As one of the largest branches in New Zealand, the North Canterbury branch covers Canterbury north of the Rakaia River up into the heart of the Lewis Pass, from the sea to the Alps.
We organise field trips to places of interest around the region and hold monthly public talks at the WEA 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. We have working bees at our projects - Calder Green Reserve (on the lower Heathcote), Mahoe-nui Bush (behind Sumner) and The Sanctuary (on the Belfast side of the Waimakariri ). Volunteers go to Boyle Base (in the Lewis Pass) to work on our trapping programme and to do other work in the area. We have an area in the Craigieburn from which we have been clearing wilding pines since 2018 and we are working on Russell Lupin control in the Upper Waimakariri/Arthurs Pass area.
In 2019, Dr Lorna Deppe, a seabird ecologist, produced a Marine Stocktake for the branch. This had been proposed by Colleen Philip, a previous branch chairperson, as a survey of possible marine conservation projects for the branch in our region and in memory of Hendrikje Buss who served on our committee and had a passion for marine conservation. The report can be viewed here.
Our 2024-2025 Annual Report can be read here. This is a readable summary of the branch's activities for the previous year, including our projects and advocacy work. The 2024 Annual Financial Report may be viewed here.
View latest newsletter here.
View our Christchurch Forest & Bird Youth Facebook page here and the branch facebook page here.
Public Talk Overheads
- April 2025 - John Leathwick - Where to, for New Zealand’s Biodiversity?
- March 2025 - Dr Anthony Shadbolt on Restoration in the Styx River Catchment
- March 2025 - Professor Em. Jon Harding on Ecology of the Styx River
- February 2025 - Nicky Snoyink - Wild animals, costing us 'deerly'
- December 2024 - Nicholas Head: 5 wonders of the world in Canterbury you'll never see
- November 2024 - Dr Dave Kelly's talk on EVs and solar power.
Research:
- Stocker Scholarship winner Saskia Brown's Master's research on the extent and impacts of macrophyte invasion in remote freshwater ecosystems.
- Her full thesis is available for download here.
Get involved
There are plenty of ways for you to get involved with our branch as a volunteer.
We are always looking for help with our major projects, meetings, newsletter, fundraising, and outreach to the community.
You could help our branch by:
- Joining our Committee
- Attending our public meetings
- Contributing to the branch newsletter
- Participating in scheduled planting and plant maintenance days
- Supporting pest control and weed eradication projects
- Making a donation to Forest & Bird’s North Canterbury Branch
- Helping with submissions, funding applications and monitoring
- And much more
Contact the branch secretary: NorthCanterbury.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz