In 2002, a group of volunteers from the Rotorua Branch of Forest & Bird, and the Rotorua Botanical Society started a project to remove animal and plant pests from a large part of the Lake Tikitapu Scenic Reserve and the nearby lakeside strip at Lake Ōkāreka (both areas on DOC administered land).
The Violet Bonnington Reserve (VBR) is a small area of about half a hectare, originally pasture, that was purchased by the Rotorua Branch of Forest & Bird in 2006 in order to provide public access from Paradise Valley Rd to the Mt Ngongotahā Scenic Reserve (DOC). At the time, the reserve was surrounded by farmland and public access was difficult.
