plenty happening with our feathered friends!The little pīwakawaka has been very busy lately, snapping up treats out the front of the Visitor Centre to show off to his potential new lady. There are signs all around that...

Wairarapa Garden Tour – Pūkaha's major fundraiser   by Rachael Dell Photos contributed by wairarapagardentour.co.nz Spring is a wonderful time of year to get outside, see new sights and re-energise in nature. The weather’s usually a little warmer, the sun is out for...

When the weather is cold and sometimes wet, what do you do with the kids? Here are five fun winter kids activities you can enjoy at Pūkaha.

Staff at Pūkaha share some of their favourite actvities that aren’t always found in the guidebook.

Sort your last-minute Christmas gifts at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre, and take some time out too.

How often do you see a blue bird in the garden? Or even in a forest for that matter? One with a black eyemask looking like a burgler? If you really think about it, probably not that often. I am of course referring to the kōkako. One of New Zealand’s most endangered birds.

ANZAC Bridge – leading to a brighter future    by Alex Wall  Photos contributed by Esther Bunning and Friends of ANZAC Bridge   A short drive north along State Highway 2, just 2.7 kilometres past Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre sits ANZAC Bridge at Kaiparoro. The...

Monash science student Jack O’Connor takes up a conservation communication internship with Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.

The people of Rangitāne who descend from Whātonga were acknowledged in a ceremony with the Crown at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre on the 8th of February 2020.

Once common throughout the North Island, its numbers were decimated by the introduction of rats and stoats that arrived with the early European settlers

There are an estimated 100,000 tuatara left in world. All found right here in New Zealand across predator free islands and reserves such as Pūkaha.

Our forest is home to a lot more than birds, and we are very proud of our native plants! Here we share five of the most common plants you might spot here and their traditional uses in Māori medicine.

As a business leader, you have some pretty high priorities, and being responsible on an environmental level is one of them. At Pūkaha we have a number of ways to help motivate you and your team. Here are 5 ways you can give back.