Healthy Homes and Sustainable Living

Come and experience Nelson's first Certified Passive House, and discover how to build, renovate and garden more sustainably.

Nathan and Yuki, two of Nelson's leading experts in sustainable living, will show you practical ways to build or renovate your own home and create biochar for a flourishing garden. Their architect-designed home, conveniently located near Nelson Hospital, stays warm year round and is heated almost entirely by the sun. 

If you’re planning to build a new home or renovate your existing house, this workshop will help you understand the key questions to ask before you begin. Nathan and Yuki will share practical advice on designing and renovating for better energy efficiency, explain which improvements deliver the greatest benefits, and help you prioritise where to invest your budget. Everyone deserves to live in a warm, healthy and comfortable home - their goal is to give you the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.

Yuki and Nathan will also demonstrate how to make biochar - a simple but powerful way to improve soil fertility while helping tackle climate change. Biochar stores carbon in the soil for hundreds of years, making it an effective carbon sequestration strategy.

The couple are also transforming former pasture into a natural farm that works with nature rather than against it. Since 2020, they’ve planted 1,000 native trees and 50 fruit and nut trees. What began as hard, compacted soil with virtually no earthworms is steadily becoming healthy, fertile, living soil - a real-life example of regenerative land management in action.

The Workshop: 

Time: 1-3 pm on Saturday 19 September 

Location:1 Crathie Place, Nelson South. 

Note: Parking on the street. 

Gold coin Koha appreciated.

Schedule:

1-1:15pm: Orientation

1:15-1:45pm: Our energy-efficient house and sustainable features, Q&A

1:45-2:15pm: Adding sustainable features and retrofitting existing houses (insulation, solar panels), Q&A

2:15-3:00pm: Transitioning to natural farming. Biochar making demonstration (weather permitting). If it rains, we will discuss climate actions through gardening.

This event is part of the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum's annual Climate Action Festival, check out all other events on our website - https://www.nelsontasmanclimateforum.nz/2026-climate-action-festival/