PROTECTING OUR ICONIC MAUNGA
Te Ahu Pātiki is 500ha of iconic land including the summits of Mt Herbert/Te Ahu Pātiki and Mt Bradley, the two highest peaks in the Ōtautahi/Christchurch district.
The Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust is proud to announce it has an agreement to buy the land and is now fundraising to complete the purchase and develop this land into a conservation park. With public support, Te Ahu Pātiki will become a protected landscape transforming to native forest, visible from Ōtautahi/ Christchurch and Whakaraupō/Lyttelton and with full public access.
Under new management as a park, the land will transform from golden gorse and pasture to a green biodiversity hotspot. Strategically positioned, it connects together several existing reserves and private protected areas to create a 1700ha network of continuous biodiversity protection. In conjunction with neighbouring Orton Bradley Park, it will achieve ki uta ki tai (summit to sea) protection for the Te Wharau stream catchment, the largest contributor to Whakaraupō/Lyttelton Harbour.
The new park will be a recreational gem for walking, biking, and climbing to the magnificent summits and is easily accessible from Ōtautahi/ Christchurch. The park will secure public access in perpetuity on Te Ara Pātaka, the popular multi-day tramping network connecting the Lyttelton and Akaroa craters, and to the summits of Mt Herbert and Mt Bradley.
Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke have mana whenua over this area and are supporting the project. Orton Bradley Park is a key partner, having pledged a substantial contribution toward the purchase and ideally position and equipped to manage the new park. “It’s for everyone forever”, is how Orton Bradley Park Chair Matt Cameron aptly puts it.
The land is to be protected in perpetuity with a conservation covenant and managed to facilitate natural regeneration of native forest. Protecting this land in conjunction with securing public access helps realise the 100-year-old vision of the early conservationist Christchurch MP Harry Ell.
It also helps our city meet the challenges of today – contributing to goals of Whaka- Ora – the inspirational Whakaraupō /Lyttelton catchment plan recently adopted by Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, ECAN, Lyttelton Port Company, the Council, and Ngāi Tahu.
Retiring marginal land from farming to become carbon-sequestering native forest helps meet climate and ecological change goals too. With the walks accessible by public transport via the Diamond Harbour ferry, low footprint recreation on the city doorstep is enabled for locals and visitors.
To find out more about Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust and the Te Ahu Pātiki project, head to roddonaldtrust.co.nz. In order to complete the Te Ahu Pātiki project, the Christchurch Foundation is collecting donations on its website christchurchfoundation.org.nz.