Brook Waimārama Sanctuary

Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is a 690-hectare mainland wildlife sanctuary in the Brook Valley, approximately six kilometres south of Nelson, New Zealand. It is managed as an ecological island: a large area of native habitat protected by a predator-proof perimeter fence and supported by intensive pest monitoring, habitat restoration and species reintroduction. The sanctuary is the largest fenced sanctuary in New Zealand’s South Island and one of the country’s largest mainland sanctuaries. Its forest is particularly notable because mature southern beech forest forms the ecological core of the reserve, alongside regenerating broadleaf and kānuka forest. The site began as the Nelson Waterworks Reserve. The Brook Stream catchment was reserved for Nelson’s water supply in the nineteenth century, with dams and associated infrastructure constructed from the 1860s onward. The reserve’s upper valley retained substantial native forest because of its water-supply function, while other areas were affected by historic grazing, mining and infrastructure. The Brook waterworks eventually became obsolete after the development of alternative supplies, and the system was decommissioned in 2000. Its protected valley, proximity to Nelson and connection with the wider Mount Richmond Forest Park landscape created the basis for a major restoration project. Planning for a predator-free sanctuary began in 2001, and the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Trust was established in 2004. Early work combined community volunteering, public-sector support and private fundraising. Volunteers developed an extensive network of trap lines, while the project secured approvals and funding for a predator-proof fence. The 14.4-kilometre fence was completed in September 2016 after a lengthy planning process and eighteen months of construction. It was designed to prevent reinvasion by rats, stoats, possums and other introduced mammals once eradication was complete. The pest-eradication phase took place in 2017 and involved three aerial applications of brodifacoum bait within the fenced area. The operation faced legal challenges and protests from opponents concerned about aerial poison use near waterways. Courts rejected the challenges, and the operation proceeded without recorded bait falling outside the sanctuary boundary or brodifacoum being detected in stream water, according to the cited account. After monitoring, the sanctuary was declared pest-free in 2018, although ongoing surveillance remains necessary because individual rodents have subsequently breached the fence. The sanctuary reopened to visitors on 15 July 2018. Public facilities include walking tracks, bridges over former dam areas, an accessible loop track and an outdoor classroom for school groups. Visitor income, sponsorship, donations and public funding support the trust’s conservation and visitor operations. A compulsory admission-fee system replaced the earlier voluntary contribution model in 2020. Conservation work focuses on protecting native plants and allowing forest ecosystems to recover while restoring species that were historically absent or greatly reduced in the valley. The sanctuary supports abundant native birdlife, including tūī, bellbirds, kererū, fantails, tomtits and South Island robins. It has also received translocations of orange-fronted parakeets, South Island saddleback, Powelliphanta giant snails and tuatara. The orange-fronted parakeet programme has been described as especially successful, with the population expanding after multiple releases. Little spotted kiwi were released in 2025. Rare plants, mistletoe, reptiles, freshwater fauna and diverse invertebrate communities add to the sanctuary’s ecological significance. Brook Waimārama Sanctuary combines conservation, ecological restoration, public education, volunteering and nature-based visitation. Its long-term ambition is to rebuild a representative lowland and foothill ecosystem near Nelson and progressively restore species that were formerly present in the region. The organisation remains an active community-led conservation institution rather than a conventional commercial consumer brand.

