The HealthPost Nature Trust was founded in 2017 to regenerate nature in our spectacular backyard of Onetahua Farewell Spit, Golden Bay. Working in partnership, the project has gathered more momentum than we could’ve imagined, and there are exciting developments in the pipeline for 2025!Here are a few highlights from the project to date.
1. Dedicated community volunteers have given almost 10,000 hours to this project since the HealthPost Nature Trust was founded in 2017, despite the remote location at the northwestern tip of Te Wai Pounamu the South Island, New Zealand. There is so much energy in our communities for regenerating nature!
2. 5,000 native trees have been planted by the HealthPost team in the project area over the past 5 years, and more than 16,000 by our team in the wider Mohua Golden Bay region. This includes many podocarps like rimu and kahikatea that will create enduring habitat for flora and fauna and continue to store carbon for centuries.
3. The spectacular Wharariki Ecosanctuary – created by the HealthPost Nature Trust in partnership with Manawhenua ki Mohua and the Department of Conservation New Zealand – uses the sheer cliffs of Cape Farewell as part of its 3-hectare predator proof perimeter. Skilled abseiling was involved in its creation! It was officially opened by the Minister for Conservation in 2020.
4. Almost 200 Pakaha Fluttering Shearwater chicks have been translocated to the Wharariki Ecosanctuary over a 3-year period. All chicks fledged successfully, and they’ll spend several years at sea before returning to breed. When this happens, the Ecosanctuary will become the only mainland colony of these burrowing seabirds, and their nutrient-rich guano will boost the regeneration of an entire ecosystem.
5. The Nelson Green Gecko is another very special threatened species benefitting from the Wharariki Ecosanctuary. Largely confined to the Nelson region, and this tiny, emerald gecko has one of the loudest ‘barks’ of any gecko, so keep an ear out if you’re visiting the Ecosanctuary.
6. The Wharariki Ecosanctuary has been declared mouse-free by a clever cocker spaniel called Tahi. Tahi is a DOC sniffer dog, and her keen nose confirmed the area was officially clear of mice (other mammals having already been excluded). Great news for the lizards and invertebrates!
7. The Wharariki Ecosanctuary is unusual in that it is toxin free: all pest control and revegetation is done without the use of poisons or pesticides. The area was cleared of mice, for instance, using simple snap traps, and smaller plantings are released by hand weeding rather than spraying.
8. Great Spotted Kiwi were found in the area in late 2024, encouraging us to redouble our efforts for pest control and habitat regeneration. Kiwi have been captured twice on monitoring cameras in the Puponga Farm Park, in the first sightings of this species in the area for decades.
9. Te Whare Whakatā - the HealthPost Nature Trust Field Station at the base of Farewell Spit - has become a hub for cultural, environmental and scientific activities. The name – gifted by Manawhenua ki Mohua – means ‘place of rest’. And rest is much needed when Te Whare serves as a base for Project Jonah and the Department of Conservation as they lead rescue efforts for the pilot whales that sadly strand regularly on Farewell Spit.
10. Farewell Spit is an internationally recognised Ramsar site for wading and migratory birds, and it also has an estimated 25% of the seagrass meadows in Aotearoa. Seagrass is attracting attention for its potential to store carbon more effectively than land-based forest. The HealthPost Nature Trust has contributed to core sampling and analysis to try to understand the ‘blue carbon’ significance of our local seagrass meadows, with a view to their preservation and regeneration.
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