It’s almost six months since I officially threw my support behind a campaign to make Ōtautahi Christchurch New Zealand’s first National Park City.

Myself and Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel outlined a range of reasons as to why we thought it was an ideal way to bring nature even closer to our doorstep – creating a healthier, greener place to live.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed watching momentum around the campaign build as people picture a city buzzing with green spaces and teeming with bird life.

Opening the door to nature

The National Park City movement aims to weave rich tapestries of gardens, reserves, woodland, streams and lakes into our urban environment – better connecting people and nature.

In some ways, it’s the reverse of a National Park, which conjures up images of land being ‘locked away’ and not easily accessible to city dwellers. National Park Cities are about making nature accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live.

London became the world’s first National Park City in 2019 followed by Adelaide in 2021, and many others are now pursuing this goal.

Increasing our tree canopy

For Christchurch, a major project to help our case is set down for July 3, with one of the city’s largest ever mass planting days.

Environmental charity Trees That Count has offered 5,000 native trees for the occasion. They’ll be planted in a single day on former red zone land bordering Horseshoe Lake. The planting of another 5,000, also donated by Trees That Count, will be managed by community groups that have existing planting projects underway.

Hayley Guglietta, one of the original advocates for the Christchurch campaign, once noted that “It’s interesting that we call ourselves the Garden City when we have less canopy cover than Auckland or Wellington.”  As she points out, we’ve got the land space to have more.

Show your support

The National Park City concept fits in beautifully with our vision for increasing biodiversity across all of Canterbury – helping birds, insects and animals build thriving ecosystems. It’s a win-win, and I’m completely sold.

I encourage you to visit the website nationalparkcity.org and to keep an eye out for further information on the winter planting day.

This is a great opportunity to strive for a cleaner, greener, healthier Christchurch. If you’re onboard, pledge your support here.