Nelson City Council

Nelson City Council - ADVANCE NOTICE - Large-scale Planting, Plant Maintenance, Weed Control and Targeted Animal Pest Control - RFP - 17 December 2025

In the first week of February 2026, Nelson City Council will invite suppliers to respond to an RFP for the delivery of large-scale ecological restoration works across NCC upland conservation and landscape reserves, and rural esplanade reserves.

This is a challenging and lucrative long-term opportunity for a supplier with the knowledge, capability and capacity to deliver this important work.

The work specifically includes:
• Native restoration/forest transition planting
• Planting aftercare (1–5 years)
• Pest plant control to protect plantings (preplanting and ongoing)
• Landscape-scale weed control
• Focused animal pest control to protect plantings and promote accelerated native regeneration
• The provision of professional support to volunteers working on Council land, to achieve these same outcomes.

The procurement covers multiyear restoration programmes across upland reserves. Key objectives are:
• Restore indigenous ecosystems at scale using resilient, climate appropriate native species.
• Reduce invasive plant cover to levels that allow native plant survival and recruitment.
• Deliver consistent, high-quality maintenance to secure planting success.
• Meet NCC climate, biodiversity, cultural and emissions reduction objectives.

Key outcomes are:
• Restoration works delivered on time, to specification, with survival rates >85% at Year 5.
• Supplier tracks, reports, and continually improves carbon and cost efficiencies of field operations.
• Invasive plant cover and animal browse pressure is reduced to levels that allow native plant survival, recruitment, and succession.
• Local workforce development is supported, including training pathways in conservation work.

This 6+2+2 year contract is expected to start from 1 July 2026 and includes extensive monitoring and reporting.