About 40 members of the Dunedin, Southland and South Otago Forest & Bird branches gathered at the shared Lenz Reserve in Tautuku to mark their parent organisation’s 100th birthday.
The reserve was created when, in 1963, Dunedin benefactor Ivy Lenz made a bequest allowing Forest & Bird to buy 544ha of a former logging site near Papatowai.
Reserve management chairman Fergus Sutherland said it was a fitting place to mark 100 years of conservation activity in New Zealand.
"This is the largest Forest & Bird-owned reserve in the country, and one of the oldest.
"It’s a great example of two of the main thrusts of the society, which are to educate and enthuse people about the natural environment; and to actively conserve and restore native habitats through revegetation, pest management and scientific exploration."
Forest & Bird media and communications manager Lynn Freeman, representing the national body, said it was "remarkable and moving" to see the achievements of the combined southern branches at the reserve.
"It only takes a few people to make a massive difference for nature, and that’s so clearly demonstrated here."
Forest & Bird had been founded by Captain Ernest "Val" Sanderson in 1923, after he became angered by the gradual destruction of native habitat on Kāpiti Island, north of Wellington, Mrs Freeman said.
He established the then Native Bird Protection Society in an effort to eliminate pests from the island and conserve its native bush and fauna.
"Captain Sanderson was persistent and stubborn in his drive to conserve Kāpiti Island. That persistence and stubbornness is something I’m sure you as Forest & Bird members can still identify with today."
Although the group had achieved many victories in its efforts during the past century, it still had a long way to go, Mrs Freeman said.
"We’re not there yet. Hope and action are key, so never give up."