Snowden's Bush Trust secures funds to preserve ancient tōtara trees

The threat of the axe has been removed for a stand of ancient tōtara trees at Brightwater, near Nelson, with the last of the funds secured to buy the land on which they grow.

On Friday, just two days before the planned Snowden’s Bush 100th Birthday & Family Fun Day, came an announcement that the Pinegrove Trust had agreed to provide the last $25,000 needed to buy the 3500 square metre parcel of green space, which is home to the trees.

“It feels amazing,” said Brightwater resident Janice Gibbs, who started the push to preserve the tōtara in 2018.

The intention is that the land, alongside Waimea West Rd and adjacent to Snowden’s Bush Scenic Reserve, will now be protected as the Laura Hill Reserve. Hill was a long-term resident of Brightwater whose bequest led to the establishment of the Pinegrove Trust in 1986.

For Gibbs and the other members of the Snowden's Bush Trust, the Pinegrove donation marks the end of efforts to raise $350,000 to buy the land at a discounted price from the Nelson Diocesan Trust.

“I thought it should be kept as a reserve,” Gibbs said, adding the ultimate intention was to gift the land to the Department of Conservation, so it could be integrated into Snowden's Bush Scenic Reserve.

Snowden's Bush Trust chairman Jerry Cameron said the timing was perfect.

“This Sunday, we have a community fair and birthday to commemorate the original creation of the Snowden’s Bush Scenic Reserve 100 years ago,” Cameron said. “It is the icing on the cake for us to also be achieving our $350,000 fundraising target that will enable the reserve to be expanded.”

Nelson-based National MP Dr Nick Smith, who Gibbs went to for help with the project in 2018, said the fundraising was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic but the church had “generously extended” the deadline until November 2021.

“We started the year $50,000 shy of our target, and we are just amazed at the dozens of donors who have since come forward to close the gap,” Smith said. “I am so pleased we have been able to save the frontage to this stunning scenic reserve and these hundreds-of-years-old ... trees.”

Smith described the project as “important unfinished business for me from when Brightwater was part of the Nelson Electorate and I was the constituency MP”.

“It is good to get the job done,” he said. “I am so grateful to Janice Gibbs for initiating the project, fellow trustees for their hundreds of hours of voluntary work, the church for generously agreeing to the deal and the dozens of donors who have contributed.”

Pinegrove Trust chairman Tim King said the donation was both an opportunity to support this particular proposal and an opportunity to commemorate Laura Hill’s contribution to the community.

“It's a permanent reminder in the community of Laura Hill,” King said, referring to a memorial to Hill which is to be located on the new reserve as part of the funding agreement.

Snowden's Bush Trust secretary Karen Cameron said more than 30 market and food stalls were scheduled to be set up for the free Snowden’s Bush 100th Birthday & Family Fun Day on Sunday.

Live entertainment by Kramit was planned for the event, which was set to run from 1pm to 4pm with formalities and a cake cutting at 2pm.