Volunteer in Southland

Introduction

Get involved with DOC volunteer activities in the Southland region.

More on our volunteer programme and how to apply.

    Burwood Takahē Centre volunteering

    13 - 17 March 2025: Volunteers will work with DOC rangers at the Burwood Takahē Centre, carrying out a variety of tasks to help keep the takahē safe and healthy.

    Mason Bay - historic site maintenance

    20 - 29 January 2025: volunteers will help with vegetation clearance around the historic woolshed and homestead at Mason Bay.

    Mavora Lakes Hut and facility maintenance

    4 - 8 November 2024: Volunteer tasks include hut, campsite, and hut maintenance, and setting up hut water supplies before the busy summer season starts.

    Moturau Moana – historic native garden maintenance

    14 – 18 October 2024: Volunteer tasks will include tree trimming, weeding, planting, garden maintenance and tidying up the general area.

    Piano Flat – historic water race restoration

    Volunteers will carry out maintenance on the historic water race in the Piano Flat area, the only known operational water race in Southland.

    Port Pegasus/Pikihatiti – historic tin mining site maintenance

    March 2025: Volunteer at Port Pegasus/Pikihatiti maintaining historical sites in the area.

    Southern Islands Quarantine Store - maintenance

    October 2024 - April 2025: We are looking for volunteers to assist with the quarantine process throughout the season.

    Southland - backcountry track maintenance

    11 - 15 November 2024: Tasks will include clearing wind falls, clearing vegetation using scrub bars and hedge trimmers and remarking the tracks using orange poles and triangles.

    Southland – preservation of historic relics

    20 – 24 January 2025: This is a wonderful opportunity to discover several of Southland's historic relics and help to preserve them for future generations.

    Stewart Island/Rakiura - annual hut maintenance

    17 - 24 September 2024: Volunteers will help with the annual maintenance of huts around the coastline of Stewart Island/Rakiura.

    Stewart Island/Rakiura – hut rangers

    November 2024 and April 2025: This is an excellent volunteer opportunity to experience the backcountry of Stewart Island/Rakiura.

    Stewart Island/Rakiura - tūturiwhatu/southern NZ dotterel recovery

    This is an excellent opportunity for volunteers to experience remote areas of Stewart Island/Rakiura, gain new skills, learn about the biodiversity of the area, and contribute to an extremely important recovery project.

    Ulva Island – summer rangers

    November 2024 – April 2025: This is a rare opportunity to stay on this island paradise in return for acting as a roving ranger on the island during the height of the visitor season.

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