Totara Park Restoration Project

Totara Park is a parcel of reserve land in Johnsonville, bordered by McLintock Street, Broderick Road and Norwood Place. It should not be confused with the suburb of Totara Park in Upper Hutt.

​Wellington City Council says Totara Park is the most significant reserve with indigenous vegetation in the Johnsonville area (Northern Reserves Management Plan 2008, p. 115)

JCA aims to protect our local environment by planting native flora in designated areas and enhance recreation. So we are:

• working with Wellington City Council on a replanting project in Totara Park, and
• building a picnic area and
• Building a walking track in the park.

​JCA will coordinate construction of the track and planting of trees and shrubs, while WCC will provide plants and some materials. ​Contributions of labour, cash, and corporate sponsorship of picnic tables, signage and numerous other sundries are very welcome – please contact us, we’d love to hear from you!

Native Plants Suitable for Johnsonville

You may wonder why Totara Park is named that, when there is not a totara tree to be seen!

Before humans arrived and set about clearing the bush, Johnsonville would have been covered with large canopy trees such as totara, rimu, miro, matai, kahikatea and the glorious red-flowering rata.

​JCA enlisted the help of Anita Benbrook, the City Council’s Restoration Technical Advisor, to survey the vegetation in Totara Park and identify the gaps that we need to fill. Anita has helped us develop a planting plan so that we can plant appropriate species which grow naturally in the Johnsonville area.

More info: Wellington Regional Native Plant Guide