Rick Robinson
Report on The Sanctuary work 2016/17.
The Sanctuary is an area on the south bank of the Waimakariri River about 2 kilometers west of
the motorway bridge. The area is an Environment Canterbury (Ecan) reserve that North
Canterbury Forest and Bird are developing in partnership with Ecan. The area is a natural wetland
and area subject to flood by the river however no flooding has occurred in the last decade or so.
Forest and Bird are only involved in about 20% of The Sanctuary reserve and Ecan is involving
other organizations with a view to encouraging biodiversity and the return of native plants and
animals. At this point, Forest and Bird is the organization that has been most involved. The
arrangement so far is that Ecan has used its resources (heavy machinery) to clear an area of grass,
blackberry, fallen willow and other non-native vegetation and Forest and Bird supply the
manpower to plant the native plants supplied by Ecan and to keep the planted area free of weeds
so as to allow the new plants to come away.
Work started at the Sanctuary in 2016 with Ecan mechanically clearing an area of about ½ an acre
(refer map below) and about 200 plants supplied by Ecan were planted at the monthly working
bees of Forest and Bird members in the autumn of 2016. The planting process included the
placement of weed mat at the base of the plants and placing shields round them to protect them
from grazing by rabbits. During the 2016 spring the plants grew and it became necessary to carry
out weed control particularly over the summer months. In addition, predator traps were set
round the parameter of the planting, eight supplied by Ecan and three by me. In setting traps, it
has been necessary to consider that the area is used by the public (cyclists, walkers and runners)
sometimes accompanied their dogs so the traps have been set away from the road frequented by
people and their pets so as not to invite injury to dogs. We have trapped two ferrets, several
possums, a number of hedgehogs and several rats. The braded river to the north of the area is an
area in which ground nesting river birds frequent so that trapping is intended to have a positive
effect on their habitat by removing predators. Other areas of The Sanctuary have traps set by
Ecan.
Greg Stanley is a Biodiversity Officer (amongst many other tasks) for Ecan who is responsible for
the work being done in the Sanctuary and our relationship with him has been excellent. He is
most supportive of our efforts in improving the habitat for the birdlife in the area. I would suggest
he is doing his best with the very limited funds available to him. In February Ecan cleared a further
adjoining area to that already planted and
maintained by Forest and Bird however there was
no further funding from Ecan for plants. Forest
and Bird agreed to fund $500 to purchase more
native seedlings. One hundred and forty-five
seedlings were planted out by members last
Saturday. This photo is of Colleen making sure the
protection covers stay put and is part of the area
that was cleared in February. Many were a bit
small and the weather was less than kind, but the
rain helped the plants to get started. Several had
added 400 mm in height when I checked last weekend and I would hope that most will be chest
high by the end of the year. Ecan has paid for the clearing of the logs, blackberry, scrub, grass and
rubbish extending the Forest and Bird planting area. Machinery is expensive (a large earth moving
machine would cost round $1,000 an hour) and the Forest and Bird area has been extended to
about an acre of ground. Without that heavy machinery, the task of extending the native
plantings would be near impossible. It is important that we don’t allow the weeds to come back
and negate the work and
expense that has been put
into the planting program so
far. This photo shows the
area (light blue) that has
already been planted and
which I have been keeping
tidy. The adjacent lighter
blue area is the extended
area planted last weekend.
The area further to the left is
the area that Ecan intends to
clear next financial year and
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the dotted red line is the proposed access track through the planted area. The blue area on the
left margin has been planted out by Ecan and is now 5 or 6 meters high (the native plants are now
well established). We have planted a few large trees (Kahikatea and Matai) with shrubs of
Kaikomako, Rohutu, Manatu, Turepo, Hoheria and Poataniwha.
I haven’t kept an accurate tally of the hours spent at the Sanctuary over the last year but would
estimate as follows;
Ecan heavy machinery time
8 hours.
Ecan staff time
50 hours
Forest & Bird volunteer planting time
50 hours
My time clearing weeds and trapping predators
50 hours
Other costs
Plants supplied by Ecan
Plants supplied by Forest and Bird
$1,500
$500
I look forward to 2017/18.
Rick Robinson
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