As announced on Sunday, the Wakatipu Reforestation Trust was a huge beneficiary in the second year of an annual government fund.
The trust, established in 2013, runs the Jean Malpas Community Nursery at Jardine Park, Kelvin Heights, which was opened last year.
Trust representative Barbara Simpson said the money would fund a part-time conservation officer's position for three years.
The officer, Ange van der Laan, was funded by a Government grant this year and had raised the trust's profile, recruited volunteers and signed agreements for planting on several sites, Mrs Simpson said.
''With her marvellous efforts we've gone from what I consider about five sites that we were planting on, in a much more low-key fashion, to 52 sites,'' she said.
''[The grant] means an amazing continuation and expansion of our effort,'' she said.
The trust wants to establish more corridors of native plants in the Wakatipu.
Mrs Simpson estimated less than 5% of the plants in the basin were indigenous, apart from areas of native bush such as Bush Creek, near Arrowtown.
''We just want to see a bit more biodiversity returned to the Wakatipu - and it will take time.''
The trust, a partner of national conservation trust Project Crimson and Department of Conservation-initiated Project Gold, has planted 5500 native species this year, which took about 1600 volunteer hours.
It started life as the Wakatipu Islands Reforestation Trust, which planted more than 40,000 plants on Pig and Pigeon Islands after a series of damaging fires.
The government funding was through the Community Conservation Partnership Fund (CCPF).
Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner said in a statement: ''As with all CCPF grants, the funding for these projects works hand in hand with contributions from community organisations and countless volunteer hours. The best conservation outcomes are achieved when government and local communities work together.''
