The new owners of the Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance (Opera), previously known as Penguin Place, said their goal was to create a hub for native wildlife.
Director, co-owner and chief innovation officer Ike Haldan previously worked in rehabilitation, forestry and agriculture and has a degree in animal wildlife and behaviour.
"The ultimate goal is to have the vast majority of this reforested," he said.
"You can never turn it back to what it was, but there’s so many things we can change to make it the best it could be."
In the past year, the new owners Ike and Jerad Haldan have planted 5000 native trees and plant life on their property and plan to plant 10,000 more in the coming year.
They moved to Dunedin from Arizona one year ago to take over the organisation.
The Opera, situated on Otago Peninsula, is focused on the protection and rehabilitation of penguins and conducts tours for the public to view penguin landing spots.
Director, co-owner and chief operating officer Jerad Haldan said the pair had visited Dunedin as tourists seven years ago and instantly knew they wanted to live here.
The couple agreed to buy Penguin Place during the first year of Covid lockdowns in 2020, but because the borders were closed they had to wait two years before they could move.
"We wanted to do something that would allow us to combine our shared interest.
"For me, that’s nonprofit and business and for Ike it’s the animal side of things — so conservation, ecology, plants and rocks, all things natural."
For the first few months the pair worked tirelessly learning the ropes of their new roles as co-owners.
"We loved what Penguin Place was doing before, but we also recognised the opportunity for it to be way more significant."
The couple decided to keep all the staff from the previous owners while hiring a few new ones, he said.
The staff "work themselves so hard" for the Opera.
"They want to be here and it’s nothing short of a miracle to watch them actually get into it and really even see how passionate they are about this stuff ... We could not do any of this without them."
There were 23 summer staff members at the Opera, made up of botanists, biologists and zoologists, all with a deep passion for wildlife.
The Opera worked closely with organisations such as the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, the Wildlife Hospital and the Department of Conservation.
"Collaboration is huge. It’s part of why we put the word ‘alliance’ in the rebranding — it’s key to what we want to accomplish," Jerad Haldan said.
The pair loved Dunedin and it was "perfect" and "exactly" what they wanted.
"We love the people, we love the architecture, we love the pace of life, we love seeing the water every day and we love the weather."
They planned to hold ownership for as long as possible and hoped to leave the Opera to the "people of New Zealand" as a place for everybody to be able to experience.
"If we have our way, it’ll never be sold again — it would be turned into a trust and just become a wild forest that sits there."
The new co-owners encouraged the public to do their part in protecting the penguins that visited our shores by giving them space and avoiding them completely.
