Nelson’s Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is an amazing conservation asset right on the doorstep of our city. The 690-hectare reserve has been protected with a 14km predator-proof fence that makes it the largest sanctuary for native wildlife in the South Island.
It has taken more than 20 years, millions in fundraising and thousands of volunteer hours to develop this wildlife sanctuary. Already it has seen translocations to Nelson of species such as tīeke (saddleback), kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeet) and Powelliphanta (a native snail). Plans are well under way for the reintroduction of kiwi, kākā and tuatara.
This week we signed a lease for the Sanctuary Trust to take over management of the adjacent Brook Valley Holiday Park from Council. The five-year lease of the campground reserve is for $1 a year and Council is to pay the Trust $400,000 for the first two years to manage the campground. It’s a good deal for the Sanctuary, Council and city.
The benefit to the Sanctuary is the opportunity to expand its role in tourism and as an educational and conservation advocacy centre. It currently has little flat land for parking, nature tours, community events and conservation education.
It’s good for Council in that running campgrounds is not our core business and it saves ratepayers money. The current campground is costing ratepayers more than $500,000 a year as the income from campers is a fraction of the costs of managing and maintaining the campground.
The gain for the city is in strengthening Nelson’s identity as a nature tourism centre. It enables the Trust to offer a unique tourism experience of camping next to the Sanctuary, enjoying New Zealand’s beautiful dawn chorus and to do night and day tours. The future is in offering experiences of wildlife in its natural habitat.
I also want our Council to revisit the extent to which we allow freedom campers in many parts of the city. If campgrounds such as Tāhunanui and Brook, now under new management, are to be financially sustainable, we need to tighten up on allowing free camping in other areas of the city.
This is an opportunity to grow Nelson’s nature sanctuary into something even more special.
