Just like a forest that intercepts rainfall that trickles through the layers of vegetation before it hits the ground, so does the layers of messaging used to at Auckland Botanic Gardens to convey water sensitive design and nature-based solutions. Over the last 13 years Auckland Botanic Gardens has branded themselves as a leader in nature-based solutions by carrying out and publishing research on plant recommendations for different devices (e.g. living roofs and rain gardens), showcasing devices in a publicly accessible self-guided trail and supporting school education programmes to teach children how plants can be a solution to environmental problems. Despite this incredible resource of knowledge, we still see poor plant selection and maintenance of devices implemented within our city. In this presentation we will pose the question of how we truly influence industry, land managers and planners to make changes in how nature-based solutions are applied. We know that our city needs to have more nature-based solutions to deal with significant weather and climate events, so how do botanic gardens play a role in overcoming this and taking the next step in influencing town centres and parks to make an impact.