Forest & Bird's Nelson Tasman Branch covers the area between Pelorus Bridge in Marlborough and Takaka Hill in Tasman
With over 500 members from a range of backgrounds, we are brought together by our love for the environment.
In addition to our regular meetings and projects with planting, trapping and weeding, we have a focus on nurturing young conservationists, sponsoring awards and through Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) and Forest and Bird Youth.
Branch meetings
Our branch meets monthly on the second Wednesday of each month (except December and January) at the Tahunanui School Hall from 7:30 p.m.
We have a guest speaker and round up with a chat over supper. Talk topics are as varied as eels, fungi, photography, kakapo, rocks and fossils, tenure review, and wild rivers.
Guests are always welcome, so please join us. See event list below for upcoming talks.
Sometimes we have a stall at the Nelson Markets with information on Forest and Bird and donated items for sale - thanks to Judy for these lovely woollen jerseys for children, which we sold at our August stall. Our next stall will be in November 2024 - check this page for updates.
Branch projects
Forest and Bird Nelson-Tasman are involved in a range of projects to restore and care for sites around the region. New volunteers are always welcome – email us at if you would like to get involved: nelsontasman.branch@forestandbird.org.nz.
Paremata Flats Reserve restoration project
Our branch is working to restore Paremata Flat Reserve, a coastal forest remnant and estuary 20 kilometres north of Nelson on the shoreline of Delaware Bay, managed by Nelson City Council.
We support a team of trappers who have been maintaining a trap lines since 2007, protecting populations of fernbird and banded rail.
We also have a monthly weeding team, on the first Saturday of the month, 9am-12noon, to protect the over 95,000 trees we have planted since the project began.
Read more about Paremata Flats
Pearl Creek
Pearl Creek (off Cotterell Road, Appleby, access from the Great Taste Trail cycle path) is a spring-fed stream that flows into the Waimeha/Waimea Inlet. We have an agreement with the Tasman Environmental Trust to care for the Pearl Creek reserve. The aim of this project is to restore healthy native habitats from the stream source to the tidal margin.
The branch group meets on the second Saturday of each month, 9am-12noon, to walk through, removing weeds and generally caring for the area.
Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project
Pelorus Catchment area, or Te Hoiere, is home to one of the last remaining populations of long-tailed bats in the Top of the South. Since 2010, Forest and Bird Nelson Tasman have been engaged in protecting the bat population at the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, initially through a volunteer trapping program. In 2021, Forest and Bird received funding from Jobs For Nature followed by the discovery of bat roosting sites in Pelorus Bridge and Rai Valley. Thanks to this funding, Forest and Bird launched the Te Hoiere Bat Recovery project aimed at restoring natural bat habitats. This work included the expansion of predator control trapping lines, noxious weed control, native tree planting, and seasonal bat monitoring. The project is also supported by Transpower, The NZ Lottery Grants Board, and the Department of Conservation.
Follow the project on Facebook or Instagram. Get involved through regular volunteering or our annual Ronga Reserve planting days (usually around August). For more information, see the link below. Any queries, please contact via social media or email the Project Manager, Dr Daria Erastova, at d.erastova@forestandbird.org.nz.
Read more about the Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project
Hadfield Clearing
Back in 2014, work began on a 10-year project to restore Hadfield Clearing, which is beside the road between Totaranui and Awaroa, within Abel Tasman National Park. Hadfield Clearing had been farmed by several generations of the Hadfield family since 1863, but since the early 2000’s is now part of the Abel Tasman National Park and administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Project Janszoon have been working with DOC on the restoration, with Forest and Bird Nelson Tasman involved through (almost) annual plantings, usually around August or September.
Read a report of the 2023 planting
Branch awards
Forest and Bird Nelson-Tasman is keen to encourage young conservationists, and currently support two awards.
Andy Dennis Memorial Scholarship
Andy was a long time member of the Nelson Branch of Forest & Bird and a giant of the New Zealand conservation movement. In memory of Andy the branch created the Andy Dennis Memorial Scholarship with NMIT. For more information, see Andy Dennis Memorial Scholarship.
Cawthron Scitec Expo and Perrine Moncrieff Shield
The Scietec Expo is an annual student science fair to encourage school students throughout the Nelson Region. Cawthron Scitec Expo.
Our branch is a silver supporter and award the Perrine Moncrieff Shield to a project with a conservation theme. This shield was first awarded in the 1940's to acknowledge the work of Perrine Moncrieff (1893-1979), another giant of the conservation movement with strong Nelson connections.
The 2023 winner of the Award is Iris Moffat of Nayland College with her project on Native Birds and Sugar Water.
