Deputy Mayor Lesley Keast stood in for me recently in personally thanking this group for their efforts.

I’d like to use this column to let you know what the group has achieved on behalf of the city.

I don’t think you have to look much further than the work of the Port Hills 2000 group and supporters to see some clear evidence of our collective passion for natural environment.

Here are just some of the highlights of these achievements:
• We’ve got an upgraded Bridle Path
• 36,000 native seedlings planted at Castle Rock and Whakaraupo Park, along with track formation, signs and fencing.
• The Cultural Garden at Whakaraupo Park
• Four extra blocks of land on the Crater Rim under protection, with the help of other groups
• An accessway for the disabled from the Port Hills Trust
• A new book on the Port Hills written by David Ogilvie.

All these projects have been done by the volunteer advisory group with help, support and financial contribution from a huge cross-section of people.

While this phase of retention and restoration anchored by the Turning Point 200 project has now ended, the positive legacy they have built for us will continue.

In fact, the thank you ceremony was also used to launch a new book which confirms the natural ecosystem of the Port Hills as one of the major wild places in our city area.

Called “Christchurch Naturally: Discovering the City’s Wild Side”, it is a beautifully illustrated book prepared by a team of advisors on biodiversity in Christchurch.

The book reflects the many groups and agencies working together to understand the strains and impacts on nature in the city environment, and the opportunities we have to retain and rebuild our natural vegetation and habitats.

It is one of Christchurch’s least well-known success stories......how well the public and our committed Council staff are doing to preserve and expand our natural environment.

Our Parks Unit put together a string of workshops with a wide range of interest groups on biodiversity, along with more publicly available information on their work on the way to producing this book.

The event also launched a new Port Hills park for Christchurch.

With the help of the previous owners, Freedom TV, Port Hills 2000 has purchased and subdivided nearly 20 hectares of land extending from Marleys Hill to in front of the Sign of the Kiwi and Dyers Pass Road.

This crater rim land will allow us to form further tracks and access links for recreation to allow more people to enjoy this superb site.

Several of the current sponsors and groups involved in Port Hills 2000 have already made it plain that they intend to carry on with enhancement projects on the Port Hills.

John Rhind Ltd has supported Bridle Path upgrading and will carry on this year with more work.

It’s an example of the sort of partnership approach this city does so well.

I would also like to thank the many volunteer groups, such as the Summit Road Society, Scouts, Rotary, Forest and Bird.

Thanks also for sponsors including Transplant Systems, Oderings and Christchurch prisons, as well as financial supporters such as Caxton, The Community Trust, Pacific Development and Conservation Trust, the Lottery Board, the Nature Heritage Fund, Stout Trust, Laugerson Trust, the Port Company,Mobil, BCL and others.

I would also like to thank the mayors of Banks Peninsula and Selwyn and Environment Canterbury for their support on these projects, which cut across all the usual local body boundaries.