Thanks to the incredible help of Trust supporters we’ve reached our fundraising goal of $1.7 million to buy and protect Patui forest near Stratford forever.

This purchase has required one of the Trust’s largest fundraising campaigns and it simply would not have been possible without the generosity of our supporters.

In addition to donations from individuals the Trust would also like to thank Air New Zealand for funds collected by their FlyNeutral programme which provided match funding of about $370,000.

Bequests have also been critical to the success of this project, contributing around $200,000 to the total fundraising goal. Often people who leave a gift to the Trust in their will (or their surviving family) choose to remain anonymous, but we always try to ensure that bequests are spent on something which is a fitting legacy for the supporter. It might be purchasing a reserve that is located near where the supporter lived, or perhaps a reserve that provides excellent habitat for their favourite birds or trees. With the increasing cost of land, bequests have become increasingly important for the Trust to enable us to keep buying reserves. If you would like to find out more about leaving a gift to the Trust in your will please visit: https://www.nfrt.org.nz/leave-a-gift-in-your-will/

We’ll be arranging an official opening ceremony for this amazing new reserve in the next few months. As always, purchasing this reserve is just the start – we will also need to actively manage the area to restore the forest, control pests and enhance the habitat to ensure that native plants and wildlife can flourish.

Thanks so much to everyone who donated to help protect this special place!