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🌿 Giveaway reminder - last chance for a little arts + nature magic 🌿

There’s still time to be part of the @nelson_arts_festival x @brooksanctuary collab — a celebration of creativity, conservation, and community.

We’re giving a few lucky whānau the chance to enjoy two very special experiences:

🎬 Guardians of the Forest – our new Kiwi documentary and short films, exploring the people and wildlife of the Sanctuary. With family activities.

🎭 Who What Where Now – a playful theatre adventure through the Theatre Royal, where tamariki lead the way.

If you haven’t entered yet, now’s a good moment to do it.

Simple:
Follow both pages, tag a mate, and you’re in the draw.
- Sharing this post on your story will get you an extra entry

Entries close Monday 20 October, 11.59 pm.

More details and T&Cs via link in bio.

🌿 Ngahere Neighbourhood: mamaku (black tree fern)

Standing tall and graceful in the ngahere, mamaku (Sphaeopteris medullaris) is Aotearoa’s tallest tree fern, reaching up to 20 metres high. Its dark, patterned trunk and arching fronds create that lush, layered forest canopy we all know and love.
A true forest pioneer, mamaku often colonises disturbed hillsides, stabilising loose soil and providing shade to regenerating bush.

In te ao Māori, mamaku’s drooping fronds symbolise grief and sorrow — part of a traditional story where Mamaku and Toroa (the albatross) were lovers turned to forest and sky.

📸 Photo: Taken by @@henry.__.hart here at the Sanctuary

#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #AotearoaNature #Mamaku #TreeFern #NativePlants #NelsonTasman #Conservation

💚 Aotearoa Icons: Kererū — then and now

With their glossy green-blue feathers, snowy white chest, and those heavy wingbeats that sound like a helicopter overhead, kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) are one of Aotearoa’s most recognisable and beloved birds.

Historically, kererū were extraordinarily abundant, often seen in huge flocks of hundreds. Their large size and numbers made them an important food source for Māori, who hunted and trapped them. Today, they are far less common — declines driven mostly by deforestation and predation.

But there is hope. Kererū are slowly becoming more common within the Sanctuary, where they feast on tawa, miro, and other broadleaf fruits. True to their nature as wide-ranging dispersers, they don’t just stay inside the fence — they carry seeds far beyond, helping forests regenerate across Te Tauihu.

Big, bold and beautiful, kererū are more than just icons — they remain guardians of the ngahere, ensuring its survival for generations to come. 🌱

📸 Photo by @henry.__.hart taken here at the Sanctuary.

🌿 Aotearoa Icons — celebrating the beloved species that shape our identity, from the backyard to the Sanctuary.

#AotearoaIcons #Kererū #BrookSanctuary #BirdsofNZ

huruhuruwhenua (shining spleenwort)
Asplenium oblongifolium

Glossy, tough and beautiful, huruhuruwhenua forms elegant fans of fronds. This fern thrives from the coast to the mountains across Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu, and on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) and Rangitāhua (Kermadec Islands). An Aotearoa endemic, it’s a true forest all-rounder.

Quick facts
✅ Large fern with stout, above-ground stems and very glossy green pinnae

✅ Look underneath: a striking herringbone pattern of sori lines the fronds

✅ Found in lowland to subalpine habitats — keep an eye on damp banks and track edges

✅ Spot it on your next hīkoi through the Sanctuary and share your find with us.

📸 Photo by Rebecca Bowater. Taken right here at the Sanctuary

🌿 Ngahere Neighbourhood — celebrating the small species that make our forest whole.

#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #huruhuruwhenua #ShiningSpleenwort #AspleniumOblongifolium #NZFerns #AotearoaNature #NelsonTasman

🟢🧡The kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeet) may not have won Bird of the Year — but they’ve won something far more important: new friends, fresh awareness, and more people who now know their story.

These taonga are still facing tough times in the wild, and every bit of support helps. By sharing their journey, you’ve helped shine a light on one of Aotearoa’s rarest birds.
A huge mihi to everyone who got behind the campaign. Special thanks to:

📸 Sean McGrath @aptenodytes42
🎨 Steffi Künstle (our biosecurity ranger, and the creator of this wonderful artwork)
🖍️ @sarahmaylittle
🐦 @birdnerdity

The fight for the kākāriki karaka continues — and they’re lucky to have you in their corner. 💚🧡

#KākārikiKaraka #BirdOfTheYear #Conservation #BrookSanctuary