Some of my favourite people, a peaceful wander through forest and a tea break with biscuits - why wouldn't I want to spend an afternoon with the Friends of Gordon Park volunteers?
The group is led by ecologist Colin Ogle, who's always willing to talk about the plants and birds in the eight-hectare lowland forest just outside Wanganui East. I've been a very erratic volunteer there for years.
The forest is managed by the Conservation Department and the volunteers treat it like a huge garden and meet twice a month to weed it. They're also working on revegetating its edges, using seed sourced in the forest.
When it comes to gardens, nature makes better ones than humans ever can. A wander through the forest shows up a few rare plants, insects and birds and a forest floor covered with seedlings. It's an endlessly interesting tapestry. There are also weeds - with some spreading fast and likely to take over. Those are either uprooted and left to dry out and die or taken away for disposal. The main targets at Gordon Park are the poisonous Jerusalem cherry and the engagingly named stinking iris. Another is the karaka tree. Mr Ogle says karaka is native to northern New Zealand but not Wanganui, and should not be in this typical lowland swamp forest. Karaka trees and their seedlings are either uprooted or cut down.
Volunteers wear gloves and bring their own garden tools for their half-day weeding sessions. On this Thursday afternoon DoC supplied tea, coffee, milk, sugar and biscuits for afternoon tea.
After the tea break some of us spent some time potting up coprosma and mahoe seedlings for planting. Others weeded and tut tutted about the three illegal fires that were lit near the carpark in the last few weeks. It was a warm cloudy afternoon, with a beautiful forest and the right kind of people. And for someone who likes nature there's nothing more relaxing than spending several hours looking at nothing other than plants.