Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust

Summit Road Covenant - a glimpse into our biodiverse past

A new conservation covenant under way on the Summit Road in Canterbury offers a rare glimpse into the abundant biodiversity that was once present on Banks Peninsula.

Situated next to DOC’s Ōtepatotu Scenic Reserve, and overlooking the eastern and Akaroa harbourside bays, the new covenant forms part of Luis Thacker’s farm. It contains remnant and regenerating forest and a rare ecosystem – all home to specially adapted and intricately linked communities of plants, insects, birds, lizards and fungi.

“Areas of remnant forest and rare or ‘Naturally Uncommon’ ecosystems, as they are now known, are top priorities for protection by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. Rocky outcrops are an important category in this group” said covenants coordinator, Marie Neal. “It’s a pleasure working alongside farmers like Luis and seeing the pride landowners take in the natural heritage and future conservation potential values on their land.”

Luis has been working with BPCT over recent months, toward stock proofing eight-hectares of gullies and ridges running below a spectacular rocky ridgeline backdrop. This area will provide a valuable ecological buffer for the well-established DOC reserve next door. Once the fencing is in place, it will be placed under a conservation covenant, meaning it will be ecologically safe and well managed forever.

“By excluding stock and controlling weeds and pest animals, over time these amazing places can reach their full biodiversity potential. As species establish, thrive, and radiate out, the wider community can also enjoy this rich biodiversity first-hand. Drivers, cyclists and walkers along this section of the Summit Road can enjoy dramatic views upward from the road to a diverse bush-clad amphitheater alive with birdsong, including that of the tūī who are already thriving in this area,” said Neal.

The Thacker's covenant is home to many rare and threatened species, some of which are endemic to Banks Peninsula - meaning they occur naturally here and nowhere else in the world. They include the Banks Peninsula sun hebe Hebe lavaudiana, now categorized as At Risk-Declining; the tough mountain yellow rock daisy, Brachyglottis lagopus, native iris Libertia ixioides, a plethora of fern types and thin-barked, mountain or Hall’s tōtara.

There are also many weird and wonderful mosses and lichens thriving in the often-misty cloud forest environment – like the aptly named goblin moss (Weymouthia spp.) Other-worldly filmy ferns present in Ōtepatotu will one day return into this area as the equilibrium is re-established. Another hoped for re-coloniser is the regionally rare tōī - mountain or broad-leaved cabbage tree Cordyline indivisa. Just as important, but easily overlooked, are the shrub and small tree communities, which are crucial for insects, lizards and bird habitat and also act as canopy creators for the regeneration of ground floor species at their feet.

Annual Report 2024

We are excited to present our 2023/2024 Annual Report. It's a wonderful celebration of the work we do in partnership with conservation organisations, communities and landowners across the peninsula.

The work we do together has such a positive impact on our native biodiversity - when nature thrives, people thrive. Ka ora te whenua. Ka ora te tāngata.

Follow this link to read the full report.

Using Drones to Promote Farm Biodiversity

'We’re revolutionising the future of on- farm biodiversity’ - Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust’s new approach to working with landowners.

Biodiversity on Banks Peninsula will soon be boosted from above, thanks to Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust’s (BPCT) purchase of a biodiversity-dedicated drone.

The new drone will be used primarily to support BPCT’s Farm Biodiversity programme – enabling the team to map biodiversity, look into remote ecosystems and safely access difficult or isolated areas.

“Having a drone means we can get right in amongst it and capture a point-in-time record of native ecosystems high in the forest canopy, down very narrow, steep gullies, to the edge of coastal cliffs, and into critical and important biodiversity areas”, said Farm Biodiversity Advisor, Josh Foster.

Using orthophotography, the drone will map entire farm ecosystems, taking hundreds of very detailed, high-resolution images - a task that previously would have required a specialised aircraft and crew at a huge cost.

Once the mapping process is completed, landowners will better understand their local ecosystems, and work with the BPCT team to develop a targeted action plan to help improve their on-farm indigenous biodiversity.

“Our farm biodiversity programme integrates with the existing farming system and provides farmers with useful evidence of the impact their land management is having on biodiversity outcomes,” said Foster. “One of the key advantages of this drone technology is that we can see the impact of our work. We know to a very high degree what’s working and what’s not, which then means we can adapt our actions and approach to ensure we’re meeting our ecological goals and benefiting the wider farming operation.”

As well as using the drone to stocktake biodiversity and monitor habitat, it will also be used to understand what other control measures might be needed on-farm.

“Because it offers a bird’s eye view, the drone can spot weeds in forest canopies and other inaccessible environments, and it can also determine damage from unwanted pests. That will mean we can then undertake targeted weed and pest control.”

As well as harnessing the potential for drones to improve on-farm biodiversity, drone technology also has the potential to make a valuable contribution to BPCT’s other strategic programmes, including its conservation covenants and pest control and eradication programmes.

“It’s a potential gamechanger for biodiversity,” says Foster.

the 2017 Port Hills fire caused devastation

Mitigating the impact of fire on the Port Hills

Representatives from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and Te Kākahu Kahukura (TKK), a community-led group formed after the 2017 Port Hills fire, are developing a landscape-scale fire strategy to help safeguard the Port Hills from the impact of future wildfires.

With representatives from Christchurch City Council, ECan, mana whenua, private landowners and conservation organisations, TKK has hosted a series of community-led actions to help safeguard communities and the environment from future wildfire events.

“The fire strategy will help us understand the impact of wildfires and to look at regeneration and protection measures,” said TKK chair, Craig Pauling. “We have already begun work to understand how fire has affected the vegetation and how it responds - which might help us both to understand what might happen in the future and to plan for it."

