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| Parks and Natural Ecosystems |
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Key Points
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Public Recreational Open Space In a growing city such as Christchurch, the role of public recreational open space is one of vital importance. The City’s areas of public recreational open space make it a more attractive place to live and visit. They contribute to Christchurch’s ‘garden city image’ and are important areas for all types of recreation. In February 1998 Christchurch City had 666 parks and reserves within the City boundaries. Overall there are 5277 hectares of parkland in the City (16) . While the majority of parks are small and cater for local needs, the greatest land area is taken up by conservation and forest parks situated in areas on the Port Hills and along the rivers or coastline (Table 2.13). Sportsgrounds take up a significant proportion (20 percent) of parkland in the City.
Recreational open space is generally acquired by the City in four ways. It is:
The total provision of public recreational open space in the City is currently considered to be adequate (17) . However there is considerable variability in the distribution of open space throughout the City. Major additions to the City’s parks in the year to June 1997 include the second part of Travis Wetland (60 hectares), the John Britten Reserve on Mount Pleasant, Castle Rock Reserve, and the Scarborough Farm Park. Travis Wetland Travis Wetland is Christchurch’s last sizeable remnant of pre-European freshwater wetland. It was purchased by the City Council in two stages; the first in 1994 and the second in July 1996. The second parcel of land was acquired to prevent its planned subdivision into housing, to protect significant wetland values and to provide a more viable habitat for wildlife requiring larger areas. Travis Wetland contains a number of species now rare on the Canterbury Plains including the only substantial stand of manuka. Other plants such as Carex flaviformis (a sedge), Baumea rubiginosa, Corybas macranthus (spider orchid) and Drosera binata (native sundew) are regionally vulnerable. It is proposed that the wetland will be managed as a "Nature Heritage Park" in the future to complement the unique ecological, scientific, recreational, and educational value of the area. Large areas of open grassland will provide a valuable habitat for local pukeko, while planting of indigenous vegetation will attract bush birds to the area. A central ponding area, associated waterways and temporary flooding are expected to encourage up to 5000 water birds to visit the site in winter.
Restoring Christchurch’s Natural Waterway Heritage The Christchurch City Council's Waterway Enhancement Programme operates in partnership with local communities. The objectives of the Programme are to:
The water way enhancement programme contrasts with previous waterway management in Christchurch, where waterways were straightened and retaining walls created along many streambanks. This type of management affected natural ecosystems in and along Christchurch’s streams. Often drainage and channelisation upstream have resulted in other problems downstream. Waterway enhancement projects have commenced on various sections of approximately 27 different rivers, streams and drains in the City. Work undertaken includes creating wetlands (Styx River at Janet Stewart Reserve), removing concrete channels (Jacksons Creek at Cameron Reserve), removing timber (Papanui Stream at Erica Reserve) and planting corridors of wetland vegetation (throughout the City, such as along Nottingham Stream in Halswell, Steamwharf Stream in Woolston and Kaputone Stream in Belfast).
Christchurch Beaches and Coastal Parks The City Council’s Parks Unit, through its Coast Care programme, manages 27 kilometres of coastline, from the Waimakariri River to inside Lyttelton Harbour. The City’s coastal area is managed as 12 distinct beach parks and is of significant ecological, conservation and recreational value to both metropolitan residents and the region as a whole. The Coast Care programme is designed as an initiative to give significant responsibility, involvement and management input to the community. To this end eight Community Coast Care groups, based on identifiable communities of interest, were set up to achieve these objectives. Over the past year the Coast Care programme has included:
Research into dune revegetation and stabilisation practices is being carried out in conjunction with the Forest Research Institute. The focus is on selecting the most successful coastal plant species and practices for local revegetation projects. Additional research in partnership with the Canterbury Regional Council has been commissioned to improve the understanding of the dune system during storm events. Major ongoing issues that affect the Christchurch coastline are weed and pest management, private usage of public land and increasing recreational pressure and impacts. The success of revegetation projects is influenced by the control of weeds and pests. Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) is a major ecological threat to the coastal environment. Continued illegal dumping of garden waste is often the source of weeds. Coastal plants such as Pingao suffer from grazing by rabbits. Reserve land backing on to private property is often used for storage of garden waste, firewood or other items. There are several cases where access ways and developed residential space have also spread onto natural public areas. This is most obvious along the Southshore. The coastal area is one of the most important recreational assets of the City. However, there appears to be a general lack of understanding concerning the impacts people have on the coastal environment. Additional recreational pressure will increase these impacts and Coast Care is attempting to develop an educational programme to raise awareness and increase respect for the unique physical and ecological nature of the sand dunes.
