Media release 30 June 2026
Abel Tasman National Park transformed through couple’s extraordinary generosity
A pioneering conservation partnership that has brought the wildlife back to one of our most loved national parks’ has today handed its work to the next generation of guardians.
Launched in 2012, Project Janszoon was New Zealand’s first large-scale conservation partnership, applying business rigour, conservation expertise and some serious philanthropic funding to restore the ecological health of the Abel Tasman National Park.
At the time the park looked like an unspoilt natural paradise but ecologically it was in trouble. “You were struck by how quiet and silent the bush was. Now in 2026, it is like a different place. The diversity of plants, the sounds of the manu. It has gone from this kind of quite sterile state to this vibrant living state,” says Ropata Taylor, Chair of Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa Iwi Trust.
Working with the Department of Conservation (DOC), Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust, mana whenua, and the community, Project Janszoon invested more than $21 million over 14-years. The project targeted pests and weeds, brought back native wildlife and bush, educated young people, and inspired a culture of care for the Abel Tasman.
“It was the first time that philanthropy at scale had really injected funding into one of these projects. What was different was we were able to look at the national park as a whole, whereas DOC had always focused on the pressure points,” says Project Janszoon founder Devon McLean.
Visitors to the park now see kàkā along the coast, whio and pateke in the rivers, robin are regularly spotted near the beaches for the first time in decades. The wilding pines have been dealt to, volunteers keep the gorse and other weeds at bay on the beaches, and natives like mistletoe and rata are making a comeback in the forests.
Project Janszoon’s Abel Tasman Youth Ambassador and education programme has seen over ten thousand students visit the park. DOC Director of Operations for the Northern South Island Martin Rodd says while the focus was on restoring the ecological prospects of the park he soon noticed an incredible community of alignment building.
“The work on the ground, the biodiversity achievements, have been amazing. But the ownership of it, to me that was the magic. We need to keep building on that,” he says.
Project Janszoon officially ends its work on 30 June 2026 but the legacy will continue. The Crown and Project Janszoon’s shareholder NEXT Foundation have signed the Tomorrow Accord, whereby DOC has committed to maintaining agreed biodiversity gains that have been made over the last 14-years.
“We will honour the legacy that Project Janszoon has built, and we will do that alongside iwi, landowners, communities and other partners who care deeply about this place,” says DOC Director General Penny Nelson.
Project Janszoon was launched with the support of New Zealand couple Neal and Annette Plowman, who went on to establish the philanthropic NEXT Foundation which has committed $250million towards education and the environment. In February the Plowman’s generosity was acknowledged by representatives of Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa who gifted them a wheku (carved post) on the coastal track above above Rākauroa/Anchorage.
NEXT Foundation CEO Andrew Grant says it has been incredibly rewarding to see the Plowman’s vision of bringing nature back to the Abel Tasman National Park realised. “The uplift in biodiversity have been remarkable and it is also inspirational to see Project Janszoon’s influence extending far beyond the Abel Tasman with the model now replicated around New Zealand. We are confident the park is in good hands and will continue to thrive under the stewardship of the Department of Conservation, mana whenua and the community,” he says.
Project Janszoon and Next Foundation with manawhenua at wheku unveiling.
Annette Plowman (fifth from left, top row) and her son Peter (second from left, bottom row) alongside representatives from Project Janszoon, the NEXT Foundation, the Department of Conservation, Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa, and kaiwhakairo (carvers) and kairaranga (weavers) from Te Āwhina Marae at the unveiling of a seat, signage and wheku acknowledging the Plowmans’ contribution to Abel Tasman National Park on 17 February 2026.
