Wedding Open Night, Thursday 10 October 2019
Come along to our first wedding open night, see our beautiful venues all set up for a wedding to help you visualise your own special day! Activity details.
Treat Dad on Father's Day, Sunday 1st September 2019
Celebrate with Dad at the Conservatory Restaruant. Activity details.
Acacias in Watercolour with Cheryl Hodges, Friday 6 September 2019
Celebrate National Wattle Day and welcome in spring with our special one-day workshop with Cheryl Hodges! Visit the STEP forest at the National Arboretum Canberra and see wattles in flower with a local specialist. Learn how to draw and illustrate one of these beautiful Australian wildflowers in watercolour. Suitable for beginners to intermediate level students. Activity details.
Friends Harvest Stall, 7 September 2019
Do you love all things home made? Delicious jams, preserves and pesto made from fruit, vegetables and herbs harvested straight from the gardens and forests of the National Arboretum are on offer at the harvest group's market stall. Activity details.
Spoon Smith Workshop, Saturday 7 September 2019
Whittle away the day with professional Spoon Smith Jeff Donne and create your own wooden spoon from the Arboretum’s sustainably sourced Himalayan cedars wood. Using traditional materials and tools, learn how to safely transform a log into a kitchen utensil that will last for years. Activity details.
Spoon Smith workshop - Half day, Sunday 8 September 2019
Join professional Spoon Smith, Jeff Donne, for half a day of carving your own wooden cutlery using a small knife or two. Carve a small eating or sugar spoon straight from a tree using traditional skills and experience the blissful feeling of whittling away the hours at an unhurried pace. Activity details.
Kids Bushbot Workshop, Sunday 8 September 2019
Sign the kids up for an hour and a half of wood whittling fun! They'll be using branches, sticks and twigs; little ones can make their own bush robots! Activity details.
Floriade Walk - Medicine and Food Trees Walk, Sunday 15 September 2019
Join one of the National Arboretum’s most experienced guides and learn about the uses of some of our most unusual trees. Since ancient times trees have provided us with medicine, food, fibre and shelter. Think of aspirin from willow trees, quinine from cinchona trees and maple syrup from maple trees. Activity details.
Floriade Walk – Research at the National Arboretum, 29 September 2019
One of the Arboretum's most important roles is to generate research and new knowledge about its rare, endangered and symbolic trees and forests and their ecology. Activity details.
Snake Awareness and Safety for Young People, Wednesday 2 October 2019
Join three licensed snake catchers in Canberra - Rudy Della-Flora, Alex Borg and Gavin Smith - for a fun and lively session for younger members of the Canberra public to make them more snake and reptile aware. Hear about the key snake and reptile species living in the ACT, the environments they inhabit and their basic behaviours. Activity details.
Floriade Walk – What Makes a Tree Significant, Sunday, 6 October 2019
Take a stroll down the Arboretum's Central Valley zigzag pathway while your guide talks about the trees planted by dignitaries and celebrities over the last eight years. Find out about their significance, why they were chosen, their conservation status, their uses and their symbolic value. This will be a gentle walk taking 1 1/2 hours covering 1 km with a slight elevation on the way back. Activity details.
Learning to Appreciate Snakes, Wednesday 23 October 2019
Join three Canberra licensed snake catchers - Rudy Della-Flora, Alex Borg and Gavin Smith - for an interactive and research driven talk about snakes in Canberra. The session will raise awareness about our local venomous snake species and the ecological contribution these cryptic and much feared creatures make Activity details.
How do you rate us?
How do you rate us? Activity details.
World Bonsai Masters - 30 August – 2 September 2019
A once in a lifetime experience to meet and learn from world class bonsai artists, Master Kunio Kobayashi from Japan and Ryan Neil from United States of America (USA). Engage directly with the bonsai masters for a weekend of engaging workshops, discussions and demonstrations. Bookings essential. Activity details.
New Tracks and Trails at the National Arboretum
Visitors to the National Arboretum Canberra will be able to enjoy an extra 12km of tracks this spring 2019. The multi-use trails have been designed to ensure access to as many forests and vistas as possible for families, walkers, joggers and low impact cyclists. Activity details.
Guided forest walks every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
Discover some of the Arboretum's forests with a friendly and knowledgeable guide. Learn about the trees and their stories. Duration one hour. Moderate walk, uneven ground in places. Wear sturdy shoes and a hat and bring drinking water. Free activity, no bookings required. Activity details.
Complete our survey and WIN
Tell us about your visit to the National Arboretum and help us to improve our services. We would like to hear all your comments and ideas! Enter the monthly draw for a $50 gift voucher from The Curatoreum Shop. The survey should take about 5 minutes and your answers are confidential. For information, call 02 6207 8484 or email: arboretum@act.gov.au. Activity details.
Free introductory talks
Enjoy a free introductory talk about the Arboretum, 20 minutes long. Departs regularly between 10am and 3pm daily. Meet at the 'free talk' sign in the Village Centre. Wheelchair and stroller friendly. Activity details.
Every day activities
There are a range of other activities for people to enjoy on a daily basis at the Arboretum. Activity details.
Guided group tours
Guided bus tours are available for groups of 30 people and up while guided walking tours are available for groups of 10 to 16 people. Activity details.