Waitākiri Eco-sanctuary – A Many Haloed Effect
Patience, persistence and adaptability are qualities that advocates Colin Meurk and Tanya Didham are bringing to their long-term aspiration of creating an eco-sanctuary on the Ōtautahi Christchurch floodplain.
It’s a decade since Colin, a well respected local ecologist, mooted the idea of a predator-free, fully fenced eco-sanctuary in the city’s red zone. The current focus is a 50 hectare area that neighbours (but is separated by road from) the council-protected freshwater habitat of Ōruapaeroa Travis Wetland.
“It’s about seeing the vision and seeing the contribution an eco-sanctuary will make to the city.” says Colin. “Leadership is needed, both locally and nationally, so everyone can access the natural world.”
Canterburians currently miss out on a firsthand experience of many of New Zealand’s “rare and endangered and iconic” wildlife. Waitaha Canterbury is the only region in the country without a viable eco-sanctuary. Even the often-ribbed fog-affected city of Hamilton ha Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari; Wellington’s Zealandia is a highly successful eco-tourism venture synonymous with the repopulation of wildlife in an urban setting.
“We know from elsewhere…the positive impact that eco-sanctuaries have on people: [leading to] a transformational experience of their sense of place,” says Colin. “Many people have otherwise never seen ‘their’ kiwi, weka and takahē in a semi-wild environment.”
Eco-sanctuaries are known to have a ‘halo effect’, where wildlife forage and repopulate areas beyond its boundaries. Conceivably, future Christchurch dwellers will admire kākā or tūī perched in their backyards.
There can also be what is referred to as a ‘social halo’ effect: increased well-being of the community as an effect of interacting with nature.
Tanya, co-chair of the trust responsible for developing the concept of a publicly accessible sanctuary, has spent many months – years in fact – networking with potential stakeholders, including the Christchurch City Council. A newly formed governance entity is to oversee management of the land under discussion.
“The land transfer [to the governance entity] has taken years and years and has only been completed recently,” she says.
Practicalities and potential costs (1.9m high predator-proof fencing is expensive) have seen the trust evolve its eco-sanctuary concept to its current notion: that the focal site bounded on the east by Anzac Avenue be one of a “constellation” of sanctuaries. It’s envisaged the sanctuaries will be linked by natural corridors, connecting areas as far afield as Banks Peninsula and across the Canterbury Plains..
“Different people are interested in different parts of the corridor and project,” explains Tanya. “We are working together.”
Momentum is building. The trust’s recent AGM brought together a group of “vibrant and energetic” people who have given the project a lot of impetus. Colin continues to inspire with his description of the benefits of an eco-sanctuary, which go beyond biodiversity gains and habitat restoration.
“An eco-sanctuary builds on what I observe is a growing desire to move from purely a commodity-consumption based values system to one focussed on positive, joyful and informative experiences,” he observes.
“Eco-sanctuaries allow us to find connection, identity and wellbeing from walking in nature and experiencing our special wildlife, and from sharing those experiences with our whanau and other people in our community.”
(Jan 2024)
