Extraordinary conservation contribution acknowledged
Last week we helped acknowledge an extraordinary contribution to New Zealand conservation in the Abel Tasman National Park.
Representatives from Project Janszoon, the NEXT Foundation, the Department of Conservation, Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa joined the Plowman family at the unveiling of a commemorative sign, seat and wheku (carved post), just off the Abel Tasman Coast Track above Anchorage.
Aneika Young, a director on the Project Janszoon board, says that as long-standing kaitiaki of Abel Tasman National Park, manawhenua iwi acknowledge and appreciate the significant restoration work that has been delivered on the ground.
“The project has brought people together to contribute practical knowledge, tikanga, hands-on conservation work, bird translocations, restoration planting, and education initiatives. These collective efforts are strengthening the mauri of this nationally treasured landscape so it can be enjoyed and cared for by future generations.”
Aneika also acknowledges the Plowman whānau for their immense generosity and commitment, which has helped turn a shared vision for the park into lasting action.
About Project Janszoon
Project Janszoon, the first privately-funded landscape-scale restoration project of its kind in New Zealand, has transformed the ecological prospects of the Abel Tasman National Park. Its benefactors, Neal and Annette Plowman, have given over NZ$20 million to rid the park of wilding conifers, educate young people in conservation, restore the park's threatened habitats and bring birds like kākā, whio and kākāriki back to its forests and rivers.
