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Nelson Nature - a Major Biodiversity Programme

Nelson City Council’s Nelson Nature programme works to protect and enhance the region’s natural environment in partnership with Department of Conservation (DOC), iwi, private landowners, and the many community groups and volunteers who carry out weed control, trapping, habitat restoration, and monitoring mahi across the region.

The programme takes a landscape-scale, ki uta ki tai (mountains to the sea) approach, supporting forests, freshwater, wetlands, estuaries, coastal environments, and the unique Nelson Mineral Belt.

The Nelson Region

The Nelson region stretches from Waimea Inlet in the south through the city and valley floors to Cape Soucis in the north. This diverse landscape includes:

  • Native forests - including extensive inland beech forests
  • Nationally and regionally remnants of lowland and coastal broadleaved forest
  • Lowland podocarp forest fragments
  • Rare and threatened wetlands
  • Estuaries and coastal ecosystems of national significance
  • The ultramafic Nelson Mineral Belt of Dun Mountain
  • Regenerating hill‑country vegetation, where farmland has returned to native forest

Centuries of Māori and European settlement, reclamation, farming, and development have changed large parts of our coastal and lowland ecosystems.
Most original estuary‑margin vegetation has been lost, and only a few lowland near-coastal areas are protected, many through DOC Scenic Reserves or QEII Open Space Covenants.

Why Nelson Nature?

Many of Nelson’s native species and ecosystems are under pressure from:

  • habitat loss and fragmentation
  • invasive weeds
  • introduced predators
  • declining water quality
  • climate change
  • human disturbance

Species such as kererū, tūī, wētā, geckos, banded rail, Powelliphanta snails, coastal peppercress, and inanga/whitebait depend on the habitats Nelson Nature restores and protects.

Nelson Nature prioritises areas where intervention will have the greatest ecological benefit and where community partnership is vital.

Our Key Environmental Foucs Areas

Nelson Nature works to protect and enhance three broad environmental areas:

Terrestrial ecosystems- Forests, shrublands, coastal vegetation, the Nelson Mineral Belt, and regenerating hill country.

Coastal and estuarine ecosystems - Dunes, estuaries, islands, saltmarsh, coastal cliffs, and shorebird habitats.

Significant Natural Areas - sites that have natural ecosystem values that are representative, rare, diverse, and/or provide important corridor connections or habitats for rare native species.

These areas reflect the full range of Nelson’s biodiversity and the landscapes that support it.

What Nelson Nature Does

Habitat Restoration

  • Native planting in forests, riparian areas, dunes, and estuaries
  • Habitat creation and enhancement for threatened species


Pest and Weed Control

  • Predator control (rats, mustelids, possums, goats, deer)
  • Large-scale weed control (wilding conifers, gorse, vines)
  • Supporting biosecurity in high‑value sites


Freshwater Support

  • Riparian restoration and sediment reduction
  • Inanga spawning protection
  • Alignment with the Healthy Streams programme

Species Protection

  • Banded rail habitat enhancement
  • Powelliphanta snail protection in the Mineral Belt
  • Lizard habitat protection on coastal sites
  • Bird, invertebrate, and vegetation monitoring

Coastal & Estuary Protection

  • Dune restoration with native coastal plants
  • Estuary-edge planting and weed control
  • Predator control on offshore islands and shorebird habitats

Supporting the Community

  • Support for volunteer groups and landowners
  • Environmental grants
  • Advice and ecological expertise
  • Citizen science (BioBlitz, iNaturalist, bird monitoring)
  • Enviroschools and education initiatives

Key agencies that we work with:

Priority Areas of Work

Nelson Nature focuses on ecological priorities across the landscape, including:

  • Maitai/Mahitahi & Brook – forest, freshwater, and catchment improvement
  • Delaware Estuary & Pepin Island – shorebirds, coastal vegetation
  • Tāhunanui dunes – dune restoration and species recovery
  • Dun Mountain & Mineral Belt – rare serpentine ecosystems
  • Backcountry
  • Urban nature – backyard biodiversity, predator control, planting

These priority areas are reviewed over time as restoration progresses and new needs emerge.

Working with the Community

Nelson Nature is built on partnership. The programme supports:

  • Local volunteer restoration groups
  • Predator trapping efforts across neighbourhoods
  • Schools via Enviroschools
  • Citizen science projects
  • Landowners managing or restoring native habitat
  • Community-led coastal, estuary, and freshwater projects

Many of Nelson’s restoration successes come from the dedication of local groups and volunteers.

What You Can Do

Nelson Nature is restoring the health of our forests, waterways, coasts, and special places — and you can be part of it.

Whether through volunteering, trapping, planting, or helping care for your local environment, every action supports the mauri of our region - For more information on opportunities to help and resources visit our "What Can I Do' page.

For advice on where to start email the nelson nature team - nelson.nature@ncc.govt.nz

Resources & Useful Links

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