Support Canterbury Horticultural Society

Canterbury Horticultural Society is growing a greener, more connected community — and you can help. Every donation supports hands-on projects that bring people, plants, and sustainability together.

OUR PROJECTS

Avebury Climate Resilient Garden

CHS Avebury Climate Resilient Garden is a collaborative project by Canterbury Horticultural Society to create and maintain an ornamental garden which showcases a wide variety of plants that are resilient in Christchurch’s changing climate.

The garden will blend Avebury's historical elements with sustainable design, using native and exotic species resilient to Christchurch's changing climate. Naturalistic plantings, raw Manuka obelisks, and mulched paths have been designed to foster community and ecological balance.

Plants are selected for their ability to support pollinators, provide food for birds, and thrive in a resilient, layered ecosystem. The garden's layout uses a Fibonacci-based design with native and perennial species ensuring year-round beauty. Read more about the CHS Avebury Climate Resilient Garden.

Orchards in Schools

The CHS Orchards in Schools Programme provides traditional life long skills and food resilience.

The programme is now in its 11th year, with 47 schools within the greater Christchurch area involved.

Orchards in Schools highlights where food comes from by providing a connection to food production. Through exploring nature and its processes (e.g. pollination) tamariki will understand the interconnected role of every living thing. The practical, outdoors, hands on style of the programme suits a broad range of learners.

The programme helps schools identify a suitable location within the school grounds, provide the fruit trees, support teachers and caretakers, provide a trained teacher who works alongside students to maintain their orchard with two visits a year. All sessions are outside in the orchard observing and interacting with the trees; from dissecting blossoms and thinning fruit to learning how to handle tools and pruning the trees appropriately. The programme can be tailored to any age from new entrants to high school horticultural students.

Read more about Orchards in Schools on our website.

BotTots

Introducing toddlers and families to plants, nature, and hands-on gardening experiences, nurturing curiosity and a lifelong love of growing.

Mondays 10am - 11.30am, All welcome - no booking needed (caregiver supervision required). See what the BotTots get up to on their facebook page.

Every donation, big or small, makes a difference.