Across Aotearoa, Downer Greenspace looks after some of our region’s high profile open spaces, creating a sense of place, community and wellbeing.
Our Open Space Management capabilities and service delivery is diverse, ranging from popular urban parks and reserves to remote coastal reserves. Our Greenspace team includes qualified and experienced horticulturalists, sports turf and landscape specialists, and qualified arborists, who maintain and landscape outdoor spaces including reserves, parklands, playgrounds, sports fields and urban centres.
So that communities can continue to enjoy outdoor areas, we work closely with our customers to maintain a range of open spaces, keeping them safe, accessible, clean, and aesthetically pleasing. Our horticulturalists enable all year-round enjoyment of many different types of gardens, while our sport turf specialists ensure fields are ready to accommodate a range of seasonal sports. Our playground experts design, build and maintain safe spaces for adventure and imagination; and our sexton services are delivered with the utmost sensitivity and care. With a strong commitment to protecting New Zealand’s flora and fauna for future generations to enjoy, our biosecurity services provide targeted pest plant and animal control.
Our team’s passion for nature and community fuels everything we do. We’re proud to create and nurture thriving green spaces where people can connect, recharge, and belong.
Biosecurity
Protecting New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna is important for our communities and economy. To support this drive, Downer’s biosecurity services team provides targeted control of pests. Our team of specialists in rural pest control and management offers over 25 years of experience, predominantly in the South Island. Our work protects native biodiversity, supports primary industries, and strengthens rural communities. Whether it’s possum control, feral ungulate management, or habitat protection, we deliver tailored solutions that combine technical precision, operational scale and proven results, benefiting our customers, as well as the land, people, and ecosystems they serve.
We operate three regional teams with over 25 experienced field operators located throughout the South Island, giving us the scale and capability to self-perform most activities. In addition to our core internal capability, our project management expertise and long-standing partnerships with specialist subcontractors allow us to deliver every aspect of rural biosecurity, including fencing, aerial shooting, aerial bait application and specialist dog teams.
Operations successfully delivered:
- Ground-based control of possums, rabbits, hares, rats, feral cats, stoats, weasels, ferrets, southern black-backed gulls, canadian geese, and pigeons — tailored to each species and landscape.
- Aerial control of pigs, rabbits, and possums in remote or rugged terrain.
- Establishment and ongoing maintenance of multi-species predator control projects.
- Terrestrial weed control in sensitive environments — from remote sites like the Clarence River to public-facing areas such as Lake Hāwea.
- Rapid response to new biosecurity threats, including myna birds, rooks, wallabies, and invasive weed species.
- Pigeon deterrence to minimise nuisance and safeguard the integrity of metal structures from corrosive droppings.
- Deer and goat population management to protect native trees and regeneration areas, which is important for protecting native wildlife and contributing to the natural carbon cycle and emissions reduction.
- Rat control around wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities to minimise cable damage while also reducing health and environmental risks.