The Brook Valley’s modern conservation story is rooted in its earlier role as Nelson’s water-supply catchment. The Nelson Waterworks Reserve was established in 1865 around the watershed of the Brook Stream. A dam and reservoir opened in 1868, with additional dams built in the early twentieth century to improve supply and pressure for properties on Nelson’s hills. The infrastructure was increasingly affected by leakage and could not meet the city’s growing needs. Alternative water-supply developments, including works on the Roding River and Maitai River, eventually made the Brook system unnecessary. The waterworks were decommissioned in 2000. The reserve also contains traces of the area’s industrial history. The Dun Mountain railway, a horse-drawn tramway constructed in the 1860s to serve a chromite mine, passed through the wider valley. Coal mining also occurred nearby in the 1890s. Despite these uses, the water-supply designation helped preserve much of the upper valley’s beech forest. Lower areas had been cleared or disturbed, including by livestock grazing, but were capable of natural regeneration. The idea of converting the former water reserve into a predator-free sanctuary developed during the early 2000s. A steering committee began planning in 2001, and the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Trust was formed in 2004 as a community organisation. The project’s advantages included the size of the reserve, its proximity to Nelson and its ecological relationship with the much larger Mount Richmond Forest Park. The proposed sanctuary would protect approximately 690 hectares, making it substantially larger than many urban mainland sanctuaries and particularly significant as a South Island beech-forest restoration project. Public-sector backing helped establish the project. During 2007 and 2008, Nelson City Council approved approximately NZD 1.036 million and Tasman District Council approved NZD 300,000 for initial development. The Trust also relied on volunteers, donations, sponsorship and grants. Beginning in 2006, volunteers established trap lines through secondary forest and across the valley. Tracks were cut on a grid to support regular trapping for possums, rats, mice, stoats and weasels. Goats were also removed because they were damaging vegetation by ring-barking trees. A predator-proof boundary was central to the plan. Resource consent was obtained in 2009 and the proposed route was surveyed in 2010. The completed fence is 14.4 kilometres long and incorporates an electric detection wire intended to identify branches or other objects that might create a route for predators. Construction finished in September 2016 after twelve years of planning and eighteen months of physical work. The reported construction cost was NZD 4.2 million. Funding came from local authorities, donations and a Lottery grant, with the cited account identifying NZD 1.75 million from the Lottery and NZD 574,000 in donations. The next stage was removal of introduced mammals from inside the fence. Three aerial applications of brodifacoum-laced bait were planned for 2017. The operation became controversial when the Brook Valley Community Group challenged the use of poison near a waterway. The High Court and Court of Appeal rejected the group’s applications, and a further appeal to the Supreme Court did not proceed. Protests also occurred around the first drop, including interference with access and damage to a helicopter fuel tank. The cited account records arrests and convictions for offensive behaviour associated with the protests. The three planned drops were completed, and subsequent monitoring found no bait outside the sanctuary boundary and no brodifacoum trace in the stream water. After approximately six months of monitoring, the sanctuary was declared pest-free in 2018. At least fourteen pest species had been removed from the fenced area, including rats, stoats and deer. The fence has required continued surveillance: by May 2019, two individual rats had breached it, but both were dealt with promptly. Early ecological observations indicated major increases in native bird activity and improvements in invertebrate and plant regeneration after pest removal. The public reopening took place on 15 July 2018. Visitor infrastructure included an outdoor classroom with electricity, bridges across former dam areas and a wheelchair-accessible loop track. A visitor centre had operated since 2007. High fire risk temporarily affected access during the summer of 2019–2020, around the time a further accessible bridge had been planned. In 2020, the Trust introduced compulsory admission fees to replace voluntary contributions, strengthening the visitor operation’s role in funding the sanctuary. Governance and fundraising have remained important to the organisation’s development. Dave Butler chaired the Trust from its establishment until 2019, while Chris Hawkes became chair after an interim period involving Peter Jamieson. Hudson Dodd served as the first general manager and contributed to fundraising for the fence and pest removal before leaving in late 2018. Ru Collin became chief executive in January 2019 and was succeeded by Chris McCormack in 2025. Public funding has included multi-year support from Nelson City Council, while the balance of operating income has come from sponsorships and donations. The cited account also describes a reduction in the annual budget after an additional council funding request was unsuccessful. Species restoration has expanded since reopening. Forty South Island saddleback were released in 2021, although they did not establish. Around thirty Powelliphanta giant snails were reintroduced in 2022. The orange-fronted parakeet programme involved seven translocations totalling 125 birds by March 2023 and produced a growing population reported at more than 300 birds. In 2024, tuatara were released into a mouse-exclusion enclosure, alongside work to establish a refuge for the rare mistletoe Tupeia antarctica. In May 2025, forty-one little spotted kiwi were released. These projects support the Trust’s longer-term aim of recreating a diverse lowland forest ecosystem and restoring further historically occurring species.

• 2025

  Little spotted kiwi released

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Forty-one little spotted kiwi were released as part of the sanctuary’s restoration programme.

• 2024

  Tuatara reintroduced

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Sixty-five tuatara were released into a mouse-exclusion area.

• 2022

  Powelliphanta reintroduction

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Approximately thirty giant snails were released into the sanctuary.

• 2021

  South Island saddleback translocation

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Forty tīeke were released, although the population later failed to establish.

• 2020

  Compulsory admission fees introduced

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The sanctuary moved from voluntary contributions to paid entry.

• 2018

  Sanctuary declared pest-free and reopened

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Monitoring supported a pest-free declaration, and visitors returned on 15 July.

• 2017

  Aerial pest eradication completed

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Three bait drops were conducted inside the fenced sanctuary after unsuccessful legal challenges.

• 2016

  Predator-proof fence completed

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The 14.4-kilometre perimeter fence was completed after an extended planning and construction programme.

• 2006

  Systematic trapping programme begins

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Volunteers began establishing trap lines and controlling introduced mammals in the valley.

• 2004

  Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Trust formed

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The community conservation trust was established to restore the Brook Valley.

• 2001

  Sanctuary planning begins

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  A steering committee began developing the concept of a predator-free ecological sanctuary.

• 2000

  Brook waterworks decommissioned

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Alternative water infrastructure rendered the former Brook water-supply system obsolete.

