Botanist Newsletter

Issue No. 15, January to March 1998

Monitoring of Ecological Heritage Sites

Botanical site assessments of Ecological Heritage Sites are continuing. Sites on both the Port Hills and on the plains were visited:

• EHS 23.04 (Dry Bush)
• EHS 30.01 (Jollies Bush)
• EHS 24.01 (Mt Vernon)
• EHS 6.41 (McLeans Grassland)
• EHS 11.05 (Templeton Country Golf Club).

Access to Monitoring Information

A report on this monitoring project is available to CCC staff in l:\botany\ehs_mntr.doc. Direct access to the database with information on plants, animals, site visits, owners, managers, photos etc.. can also be organised for anyone in the Civic Offices - let me know if you would like to have access arranged.

Site visit to Richmond Hill

A site visit was made to several Natural Areas (30.10 & 30.11) in the vicinity of Richmond Hill, to collect more detailed botanical information. The Parks Unit will use this information in responding to a subdivision application for the area.

Site visit to St John of God Hospital site

A site visit was made to the St John of God Hospital site to assess the possible affects of their resource consent application on the nearby EHS 15.21.

Site visit to Barnett Valley

A site visit was made to EHS 29.01 (Barnett Valley, true left) to assess the impact of possible re-zoning of part of Moncks Spur for residential use.

Waterway Enhancement on the WWW

Work continued on the Water Services project to make waterway enhancement planting information available on the internet. So far web pages have been created for 10 species and 7 habitat types.

Plant Photographs

The library of plant photographs that are available is steadily increasing. Particular requests can also be accommodated. At the end of this page is a list of the species currently available. The list covers the "traditional" plant photographs. There are also digital photographs available for some species. The digital photos are at a lower resolution but are suitable for a number of uses (e.g. see Figure 2).

McLeans Grassland

Attended a meeting regarding the current status of the McLeans Grassland project with several officers from the CRC as well as Parks and EPPU staff.

Weed Identification Booklet

A preliminary meeting was held to discuss and plan the production of a plant identification booklet for weeds. This would be particularly useful for Works Operations staff.

Control of Boneseed

Attended a meeting at the CRC regarding the control of boneseed. This species is bird dispersed which makes it more difficult to contain than many other woody weeds such as gorse and broom. The overall conclusion reached was that CRC officers will prepare a containment strategy to present to their council.

Urban Ecology

Provided information on trees and shrubs in Christchurch to a lecturer at Lincoln University, who is investigating Christchurch’s urban ecology.

Styx Mill Reserve

Briefly reviewed a plan of Styx Mill Reserve, which shows the proposed management of the various zones. This highlighted again the need for a management plan to ensure that appropriate care is taken of the site.

Plant Collections Database

Several discussions were held regarding the proposed implementation of a plant collections database for the Botanic Gardens. A report was written with recommendations on how this could best be achieved.

Bexley Wetland

Reviewed a landscape plan for Bexley Wetland and recommended a significant reduction in the amount of earthworks proposed. The existing plant community over much of Bexley is wet middle marsh, which is only found at this location around the estuary.
In addition, the development of this site is complicated by the presence of toxic waste on the former scrap yard site.

Canterbury Botanical Society

A 'cut down' version of the Natural Areas database was produced for the Canterbury Botanical Society.

Maps of Ecological Heritage Sites

Several maps of Ecological Heritage Sites were produced for council staff and also a map of all of the EHS was provided to Lucas Associates.

3 Rivers Report

Completed the final version of the report "Changes in Riparian Vegetation along the Avon, Heathcote and Styx Rivers 1992/93 - 1996/97". The report concluded that planting species specifically to attract birds would enhance regeneration along the river banks by improving seed dispersal, and that control of great bindweed (Calystegia silvatica) needs to be increased.

Purple loosestrife

Provided photographs and some background information on purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) to Water Services. This will assist them in directing Works Ops to undertake control of this invasive species.

Reed canary grass

Similarly identification and information was provided on reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) which is growing in the upper Heathcote River.

Appendix 1

Species for which there is at least one "conventional" photograph, as at 26/3/98.