Our History

The Nelson Environment Centre has been a part of the Nelson Tasman community since 1976 and is the oldest Environmental Centre in New Zealand.

At a public meeting in December ‘76, a group of locals came together and voted unanimously to support the establishment of the Environment Centre in Nelson. This brought together 14 local groups that represented a range of environmental initiatives and programs and the Nelson Environment Centre became the coordinating body for these groups.

The priorities of the Centre were to provide facilities and resources for local groups; act as an Information Centre; provide skills and know-how through the establishment of a pool of expertise and to consider the feasibility of acting as a Centre for recycling activities.

We are proud of how far we have come since our inception and pleased to still play an important role as a leader in the environmental and sustainability sector in New Zealand.