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I am absolutely delighted to let you know that we have a new reserve in Southland near Otatara which will now be protected for all New Zealanders forever.

The Otarara appeal has been a real challenge for NFRT. We were first notified about this property earlier in the year and like many of these opportunities time was not on our side. The site is one of the most important areas in Southland that is not already protected, and we felt it was just too important to risk it falling into the wrong hands. We started fundraising in late February, about the same time as New Zealand announced its first case of Covid-19, and none of us knew how fast everything would change.

Understandably some of the larger donors we hoped would support this appeal suddenly had to tighten their purse strings and for the first time since I can remember the Trust has fallen short of the target we needed to save all of this site. Despite this we have raised well over $810,000 which is an amazing achievement. This site is just too important and so we must save all of the most valuable remnants of dune totara forest and as much of the area for restoration as possible. The details will be worked out over the next few weeks, but the really good news is that we have raised enough to secure the majority of the site and all the most valuable areas for nature conservation.

I’ve said this before, but the generosity of our supporters is just amazing. I’m continually overwhelmed by it, and the impact that we can have when we all work together. Thanks to people across New Zealand we have saved this very rare and important ecosystem. Generations to come will be able to experience its beauty, and the joy of seeing native species such as the fernbird. None of this would be possible without the support of nature-loving New Zealanders.

There’s still a lot to work through before we can provide safe public access to the reserve but once we are in a position to do this and Covid-19 restrictions permit, we’ll arrange an official opening ceremony, and we would love you to come along to celebrate. You’ll be one of the first to know when this will be happening.

Of course, purchasing the land is just the first step – we will also be providing interpretive signage, a walking track and fencing as well as putting in place long-term pest and weed control measures to ensure that native trees can grow and flourish. We'll also be planting to restore the forest to its former glory.

Thank you for everything you do to help protect native forests and wetlands and I hope to see you at the reserve soon.