Natural Area / Ecological Heritage Sites Five hundred and one sites within the City were identified by the Lincoln Centre for Resource Management in 1993 as having some natural value. These include wetlands, woodlands, saline habitats, forests, grassland and shrublands found within the Port Hills, low plains and the coastal environment (Table 2.14).
The top 51 sites selected as Ecological Heritage Sites were identified as having high value based on the following five criteria:
Ecological Heritage Sites comprise an area approximately 3120 hectares in size (excluding the Avon-Heathcote Estuary, which is controlled by the Canterbury Regional Council). Ecological Heritage Sites are mostly protected by zone rules in the Proposed City Plan, with a few having special rules. Although there are a large number of sites within the City, their highly fragmented nature and often small size means they are vulnerable to threats including development, cultivation, forestry, fire and weeds.
During 1996 Port Hills birdlife (18) was examined to identify changes in species composition from the 1850s to the present day. An overview of the habitat requirements and recommendations for enhancing native forest to increase birdlife was also undertaken. Thirteen native bird species and 18 introduced bird species are known to occur in the Port Hills at present (Appendix 3: Table 1). This compares with 31 species of native birds known to occur in the Port Hills during the 1850s. The cause of this decline is attributed to the destruction of forest cover through bush fires, land clearance and timber milling, combined with the impact of predators and introduced bird diseases. Of the native species, the following eight are generally found in bush habitats: New Zealand Pigeon (Kereru), Shining Cuckoo, Brown Creeper, Grey Warbler, Fantail, Tomtit, Silvereye and Bell Bird. Although there are larger numbers of introduced birds in the Port Hills, competition between the introduced and native birds is probably minimal. In general the introduced species occupy empty niches, including those left abandoned after the extinction of earlier native species. Some introduced species (particularly Blackbirds) play an important role in native seed dispersal and subsequent forest regeneration. Forest Size The forest on the Port Hills is characterised by small, fragmented bush remnants. Much of this native forest is presently highly degraded by browsing animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, possums and deer. Even reserves such as Kennedy’s Bush and QEII Trust covenanted areas like Prendergast’s and Ahuriri Valley have not escaped. Outwardly these areas have the appearance of healthy stands of bush; inwardly some of them could be described as ‘skeleton forests’ so complete is the destruction of understorey vegetation. This means opportunities for many native bird species on the Port Hills are limited due to lack of space and an insufficient food resource. All of those species presently established in good numbers (Bellbird, Grey Warbler, Fantail and Silvereye) are birds that can utilise a variety of habitats and are capable of crossing open country between pockets of bush. In autumn - winter a proportion of these birds leave and take advantage of food sources in farmland and city gardens during a time of scarcity within the bush remnants. Other native bird species with more restricted habitat requirements (eg Tomtit, Brown Creeper) do not leave the Port Hills, so the size of their populations is governed by the number that can survive through winter.
An investigation of birdlife along small natural waterways (streams) was carried out in July and August 1997 (19) . The following eleven streams were surveyed and the results are summarised in Appendix 3: Table 2a and b:
Twenty two species of wetland bird probably inhabited Christchurch streams when European settlement began in the 1850s. Of these, at least six subsequently became extinct locally (Brown Teal, Buff Weka, Banded Rail, Spotless Crake, Black Stilt and South Island Fernbird) and most of the others are now seldom recorded on streams. Despite this decrease in native species, the actual number of wetland bird species that could potentially occur on Christchurch streams at present is 28 on coastal and peri-urban streams, and 21 on urban streams. The potential species diversity has probably decreased due to many of the new birds having similar or overlapping niches, while the diverse niches of extinct species are no longer occupied. Linwood Avenue Canal has the greatest species diversity supporting up to 20 wetland birds, including eight which regularly nest there. However, most City streams currently attract less than 10 species, some less than five. Approximately six species of native bush bird may occur in wooded stream-side habitats along Christchurch waterways. These include the common Silvereye, Grey Warbler and South Island Fantail as well as less common Bellbird, Kereru (NZ Pigeon) and Shining Cuckoo. In addition, streams which pass through native bush remnants on the Port Hills may also occasionally be visited by vagrant Tomtits, Tuis and Long-Tailed Cuckoos.
Environmental Policy and Planning Unit, CCC
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