Keep up to date!
Stay tuned for the latest Kiwi news and information on our upcoming competitions!
🌿 Introducing our new Junior Ranger Programme – inspiring the next generation of kaitiaki! 🌿
We’re so excited to launch our Junior Ranger Programme, designed to connect tamariki with nature and inspire lifelong guardianship of Aotearoa’s native wildlife and forests.
Open to children aged five and up, the programme encourages hands-on learning through fun activities and events that build curiosity, care, and respect for the natural world.
Each Junior Ranger receives:
🎒 A welcome pack with an embroidered badge, certificate, stickers, and activity booklet
🌿 Unlimited entry to the Sanctuary for a full year
💌 The Waimārama Chronicles – a quarterly newsletter full of stories, challenges, and conservation tips
Chief executive Chris McCormack says,
“When children spend time in the ngahere, learning about the species that live here and what it takes to protect them, they develop a lifelong sense of care and responsibility. These are the kaitiaki of tomorrow.”
Junior Ranger memberships are $24 per year, with family discounts and gift options available.
👉 Find out more on our website: Link in bio
#NatureLovers #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #SanctuaryStories #Conservation #NelsonNZ #BrookSanctuary #FamilyFun #juniorranger
Nov 19
🛠️ DOC 200 Trap Upgrade: Stainless, Sensitive, and Kiwi-Ready 🐦
Behind the scenes, hundreds of traps are quietly protecting the wildlife that calls the Sanctuary home.
Over the past few years, our dedicated volunteer team has worked through every DOC 200 trap across the Sanctuary — recalibrating, repairing, and finally replacing them with new stainless-steel models designed for reliability, sensitivity, and kiwi safety.
These upgrades mean:
🔹 More consistent results for targeting weasels and stoats
🔹 Less maintenance for our volunteer monitors
🔹 A safer forest for kiwi pukupuku and other native species
This project marks a major step forward in our ongoing biosecurity programme — proof that the small, steady work of volunteers adds up to big conservation impact.
💚 Read the full story by Neroli Amyes on our website
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NatureLovers #Conservation #PredatorFreeNZ #BirdsofNZ #SanctuaryStories #SaveOurNatives
Nov 19
🌿 Extended evening hours – Thursday 20 November
As a special trial, the Sanctuary will be open later on Thursday 20 November, with last entry at 7.00pm and closing at 8.15pm.
It’s a perfect chance to enjoy the ngahere as dusk settles and the forest comes alive with evening birdsong. Take a walk, listen for the calls of pīwakawaka and riroriro, and soak up the magic of the Sanctuary in the soft evening light.
Shortly after the doors close, we’ll also be running a guided Night Tour — there are only a few spaces left, so book soon if you’d like to join!
📅 Thursday 20 November
🕖 Last entry 7.00pm | Close 8.15pm
🎟️ Book the Night Tour: Link in bio
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BrookSanctuary #KiwiPukupuku #NelsonNZ #GetOutside #NatureLovers #FamilyFun #NelsonTasman
Nov 17
🌿 Locals Weekend – This Weekend! 🌿
We can’t wait to welcome our Nelson Tasman community back for Locals Weekend — a special thank you to everyone who supports the Sanctuary year-round.
Entry is by koha (donation) for all locals, so gather your whānau and enjoy a day reconnecting with nature. Wander our forest trails, spot wildlife, and take in the sights and sounds of a thriving ngahere just minutes from the city.
🦋 Explore 15 km of walking tracks through our predator-free forest
🧭 Enjoy a walk around the Loop Track — learn about our conservation work as you go
🌱 Find out about our new Junior Ranger Family Memberships
While we aren’t able to offer guided tours this weekend due to volunteer availability, our friendly Visitor Centre team will be on hand to answer questions and help you make the most of your visit.
📅 Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 November
🕘 9 am – 5 pm
📍 Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Bring your friends, family, and neighbours — and join us in celebrating the community that makes the Sanctuary possible. 💚
👉 RSVP or share the event on Facebook
Nov 13
Guardians of the Forest – Thank You! 🌿✨
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Guardians of the Forest at The Suter last month. Across four sessions, hundreds of people came together to celebrate conservation, storytelling, and the incredible mahi happening at the Sanctuary.
It was a privilege to share our many stories — from translocations and tuatara to the premiere of our new kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) documentary.
If you missed out, you can now watch the kiwi documentary on YouTube 🎥
👉 Link in bio
Ngā mihi nui to everyone who helped make these events possible — our volunteers, partners, filmmakers, and the Nelson community who continue to support the Sanctuary’s mission to protect and restore native wildlife.
#GuardiansOfTheForest #KiwiPukupuku #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #ConservationInAction
Nov 12
🌿 Ngahere Neighbourhood: Ashen coral 🌿
(Tremellodendropsis tuberosa)
At first glance, this pale, branching fungus looks like a tiny piece of coral washed up in the forest. Ashen coral is a tough little species that grows directly from the forest floor, sometimes sprouting from well-decayed wood.
What makes it special is not just its unusual form, but its place in fungal science. The ashen coral’s spore-bearing structures are unlike most other fungi, combining traits of both jelly fungi and typical mushrooms. This quirk has kept scientists debating its classification for nearly 200 years — and even today, DNA studies suggest it belongs in an order of its own!
Small, intricate, and quietly fascinating, ashen coral is one of those species that reminds us how much there is still to learn about the hidden life of the ngahere. 🍄✨
Photo taken by Rebecca Bowater, right here at the Sanctuary
🌿 Ngahere Neighbourhood — celebrating the unique fungi, plants and creatures that call the Sanctuary home.
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #FungiOfNZ #Biodiversity
Nov 11
