Restoring Christchurch's ecological past

Forest and Bird, Issue 279, 1 February 1996, Page 5

Restoring Christchurch's ecological past

IF YOU HAVE trouble thinking of Christchurch as a city of kahikatea and kereru, a guide has been produced to help you. The concept belongs to the Otautahi Christchurch Agenda 21 Committee, a community group promoting the decisions of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and in particular the biodiversity convention signed by New Zealand. The group wants ordinary citizens to feel that protecting and restoring biodiversity is something to which they can contribute directly. As the group’s coordinator, Diana Shand, says: "The task has to be made relevant to people’s capacity and experience. They can relate to planting native sedges along a small stream at the end of the street rather than mowing grass if they understand this will attract insects that will feed the fish that shelter under the sedge." By simply locating their street on a map in the booklet and noting what colour-coded ecosystem it fits into, residents can obtain the associated plant

card (cost 50 cents) which lists trees, shrubs, groundcovers and special niche plants that once called that place their own. The map shows original landforms and existing remnants as well as letting you know what native animals once lived there. As well as gardeners interested in restoring native plant systems and bringing back some native birds, lizards and insects, the plant lists will hopefully help nurseries, planners, schools and council landscapers to understand what belongs naturally to different parts of the city. The first booklet was funded by the city council and covers the southern and western plains of Christchurch. The plan is to follow it with another three booklets covering the rest of the city. Much use has been made of soil maps, historical data, pollen records and existing natural remnants to produce the information. Di Lucas, Forest and Bird executive member and principal of the firm of landscape architects that produced the booklets, says that the project was particularly impressive coming "from the bottom up" as a community initiative.

Although this region is one of the most modified landscapes in New Zealand, said Lucas, the ambitious project looks at "recovery and restoration, not just remnants".