Volunteers tackle Port Hills restoration

Fine weather has helped the first group of volunteers working to restore native bush on the fire-damaged Port Hills.

The volunteer planting day at Kennedys Bush on Thursday was the first of 12 Port Hills Restoration Planting Days organised by the Christchurch City Council to target reserve areas over the next few months.

Volunteer Maddie Dawe helps with the planting on a Council reserve damaged by the Port Hills fire.

Wildfires ravaged the Port Hills from mid-February gutting 11 houses and damaging thousands of hectares of land, including Council reserves. 

Port Hills Park Rangers have been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to help, with 10 of the planting days already fully subscribed with the maximum number of 80 volunteers. Two of the days have a limited number of places left. 

The task ahead is to plant about 7200 native plants, including whauwhaupaku/five finger (Pseudopanax arboreus), karamū (Coprosma robusta and Coprosma lucida), kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium), kapuka (Griselinia littoralis), ti kōuka/cabbage tree (Cordyline australis), koromiko (Hebe salicifolia and Hebe strictissima).

For those who are keen to help out but have missed out on the planting days, there is more valuable work to do with maintaining the plants in the spring and autumn, and supporting further plantings next winter. 

Port Hills Ranger and Project Manager Di Carter says the planting days are just the beginning of the fire recovery process. "It’s actually the maintenance that’s the most critical part of the plants’ survival.”

She encourages people to check the Christchurch City Council website for regular updates on volunteer days.