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The work of a Park Ranger may not be quite what you think. Sunday 31 July marks World Ranger Day so Christchurch City Council is celebrating the work of all of its rangers as the key protectors of parks and conservation for the organisation. The role of a ranger has broadened over the years, as…
Students from Climate Action Campus are teaming up with Christchurch City Council park rangers to plant native trees and shrubs on a parcel of former red zone land on Friday. The Climate Action Campus takes students from nine different schools who are involved in creating gardens, orchards and greenhouses on a 1.8 hectare piece of…
With Arbor Day coming up on 5 June, we’re celebrating our volunteers who have helped to keep Christchurch flourishing over the past year. Christchurch has seen lots of green growth in the past 12 months thanks to more than 184 community planting events and 665 community maintenance events held across the Garden City. Head of…
Receiving a Christchurch Civic Award last year was a big deal for the young founders of The Conscious Club. The awards recognise the service of volunteers and others who go “above and beyond” the civic call of duty – such as social enterprise group The Conscious Club, a team of Ōtautahi-based women who run events…
Eager to be “part of the solution” and not simply onlookers, Gen and Malcolm Long have dug deep to rescue reserves and riverside tracks from smothering weeds. The busy couple are part of the volunteer army working with Christchurch City Council staff to keep parks, reserves, paths and tracks beautiful. They became involved after being…
When West Coaster Michelle Gillman moved to Christchurch three years ago, one of the first things she did was sign up as a Civil Defence volunteer. “I have always been a volunteer for all sorts of things on the Coast and I wanted to find some volunteering work that would be meaningful in Christchurch so…
A “case of arm twisting” has kept Barbara Clarke busy with books as a volunteer despite retiring from Christchurch City Libraries in 2013 after a 35-year career. “I was about to retire when I was invited for a coffee with the then Chairperson of the Friends of the Library and the Libraries liaison person,” she…
For passionate gardener Susan Lawrence taking people on tours around Christchurch’s Botanic Gardens is a labour of love. She signed onto become a volunteer guide at the Botanic Gardens in 2012 after spotting a recruitment ad in the gardening pages of The Press newspaper. The volunteer guides – all members of the Friends of the…
Volunteering is a family affair for Ben and Nevaeh McCallum. The father and daughter joined the Off the Wall Graffiti Programme run by Christchurch City Council in 2017 after spotting a brochure about the programme at their local library. Nevaeh was only seven at the time, but dad Ben was keen to instil her with…
A chance meeting over a stinkhorn fungus four years ago sparked a whole new life for Christchurch City Council Park Ranger and volunteer team leader Fiona Fenton. After a high-flying 20 year career managing commercial property in San Francisco and London, including the famed Covent Garden estate, Fiona took a year off after moving to…