Urban waterway restoration through Jobs for Nature marks World Environment Day

A project to breathe life back into the Styx River (Pūharakekenui) and create local jobs in Christchurch has received a significant boost from the Jobs for Nature initiative.

The Styx Living Laboratory (in partnership with Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury, Te Runanga o Ngai Tuahiriri and Kahu Kura Rongoā Māori Trust) will receive $4.12 million of Jobs for Nature funding to protect the Styx River (Pūharakekenui).

Environment Minister David Parker made the announcement on World Environment Day, with the theme #OnlyOneEarth, saying it was another example of the strong action this Government is taking to tackle environmental degradation.

“A once polluted area now has resourcing and backing from the local community to allow for the catchment return to its natural state. This project encapsulates Te Mana o Te Wai, putting the health of freshwater first—a principle central to the freshwater work programme,“ he said.

“It’s going to bring back the birds, fish, the invertebrates and the native plants. We can really get things happening with the river, and support local employment.”

To date, the project has controlled over 8 hectares of woody weeds such as grey willow and planted over 24,000 native plants in the catchment.

Over the next 5 years, the project will create around 43 full time equivalent jobs. The jobs will focus on eradicating pest plants and protecting freshwater quality.

Aperahama Kipa, from the Kahukura Rongoā Māori Trust said, “It makes me feel joyful because we are making a difference to the waterway and the banks of the river.”

Anita Spencer, Styx Living Laboratory Trust programme manager, said the project would provide really good training for people in the conservation field.

The Jobs for Nature programme is a Government initiative aimed at creating nature-based work opportunities and skills training to benefit our environment and provide support towards the on-going economic recovery from COVID-19.

It is part of the Government’s wider efforts to tackle environmental issues.

They include funding of $179 million in Budget 2022 towards implementing reform of the resource management system.

“Last month, Climate Change Minister James Shaw released the emissions reduction plan, setting out how Aotearoa New Zealand will move towards a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. Budget 2022 provided $2.9 billion for initiatives to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades.”

Media contact: Vernon Small +64 21 849 517
Editor’s note:

The Styx River is one of several spring-fed river systems that originate and flow through the city of Christchurch. This catchment, located on the northern urban edge, is approximately 50 square kilometres.

The river originates in the suburb of Harewood as a dry swale intermittently filled with storm water. Springs feed the river as it meanders north-eastwards through residential, horticultural, agricultural, and lifestyle developments as well as conservation reserves.

The Styx River, 24.8 kilometres long, has two main tributaries, Smacks Creek and Kā Pūtahi /Kaputone Stream. Several other smaller waterways, both natural and constructed, drain into the Styx River before it enters the sea north of the city via Brooklands Lagoon and the Waimakariri River.

The project will carry out waterway protection through fencing, willow and weed control/eradication, waterway restoration plantings, restoration and appropriate management of culturally significant sites, research by management and highlighting freshwater values and issues through art and design.

The project will also see the establishment of the Styx Living Laboratory Field Centre.

The Styx Living Laboratory was established in 2002 and aims to connect all the surrounding nature reserves around the Styx River to create a holistic, restored habitat for all.