What we do ...
The Clyde Railhead Community Eco-Nursery supplies local, eco-sourced plants to community plantings and advises community groups on plant selection and management. 

We also manage a recent planting which extends original DoC and Project Gold plantings and is at the start of the Otago Central Rail Trail, visited by thousands of locals, other New Zealanders and overseas visitors.

​It is one of the refuges being developed in the district to provide a habitat network for lizards and birds such as tui and korimako, which are common in other parts of New Zealand but uncommon in Central Otago.

Our story so far ...
Recent research has shown that the biodiversity of Central Otago  was more complex than that of the grasslands that currently exist. Central Otago’s native biodiversity, both terrestrial and aquatic, is being lost at a very rapid rate.

Our district has lost more of its biodiversity and has the least protected areas of any of the 73 districts in New Zealand. 80% of the Acutely and Chronically Threatened vascular plants of the Central Otago District are lowland and montane plants, not high country plants. We want to assist the community in bringing eco-sourced dryland native plants to parks, reserves and home gardens.

A Community Nursery operated in 2011 in a small part of the Department of Conservation (DoC) Nursery at Clyde. In 2014, DoC made the entire nursery available to MAD4CO (Making a Difference for Central Otago, the Sustainable Living Programme of the Central Otago Rural Education Activities Programme) and planning started in earnest in 2015. 
Consultation and public meetings developed a Vision and Mission for an expanded nursery operation focused on the native biodiversity that makes the drylands of Central Otago unique and important in New Zealand. ​

Our Vision:
Our communities are thriving with landscapes and corridors rich in habitats of indigenous flora and fauna.

​Our Mission:
  • Fostering communities and partnerships to share in our vision.
  • Creating a flourishing nursery of locally sourced seeds and plants.
  • Creating an environmental hub as a place of learning and participation.

Who we work with ...
We have supplied plants to -
  • Project Gold and Clyde School - Millenium Track, Clyde Bridge 
  • MAD4CO - Miners' Lane, Clyde
  • Clyde and Districts Lions Club - Dairy Creek
  • Mokihi Trust - Richards Beach, Cromwell
  • Keep Alexandra-Clyde Beautiful -  Lookout Reserve
  • Central Otago District Council and EnviroSchools - Boundary Road reserve
  • Millers Flat Community -Clutha River
  • Central Otago Whitewater -Clutha River
  • St Gerards School

Volunteer with us ...
We have regular working bees on Thursdays from 9am to 12pm in summer and 1pm to 3pm in winter.

We also  provide information on volunteering with our partners in the district.