Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust

25/05/2026

Needing a mid-Monday afternoon pick me up? Well, have we got a treat for you! Equal parts cute and creepy, here's our wonderful wētā motel monitor, Katie Pitt, doing the rounds to see who's set up home in our little lodges...beats finding one in your sleeping bag that is for sure!🤣

15/05/2026

Continuing on the theme of great places to work...here's a great person we work with!

A very big congratulations to our admin superstar, Katie Pitt, who graduated yesterday with a PhD in Conservation Ecology!

Katie, you are so wonderful to work with, you have made an enormous contribution to BPCT and Pest Free Banks Peninsula. We all love working with you and we're so proud of your latest achievement! (But does this mean we have to call you 'Doctor Katie now??!)

14/05/2026

Have you heard the news? Akaroa Salmon New Zealand just won THREE GOLD medals at the New Zealand Outstanding Food Producers Awards. They won for fresh portions, fresh fillets and Manuka hot smoked salmon.

But you know what they didn't win for (and they should have)? All the 'off bits' we use for catching pests AND for being simply the best partner/supporter a charity could ever wish to have.

you guys deserve the foodie accolades, but you also deserve to be recognised for the amazing impact you have on the culture, economy, and ecology of Banks Peninsula. 💚

10/05/2026

BPCT runs on people power and we're so grateful for these hardy ones who turned up last week for our annual Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust working bee. They got to do fun things like weeding on steep hillsides, wrestling overgrown grass, getting poked in the eye by the odd bit of gorse and carrying heavy stuff.

But in amongst the hard mahi, we also had the joy of hanging out with the lovely team from RDBPT and eating lunch!

Thank you wonderful volunteers, you really are the lifeblood of our organisation🫶

07/05/2026

Happy 100th Birthday Sir David Attenborough!! Over the past century you have inspired millions of people all over the world to love and care for the natural world.

We grew up being enthralled by your story telling, the wonderment in your voice and your ability to take us places we may never visit in real life - you brought them to us and for that, we remain forever grateful.

It's because of you that so many of us have chosen to take the best care we can of this amazing planet. Thank you 💚

04/05/2026

A great initiative by Lyttelton Port Company, genuinely committed to helping nature thrive!

Lyttelton Port Company is installing ecologically engineered (eco-engineering) habitat units to encourage marine life at the new reclamation.

Approximately 220 ECOncrete ‘Coastalock’ units will be installed in cluster patterns to create intertidal and subtidal habitat. The first cluster, consisting of twenty-two units, weighing 3.5 tonnes each, have been installed along the eastern side of the reclamation seawall.

Read more here: https://www.lpc.co.nz/ecologically-engineered-habitat-units-to-support-marine-life-at-the-port/

03/05/2026

What a beautiful day at the 'office' today! We had the pleasure of being the 'charity of choice' for Akaroa Salmon New Zealand's kitchen takeover at Moon Under Water.

As well as meeting lovely diners and locals, we also got to wolf down the world's best salmon, cooked to perfection by chef extraordinaire, Nik Mavromatis - AND, by doing that, we helped nature thrive!

Such very big and genuine thanks to Akaroa Salmon for their continued support of our mahi, and to the team at Moon Under Water for being so welcoming to us all. And of course, to all the lovely people who have booked in throughout the day to support us!

02/05/2026

If you’re coming along to support this event, Moon Under Water has just let us know that they’re booked out for much of the day, still some spaces left from 11am-1pm… so get in quick. Even if you can’t enjoy the salmon, come down and say gidday anyway 💕 🌙 🐟

Salmon and a good cause this Sunday! 🐟

Join us at Moon Under Water craft beer pub, where our very own Nik will be cooking up three special salmon dishes, with every dollar going to the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.

Doors open 11am, kitchen runs 'til 8pm (or until we sell out!). Come hungry, leave knowing you've helped protect our beautiful peninsula.

30/04/2026

Only a few spaces left for this fantastic event next week! All you need to do is get yourself to BPCT's HQ in Tai Tapu and we'll sort the transport from there. we will also provide brilliant sunshine, amazing views and the opportunity to hang out with some of the nicest people in conservation :)

We love our friends at Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust and we're big fans of the amazing work they do! You can share the love by joining us for our annual Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust project day!

When: Thursday 7th May, 9.30 am - 3.30 pm - Rod Donald Hut, Little River.

We'll be working alongside Shelley Washington, Rod Donald Trust Manager, and hut manager, David Brailsford, helping with a range of tasks including clearing tracks and plant maintenance.

We'll be carpooling from BPCT's office in Tai Tapu, so you'll get to travel with other really lovely, helpful people :)

To register please email [email protected].

23/04/2026

We’re so proud of you Akaroa Salmon New Zealand! And in a shameless act of promoting BPCT, everyone reading this has the opportunity to taste their award winning salmon on Sunday 3rd May at Moon Under Water! Support nature by eating the very best salmon in the world!

Meet Kelly and the smokehouse crew 🙌 the legends behind every portion that comes out brined, smoked over mānuka embers, and packed with care.

Last week, their mahi picked up gold at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards for our Mānuka Hot-Smoked Portions. We also grabbed two more golds for our fresh fillets and fresh portions - full credit to our farm and processing teams whose hands touch every fish long before it reaches your plate.

On top of that, we were named a Sustainability Hero for the work going into our feed, packaging, and carbon footprint. More on that below.
https://www.outstandingfoodproducer.co.nz/akaroa-salmon

Thanks to everyone who's been a part of the journey. Here's to more stories, more laughter, and more proud moments to come.