Living Art is a wildlife sanctuary set on 7 hectares within the Tauranga city limits in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The project was started by Mark and Caroline Paterson in March of 1994 when they purchased the property, previously used as an old Pumice Quarry and Sawdust Pit. Since then extensive clearing and revegetation work has been carried out with over 7,000 plants so far in place, the re-created fernery contains 42 mature King Ferns and a large collection of young exotic Palms planted by Palmologist Don Munro.

The land is a natural bowl lying on the Southern edge of the city. The eastern side of the site contained the tailings from a native timber sawmill, operating from 1927 - 1969. The northern face had been used as a pumice quarry and the flat land at the base was a poorly reclaimed swamp, all covered in regrowth of Exotic Invaders ( Acacias, Gorse, Blackberry). 12 months of clearing scrub and work on drainage left us with a blank canvas on which to "Paint" using nature as our medium. During this work we were surprised at the amount of native wildlife that had managed to survive the previous uncaring commercial activities on the land, Copper Skinks, Giant and Banded Kokopu , Koura (Freshwater crayfish), Dragonflies, Grey Warblers, Shining Cuckoo nesting each year, Wetas, other insects and Freshwater crustaceans living in the steeper areas that earthmoving machinery couldn't access. The stream and Fernery areas were the first to be replanted with to date over 9,000 native and selected exotic plants now in place.

Living in cities, our busy lifestyles and the cost of travel have led to a lack of time for families interacting with nature. We hope Living Art will in the future become a self sustaining activity so a charitable trust and preservation covenants can be put in place to protect the property for future generations enjoyment. We intend this trust to help preserve the genetic stock of threatened species and foster an awareness of preservation of natural habitats. The park is a privately funded project originally setup to offer a Sanctuary for injured wildlife and unwanted pets. In today's modern world this costs money to support so it was opened up to the public in 1998. Future projects include a café, butterfly house and more exotic animal enclosures.

Many of the animals here are very tame and if approached quietly will feed from your hand. The quieter you are the more you will see.