Christchurch's Cashmere Stream restoration underway; 2500 new natives planted

Local landowners and community members helped to plant 2500 natives at Cashmere Stream.

A more than $600,000 project to restore Cashmere Stream is now complete with 2500 new native plants at the site.

Local landowners and community members helped the Cashmere Stream Care Group complete the final stage of the four-year restoration and enhancement planting project.

Sedimentation from bank damage from stock and the loss of native trees and plants contributed to the deterioration of the clarity and quality of the water.

Fencing and plantings will protect the banks of the spring-fed stream against erosion and keep the water temperature cooler for the tuna, eels and bullies in the stream.

The shade provided by the plants will help decrease weed species in the stream and the habitat will be more suitable for kōura/freshwater crayfish, which have been spotted in the catchment.

Since 2016, more than $60,000 of Immediate Steps (IMS) biodiversity funding has been allocated to the project, as recommended by the Christchurch West Melton Water Zone Committee (CWMWZC).

Paired with the IMS funding and Christchurch City Council contributions through labour, resource and assistance, the total value of the restoration project is around $668,930.

"There was a lot of work that went into preparation of the site by our group members, landowners, Christchurch City Council (CCC), Ravensdown and Environment Canterbury," Cashmere Stream Care Group chair Ken Rouse said.

"It's been a long journey but it's great to see the outcome with well-established trees and the final round of plants in the ground."

Protecting Cashmere Stream remains a priority for the health of the waterways throughout the catchment, including the Heathcote/Ōpāwaho River downstream, CWMWZC chair Kevin Brown said.

"Seeing a project like this run so well and so collaboratively has been really inspiring," Brown said.