Trust story

The Wellington Region Hills Environmental Trust was formally incorporated on 29 July 2026 under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 — but its purpose goes back to a much older and more stubborn problem: the gorse that has spread across Wellington's hill country since it was first planted as hedging in the 1800s.

The Trust exists to improve environmental outcomes across the Wellington region's hill environments through community-led action, practical pest management, and partnership between public and private landowners. It was set up specifically because the conventional toolkit — herbicide, machinery, fire, goats, biological control — has never been enough on its own to deal with gorse on Wellington's steep, cross-boundary terrain. The Trust's founding purpose is to develop and test practical, innovative solutions for managing invasive species on land that has historically been too steep, too fragmented, or too inaccessible for existing methods to treat effectively — agricultural drone-assisted spraying chief among them.

The Trust's charitable purposes, as set out in its founding deed, are to:

-Protect and enhance the natural environment within the Wellington region

-Promote sustainable land management and pest control practices

-Support the control and reduction of invasive species, including gorse and other declared pests, for the benefit of the public and the natural environment

-Restore native ecosystems through planting, regeneration, and habitat improvement

-Promote community awareness, education, and participation in environmental stewardship

-Facilitate cooperation between public agencies, iwi, landowners, and community groups to improve environmental outcomes

The Trust operates across the wider Wellington region — including Wellington City, the Hutt Valley, Porirua, the Kāpiti Coast, and the Wairarapa — wherever its work can advance these purposes. Every activity the Trust undertakes is directed toward public and environmental benefit; under its founding deed, no Trustee, officer, or private individual may draw a financial benefit from the Trust's funds or assets.