Events at the Botanic Gardens

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.

Annual events

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.

Find out more about the New Zealand World Peace Bell.

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.

• All welcome - no booking needed (caregiver supervision is required).
• Tea and coffee are provided.
• Gold coin koha entry
• Runs during school term-time.

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).

• 10am to 3pm every Saturday at the Kiosk, Botanic Gardens.
• Children that come regularly can record their learning in a special passbook available once they attend their second event.
• EnviroKids is also an accredited Children's University learning destination so stamps are available for participating children's passports.

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:

• An opportunity to join an ongoing conversation or have a one-on-one chat.
• Free, no bookings required.
• Drop into the Kiosk anytime between 10.30am and 1pm in the Kiosk, Botanic Gardens.

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.

See the walk schedule.

Botanic Gardens guided walks

• October to April
• 1.30pm daily lasting 45 to 90 minutes.
• Meet at the Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Mona Vale guided walks

• Selected dates throughout the year.
• 1.30pm, lasting approx. 90 minutes.
• Meet by the Mona Vale rose garden.

If you have any queries about guided walks at Mona Vale or the Botanic Gardens, please contact friendsofthegardens@gmail.com.

Ceramics inspired by nature

Create a vase, plate, or a botanically inspired Green Man tile.

Join ceramicist Jane McCulla for a hands-on practical workshop at The Kiosk in the Botanic Gardens. In each workshop, Jane will demonstrate how to imprint botanical textures onto clay, hand-building techniques (vase or plate) or how to make a botanically inspired Green Man tile.

Jane will take care of the glazing and firing and two weeks later you’ll collect a glazed vase/plate or tile imprinted with botanical patterns and suitable for everyday use.

Botanical plate

• 10am to 12pm, Thursday 7 November
• 1pm to 3pm, Sunday 10 November

Green Man tile

• 10am to 12pm, Sunday 2 March 2025

Members: $65
Non-members $80
Workshops include all materials, glazing and kiln firing.

Please bring an apron or wear clothing you are happy to get a spot of clay on.

Courses are aimed at adults. If you're under 18 please contact the CHS before booking so they can check if the course will be suitable with the tutors.

Find out more and book.(external link)

Heron and her friends have been part of the Peacock Fountain for over 100 years. This spring, Heron is going on an adventure using her five super senses.

Follow her footsteps as she discovers the secrets of the Gardens and see what you can see, smell, hear, touch and taste!

• Self-guided discovery trail. Caregivers must accompany children.
• Best suited for ages 3 to 12.
• Collect your free activity booklet from the Visitor Centre. Please remember to bring a pen or pencil.
• The trail will run daily from 9am to 5pm, Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October 2024, rain or shine.

Join the Canterbury Horticultural Society during these school holidays and unleash your child’s imagination with a range of enchanting workshops:

• Creative Clay Pot Plant and Scented Planting Fun
• Create your own Magical Kingdom
• Scented & Glitter Fragrance Making Workshop
• Posy Jar: A Blooming Adventure of Creativity & Scent!

Location:

• The Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, just over the footbridge entrance from the Armagh Street car park.

Date and time: 

• Thursday 3 October
• Thursday 7 October

Choose from two morning or afternoon sessions per day.

Cost:

• $25 per session.
• Price includes materials and self-serve tea and coffee.
• Purchase 4 or more workshops and receive $10 off your order with coupon code fun-filled (applied at cart).

Ages:

• Suitable for children aged 3 to 12 years
• Please support under 7’s by remaining for the session.

Bookings:

• Spaces are limited.
• Sign up today and let your child’s imagination blossom. Find out more or book your place.(external link)

The Canterbury Horticultural Society invite you to their monthly get-together: Garden Life(external link), a two-hour programme of gardening tips and socialising including a main and mini speaker of horticultural interest.

Garden Life takes place at The Kiosk in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. This is located opposite the entrance when you first enter the Gardens from the Armagh Street car park footbridge.

$5 for CHS and Friends members, $10 non-members.

Refreshments provided - tea, coffee and biscuits in the afternoon sessions, and cheese, crackers and fruit punch in the evening sessions.

October

• 1pm Tuesday 1 October, repeated at 6pm.
• Wednesday 2 October.

Main speaker:

• Elizabeth Wilks – CHS Avebury: A climate-resilient garden:
• In the grounds of historic Avebury House, the Canterbury Horticultural Society is creating an ornamental garden to showcase how gardeners can cope with projected climate change in Canterbury in a sustainable way. As gardeners we each have a choice in how we respond to this climatic reality: we can either continue to irrigate or we can garden for climatic resilience.
• Designed by Elizabeth Wilks, the CHS Avebury garden design is plant-driven with a complex blend of climate-resilient native and exotic species. Elizabeth is a lifelong gardener and designer with training and a previous career in environmental science.

Mini speaker Tuesday: 

• Jane Cowan-Harris - Friends of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Mini speaker Wednesday:

• Ben Alder – Envirohub.

To get involved in volunteering in the Botanic Gardens, join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens(external link).