Underwater forests of Wellington
20 August 2025 - 20 August 2025
6:15–7:15 pm
Region(s): Wellington
Type(s): presentations
Towering seaweed forests and colourful sponge gardens lie just beneath the surface of Wellington’s coastline. Like forests on land, these underwater habitats support a remarkable diversity of life, including treasured kaimoana species. Yet they face growing pressure from human activity and environmental change.
Dr Nicole Miller will take us on a visual journey through Wellington’s Blue Belt, exploring current conservation successes and challenges. Drawing on years of diving, photography and local restoration work, Nicole will highlight the beauty and fragility of these ecosystems and why it’s more important than ever to bring changes to the surface.
This event will be held in the Pāteke Room in the Visitor Centre at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne with light refreshments provided. Doors open at 6:00 pm, parking is available at both the Visitor Centre and overflow parking area on Birdwood Street.
Nicole’s seaweed artworks will be on display at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne from 1 August to 30 September, with all profits supporting Explore Your Coast.
For more information and to book a ticket go here.
Related content
Love Rimurimu – an ocean of potential for seaweed is a year-long inquiry supported by Mountains to Sea – with exploration in the classroom and in the field. You can also dip into resources covering biodiversity, human impacts and restoration for short-term studies. Several resources are in te reo Māori, courtesy of Te Aho Tū Roa.
The citizen science project Floating Forests needs your help to identify kelp forests from satellite images.
Discover the mātauranga that underpins pōhā – bags made from rimurapa, a species of bull kelp, that preserve tītī (muttonbirds) for up to 2 years.
Kelp forests feature in the infographics housed in the New Zealand marine habitats interactive.
The Threats to marine habitats interactive displays some of the stressors that kelp forests face in Aotearoa and globally.
See our Seaweed and algae Pinterest board for more resource ideas.
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