Island Hills Station features a contiguous ecosystem from submontane beech forest to alpine tussock land. These ecosystems provide habitat for many threatened native species such as kārearea (At Risk – Recovering), kākāriki (At Risk – Relict), kākā (At Risk – Recovering), kea (Threatened – Nationally Endangered), South Island Robin, mountain wētā as well as another 16 threatened and at-risk native plant species.

Landowners the Shand family and their managers are committed to the property and its environment. An ongoing trapping project has caught a total of 306 pests so far.

Island Hills Station operates guided walks, horse trekking and hunting activities that can be booked on their website. The Island Hills Station walk covers a distance of approximately 30 km and is utilised for two- or three-day walks. Accommodation options include a shearers’ quarters, a camp lodge and a log cabin hut.

Island Hills run the Skedaddle Trail Run each year (five distances available), to raise funds for covenant management and for local community organisations.