Photo Canterbury Biodiversity website
Photo Canterbury Biodiversity
Following the September 4th 2010 earthquake, many sites within the city which used to be home to large buildings, have been reduced to vacant lots – empty or occupied by rubble. Many of these sites have been turned into car-parking lots, but ECan’s Regional Biodiversity Coordinator, Wayne McCallum, has fronted an initiative which is avoiding the default car parking trend– turning vacant lots into native plant pocket-parks – Greening the Rubble. The initiative is largely community based, not only transforming vacant spaces into eco-friendly areas, but getting local businesses, schools and organizations, involved and channelling post-quake energy. Currently the vacant Asko area on Victoria Street and the old Para Rubber site on Manchester Street have been selected as pilot projects. Mr McCallum states that not only are the projects an eco-friendly venture, but they also are a good way to “Show community resolve” post-quake.
Keep up to date with the project progress here.
