We’re excited to announce that we have been fortunate to receive Jobs for Nature funding through the Department of Conservation for a range of projects.  

This funding will support us to expand our ‘business as usual’ work, partnering with more landowners to protect the special places on their land, while also supporting us to undertake some exciting new conservation projects with landowners in existing QEII covenants.  

“Protecting the Gains”  

An $8 million investment over four years will see us work with government agencies, local government, community groups and landowners across Aotearoa New Zealand to provide legal protection of other Jobs for Nature-funded projects. 

This funding is to protect and secure enduring outcomes where Jobs for Nature investment is made on private land. We’ll work with recipients of Jobs for Nature funding on private land to offer two forms of legal protection. Where suitable, our gold standard form of protection, Open Space Covenants will be used. A new form of legal protection, at this stage called a ‘Restoration Agreement’, will also be developed for Jobs for Nature projects that do not have strong enough existing biodiversity values to meet the Open Space Covenant criteria for protection in perpetuity.  

If you’re a local council or community group facilitating a Jobs for Nature project on private land, or a landowner who has received any kind of Jobs for Nature funding and you think your project could be eligible under this project, you can get in touch with your local regional representative here. 

If you’re a government agency or other group administering Jobs for Nature funding and you’d like to discuss this project in more detail, please contact KLindsay@qeii.org.nz. 

Find out more about our ‘Protecting the Gains’ work here.

DOC Private Land Biodiversity Fund 

We will also be undertaking two Jobs for Nature projects funded through DOC’s Private Land Biodiversity Fund. These will support landowners with existing QEII covenants.

QEII covenant deer eradication project (NZ wide) 

Funding of $2 million over 3 years will support this project to exclude pest deer from existing QEII covenants where this work has been identified as the highest conservation priority. The project will engage fencing and ungulate-culling contractors to exclude pest deer and upgrade conventional fencing to deer-proof status in participating covenants.  

This is an internally run project. QEII regional representatives are identifying priority areas for this work and will be in touch with you if your covenant may be suitable for inclusion.  

Accelerating stewardship of rare and threatened species (Eastern South Island)  

This project will work over 3 years with selected covenants in Eastern South Island that support and protect some of Aotearoa’s most rare and threatened indigenous biodiversity. The project will involve a combination of ecological survey and planning, as well as a range of site-specific on-the-ground conservation actions.  

This is an internally run project. QEII regional representatives in the project area are working to identify and finalise sites to be included in the project.