As with most successful strategies, Pauling believes collaboration – of knowledge, resources, tactics and technologies - will form the pathway for protecting the Port Hills.

“All the research points to climate change-induced wildfires becoming an increased threat to our ecology and our communities. We must act now to lessen their potential impact on our environment and on our socioeconomic wellbeing and sustainability.”

At a recent community meeting, FENZ and researchers from Lincoln University talked about the importance of a unified response – from policy adjustments at a national government level, the need for increased investment in FENZ, strategic planning at local and regional government level, and community involvement.

“The emergence of a more severe wildfire climate in New Zealand requires a multifaceted approach. Basically, the more tools you use, the better your chances of success”, says Lincoln University Associate Professor, Tim Curran. “Multiple layers [of actions] improve success, and in the context of the Port Hills that means firefighting strategies, ecological actions and community engagement.”

Those ecological actions include planting ‘green’ firebreaks to protect core areas, and developing community-driven management plans that integrate plant and animal pest control, and favour low-flammability native forest species over highly flammable invasive plant species.

“Fuel is a key determinant of fire behaviour and during wildfires, the main fuel is plants. That means if we plant green fire breaks and low flammability plants, we can manipulate, to some degree, the main fuel source, which in turn can help lessen the severity and impact of these fires.”

Green firebreaks are essentially strips of vegetation made up of plants with low flammability. Whilst hillsides can prove problematic for the effectiveness of green firebreaks, they remain a useful tool to slow or stop the fire fronts and block radiant heat.

“Green firebreaks also serve other purposes,” says Sophie Hartnell from Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. “They can improve biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, such as providing food sources, habitat, erosion control and better soil nutrients.”

Green fire breaks are also a way to engage communities. Planting low-flammability species in gardens and on property boundaries is one way people can help prepare for and mitigate the impact of wildfires.

“It’s clear to us that we need a multi-pronged approach to manage wildfires in the Port Hills. We need technology and innovation, we need to look at our firefighting resources, and importantly, we need community input and action. Building resilience and safety is our priority,” said Pauling.

Wairewa Four – Connected Covenants

The Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust’s (BPCT) goal is to enhance indigenous biodiversity and promote sustainable land management on Banks Peninsula.

One of the best ways to reach this goal is by working in partnership with landowners to establish conservation covenants, which enable the long-term protection of indigenous flora and fauna. These special areas are safeguarded forever, and many of them include unique landscape, waterway or heritage values, and they complement farming activities well.

Often covenants sit on steep hill country, lie in valleys and gullies or are spread over rocky outcrops or wetlands - areas unproductive for farming, but which have significant biodiversity value. When protected and effectively managed, they contribute direct biodiversity gains and can improve soil and water quality, plant and animal pest control, erosion proneness and carbon sequestration.

A great example of this is ‘Wairewa Four’ covenant, located on Latham’s sheep and beef farm on the hills above Little River and Western Valley. The property features ancient remnant forest, regenerating bushland, and waterways that feed into local streams and water supplies.

This covenant, and the areas that it connects to, encompasses both new and precious existing biodiversity values, including majestic old podocarp trees (tōtara, and mataī) that date hundreds, and some even to around a thousand years old or more.

Ecologist, Geoff Walls, noted the surprising diversity of native plant and animal species, resulting from the covenants’ altitudinal range, where lowland and upland elements mingle. These covenants are havens for many ecologically rare and threatened native species.

Having a significant area under protection enables more fragile species’ populations to survive and thrive through whole ecosystem stability. The impressive array of fern species is testament to this. Noted botanist, Hugh Wilson, remarked that “the ferns, tree ferns, Tmesipteris [hanging fork ferns], make this a very exciting plot, along with the superlative tōtara.”

Wairewa Four is a lynchpin connecting two existing key covenants at the head of the catchment, together covering around 50ha. They lie in close proximity to a major swathe of protected land (both public and private) stretching from Kaituna Valley to Waipuna Saddle and into Western Valley, an area totaling over 2,200ha. There is also another landscape scale ‘biodiversity hub’ gathering momentum from Wairewa southward across to High Bare Peak and beyond, and eastward toward Te Roto O Wairewa Lake Forsyth and surroundings.

“Covenants are key ‘puzzle pieces’ in the mosaic of connecting protected land. They act as conduits for the protection and enhancement of biodiversity on a large and more effective scale,” said BPCT Covenants Officer, Marie Meal. “These covenants are wonderful reminders of what Banks Peninsula once was – and what parts of it can be again, thanks to the generosity and foresight of landowners like the Lathams.”

Decades of Conservation – a Latham legacy:

Matt’s Great Great Grandfather, W Montgomery was amongst Canterbury’s early settlers – a politician, and later a gold and timber merchant who eventually settled in Little River.

Montgomery and his son WH Montgomery had the foresight to protect a beautiful and prominent forested area – in ironic contrast to the early settlers’ seemingly insatiable need to deforest the Peninsula in order to establish thriving and productive pastureland.

Montgomery Park Scenic Reserve, on the Summit Road near Hilltop, was named in their honour, after their gifting it to the Wairewa County Council in 1941, and is home to what has been said to be to be one of the Peninsula’s oldest trees with a whopping girth of 8.5 metres – a tōtara estimated by one claim to be 2000 years old!

Nestled in a beautiful catchment head and gully of Jurassic-like landscape, the Wairewa covenants give a glimpse into the Peninsula’s past – and thanks to families like the Lathams, thriving biodiverse landscapes will continue to be a part of the Peninsula’s future.