Recruiting and retaining volunteers

Tēnā koe  

Join us online for our next Trailmakers’ Hui, where guest speaker Chris Livesey, Chair of the Manawa Karioi Society, will share insights on volunteer recruitment and retention, drawn from over three decades leading the Manawa Karioi ecological restoration project in Island Bay, Wellington. Now spanning 19 hectares and running since 1991, Manawa Karioi relies entirely on volunteers for everything from track building and maintenance to planting, weed control, and pest management. Chris will talk through what’s worked — and what hasn’t — in attracting and keeping volunteers for both hands-on operational roles and behind-the-scenes organisational ones, along with the ongoing challenge of building specialised local knowledge and bringing through the next generation of leaders.

If you’re managing a community track network or a restoration project, this session offers practical, tested ideas for growing and sustaining your volunteer base. Chris brings a lifetime of outdoor experience — from track building jobs in Te Urewera and Fiordland National Parks in his student days to a long career as an ecological economist and policy analyst — plus more than a decade as Manawa Karioi’s Chairperson. Come along to hear his story and bring your own questions and contributions about recruiting, training, and retaining the volunteers who keep our tracks in good shape.

Please pass this invite along to anyone who might be interested.

Hei konā mai,

Bernice Prakash