100 ways to maintain your well-being with parks

Parks are an incredible way to improve our well-being.

Stopping every day to appreciate nature makes us feel happier and healthier.

Research from Berkeley University shows this, concluding that daily interactions with nature increase life satisfaction.

Mark Bowater, Auckland Council’s Head of Parks Services agrees.

“A few minutes each day to smell a flower, listen to a tūī sing or watch the a tree wave its branches in the breeze is enough to improve our mental health”.

Here are 100 ideas to get you started:

Go for a walk – AKL Paths is a great resource to find your local path
Walk your dog (only in dog appropriate areas of course)
Play on the playground
Have a picnic
Take your camera and become a nature photographer for a day
Go for a run
Go for a bike ride
Enjoy one of the many free events in parks, such as movies in parks
Enjoy a guided walk hosted by an Auckland Council community park ranger (events are listed on Our Auckland)
Become a volunteer in your local park
Go bird watching
Go exploring for native wildlife like skinks or geckos
Go for a swim at one of the great beaches part of our parks
Fly a kite

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Have a BBQ

Play hide and seek

Go exploring with no agenda

Identify some of our native trees

Play with a ball

Go for a nature treasure hunt (there are great resources online, such as doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/getting-involved/activities-with-children/treasure-hunt-chart.pdf)

Watch a sunset

Watch a sunrise

Climb a tree

Find a cicada shell

Go on a date

Have a team meeting

Try yoga

Do a cardio workout with some of the free exercise equipment in a park

Explore a bush track

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Find and report pest plants

Go sight-seeing

Take a colourful selfie

Eat fish and chips

Try out a Disc Golf course

Pest control in your local park (contact your local community park ranger to get involved by emailing mylocalpark@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)

Pick up rubbish

Sunbathe safely

Be creative and do some nature art

Get married - find out more here aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/Pages/weddings-civil-unions-parks.aspx

Cool off with a water fight.

Go camping - find a camping spot here aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/stay-at-park/Pages/default.aspx

Build a sandcastle at the beach

Meet up with friends

See farm animals – many of our Regional Parks are home to farm animals

Read a book

Watch the clouds

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Adopt-a-park with your class or school through our Community Programme Ranger programme

Make new friends

Look at sculpture and art in parks

Go on a self-guided walk

Celebrate a special occasion

Have a go at a water sport such as surfing or kayaking

Join and play in sports team

Play a sports game with yourself or a friend, such as basketball or tennis.

Sit and have your morning (or afternoon) coffee

Escape the office to have your lunch

Get inspiration and advice for you home garden from the Auckland Botanic Gardens

Go skateboarding

Go barefoot

Learn something new

Exercise your mind (practice mindfulness)

Take a break from your device

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Construct a fort out of bush materials

Go stargazing

Learn and listen to bird calls

Walk the coast to coast walk, which navigates through parks and paths

Relax in a hammock

Become your own David Attenborough for the day and film what you find in the park

Feed the birds seeds and grains (bread is not good for the birds and can promote the growth of botulism bacteria)

Look at the views from atop one of the maunga of Tāmaki Makaurau

Take a nap

Discover new places (e.g. a new playground or favourite park)

Explore new environments (e.g. wetland or farm)

Dance

Listen to music

Go fishing

Plant in your local park – look out for volunteering opportunities

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Visit a market or festival held in one of our parks, such as the night noodle markets in Victoria Park

Play catch/tag

Geocaching

Hide painted rocks to be found by others (BYO rocks/stones)

Try something new like circus performing or pop up play with Out and About

See glow worms on a night walk with Out & About

Play board games

Explore an Auckland council cemetery - yes they are also parks. A great one to visit is Waikumete

Use it as a space to craft e.g. knitting

Try an online/app-based game like Pokémon Go

Join a group fitness session

Listen to the birdsong of the morning chorus

Learn about Auckland’s history and heritage

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Discover some amazing waterfalls hidden in our parks

Explore Tāmaki Makaurau’s Māori heritage

Roll down a grassy hill

Stay in one of our baches or try glamping

Try meditating in nature

Check out some community art around our parks

Cool down in the shade of the trees

Give Astrophotography a go – we have some great dark sky areas in our regional parks

Visit one of our open sanctuaries Shakespear or Tawharanui regional park

Visit a community garden

Keep Kauri Standing

Wherever you end up, if you enter or leave a forest/area with native trees anywhere across the region, here are three easy steps you need to remember:

Scrub– clean all soil off your footwear and gear.
Spray– your footwear and gear with disinfectant at every cleaning station you encounter. Kauri dieback can be spread by just a pinhead of soil.
Stay– on open tracks and off kauri roots.

Always check the Auckland Council kauri webpage before going for a walk to find out what tracks are currently closed.

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