Join us for one of our upcoming events at the Gardens. We look forward to seeing you!
Stay up to date with Botanic Gardens events and seasonal highlights on Facebook(external link).
Download a map of the Botanic Gardens [PDF, 2.2 MB] showing all event locations.
You are invited to join a number of events throughout the year at the New Zealand World Peace Bell located in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
Celebrate, commemorate and have a go at ringing the bell.
Event | Date | 2024 |
UN Holocaust Memorial Day | 27 January | |
Christchurch Earthquake Memorial | Thursday 22 February |
The Peace Bell will be available to any person to ring as a personal tribute and remembrance of the day. The bell striker will be in place from 11am to 3pm. |
Tōhoku Japan Tsunami and Earthquake Day [PNG, 1.7 MB] | Monday 11 March | A memorial event will take place from 3.30pm onwards. |
UN International Bicycle Day | 3 June | |
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance | 7 August | |
UN International Day of Peace | 21 September | |
UN International Malala Day for Girl's Education | 10 November | |
CHC Peace Bell Open Day | Second Sunday in December | |
Joya-no-kane 108 Bells | 31 December |
The World Peace Bell Association(external link) organises all of the above ceremonies with the exception of UN Holocaust Memorial Day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance and Joya-no-kane 108 Bells.
Sometimes new events are added so please check back for commemorations of interest.
10am to 11.30am, Mondays during the school term.
Calling all parents, grandparents and caregivers! Bring your preschool-aged tamariki into the Christchurch Botanic Gardens to enjoy a simple craft or plant-based activity with the Canterbury Horticultural Society.
Stories, toys and colouring-in are available too.
Enjoy gardening and nature-based activities with your preschooler.
More information is available on the Canterbury Horticultural Society Facebook page(external link).
Envirokids is a chance to connect kiwi kids to our environmental community and it's free.
Every Saturday, the Envirohub(external link) will have activities for kids inspired by the mahi (work) of different organisations that work with the environment.
Activities are available between 10am to 3pm every Saturday (even in the holidays).
Find out more information about EnviroKids(external link) or keep up to date on the EnviroKids Facebook(external link).
10.30am to 1.30pm Thursdays.
Pop in for an environmental chat if you need inspiration or advice on anything from starting a new environmental project, volunteer challenges, funding advice for green projects, sustainability at home or waste and recycling processes.
The EnviroHub are here to help:
Find more information about Environmental Chat(external link).
Join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens volunteer guides for free guided walks at the Botanic Gardens (October to April) and Mona Vale Gardens (year-round).
Pick and choose from a wonderful selection of topics or come along to all of them for a dose of exercise, beautiful displays, and education rolled into one.
If you have any queries about guided walks at Mona Vale or the Botanic Gardens, please contact friendsofthegardens@gmail.com.
1pm and 7pm, Wednesday 6 March 2024.
You're invited to the Canterbury Horticultural Society's monthly get-together - Garden Life. Enjoy a two-hour programme of gardening tips, horticultural speakers and a social get-together.
The Garden Life March's main speaker is Sarah Mankelow, Community Partnerships Ranger for the Christchurch City Council Red Zone team. Sarah will present Regenerating the Red Zone - Projects, Planting and Possibilities.
There is enormous potential to transform the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor into the jewel in Christchurch’s crown, creating a place for residents and visitors to explore, play, connect and learn. At 602 hectares, the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor regeneration area is three-and-a-half times larger than Hagley Park.
Hear about the projects that are getting underway this year, including nearly 30,000 natives ready to be put in the ground, and the ways you can get involved.
But it's not just the river corridor, our red zone team also looks after Southshore, Brooklands and the Port Hills properties as well – and there are moves afoot in those spaces too.
These are inter-generational projects that may take 30 to 50 years to reach fruition – but what a city we will have. Can you imagine?
4pm, Sunday 17 March 2024.
Join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens for their monthly speaker series.
The March speaker is Chris Barnaby who runs the Plant Variety Rights Office, part of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. Plant Variety Rights is a key component of the commercial plant world upon which commercial plant breeders depend to protect their business and enable them to develop and produce new varieties of plants.
Chris will discuss his varied and interesting work which encompasses botany, taxonomy, nomenclature, plant breeding and commercial plant production.
To get involved in volunteering in the Botanic Gardens, join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens(external link).