• 1868

  First Brook waterworks opened

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  A dam and reservoir began supplying Nelson from the Brook Valley.

• 1865

  Nelson Waterworks Reserve established

  [1]Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The Brook Stream watershed was reserved for Nelson’s municipal water supply.

A community-led, large-scale mainland sanctuary combining predator exclusion, ecological restoration, public education and threatened-species recovery in a mature New Zealand beech-forest setting.

• Nature tourism · 2018

  Sanctuary visits

  Public access to a large fenced ecological sanctuary featuring native beech forest, regenerating vegetation, historic waterworks features, walking tracks and opportunities to observe recovering native wildlife.

• Environmental education · 2018

  Education programmes

  The sanctuary provides an outdoor classroom and visitor facilities for school and community groups. These programmes connect ecological restoration, predator control, native species recovery and the cultural and industrial history of the Brook Valley.

• Community conservation · 2006

  Conservation volunteering

  Volunteer participation has supported trapping, track preparation, monitoring, habitat work and visitor operations. Community labour was particularly important during the early pest-control and sanctuary-development phases.

• Wildlife conservation · 2021

  Species restoration programmes

  The Trust coordinates or hosts translocations and restoration initiatives for threatened native species, including orange-fronted parakeets, saddleback, Powelliphanta giant snails, tuatara and little spotted kiwi, alongside plant and invertebrate conservation.

• 2017

  Controversy and protests over aerial brodifacoum use

  The planned aerial pest-eradication operation prompted legal challenges and protests focused on poison use near waterways. The cited account also records arrests, property interference and convictions for offensive behaviour linked to protests around the first bait drop.

  Source

Read more

• 2021Native species reintroduction programme

  New Zealand

  The Trust expanded species recovery through bird, invertebrate, reptile and plant reintroductions, including saddleback, orange-fronted parakeet, Powelliphanta, tuatara and little spotted kiwi.

  Outcome. Results have varied by species: saddleback did not establish, while orange-fronted parakeets established and expanded.

  Source
• 2017Mainland pest eradication operation

  Brook Valley

  Three aerial bait applications were used to remove remaining rodents and other introduced mammals inside the completed fence.

  Outcome. The operation proceeded after court challenges were rejected and was followed by monitoring and a pest-free declaration in 2018.

  Source
• 2016Predator-proof sanctuary build

  New Zealand

  The Trust combined public funding, donations, grants and volunteer support to construct a 14.4-kilometre predator-proof boundary.

  Outcome. The fence was completed in September 2016 and enabled the final eradication phase.

  Source
• 2006Valley-wide trapping and pest-control programme

  Brook Valley

  Volunteers established a grid of trap lines and carried out sustained control of possums, rodents, mustelids and goats.

  Outcome. The programme prepared the sanctuary for fence completion and later whole-site eradication.

  Source
• 2001Brook Valley ecological sanctuary initiative

  Nelson · Tasman · New Zealand

  A community-led initiative began planning the conversion of the former water-supply reserve into a predator-free mainland sanctuary.

  Outcome. The initiative led to the formation of the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Trust in 2004 and the later development of the fenced sanctuary.

  Source

• 2020

  Replace voluntary entry contributions with compulsory feesPrice change

  Background

  The sanctuary needed dependable visitor income while continuing to rely on public funding, sponsorship and donations.

  Action taken

  The Trust introduced compulsory admission charges, with reduced rates for local residents, students and unwaged visitors.

  Aftermath

  Paid entry became part of the sanctuary’s operating model.

  Source

• 2018

  Reopen the sanctuary to visitorsStrategy

  Background

  Following eradication and initial monitoring, the Trust sought to combine conservation with public access and education.

  Action taken

  The sanctuary reopened on 15 July with visitor tracks, bridges, an accessible loop and outdoor classroom facilities.

  Aftermath

  Visitor operations became part of the sanctuary’s public engagement and funding model.

  Source

• 2017

  Proceed with aerial pest eradicationStrategy

  Background

  Remaining introduced mammals threatened the ecological-island model, while opponents challenged the use of brodifacoum near a waterway.

  Action taken

  The Trust and supporting authorities proceeded with three aerial bait drops after the courts rejected applications to stop the operation.

  Aftermath

  Monitoring supported a pest-free declaration in 2018, with no reported brodifacoum trace in stream water.

  Source

• 2016

  Complete a predator-proof perimeterStrategy

  Background

  The sanctuary required a barrier capable of preventing reinvasion after introduced mammals were removed from the valley.

  Action taken

  The Trust completed a 14.4-kilometre fence around the approximately 690-hectare sanctuary.

  Aftermath

  The fence enabled the 2017 eradication operation and ongoing pest surveillance.

  Reported fence construction cost. NZD 4.2 million (2016)

  Source

1. 1Brook Waimārama Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Brook Waimārama Sanctuary official websitebrooksanctuary.org.nz