Forest and Bird North Canterbury branch have, for the last few years, joined with other volunteer groups in the “Mother of all rubbish clean-ups”, organised by Zak Cassels and the Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust and Roimata residents on Mother’s Day weekend. Hundreds of volunteers clean up the full length of the Heathcote River/Ōpāwaho, the Avon River/Ōtākaro, as well as the estuary edges. City Care workers then take away the tonnes of rubbish collected. Forest and Bird’s specific area is the southern side of the Heathcote River/Ōpāwaho riverside from the Ferrymead Bridge to the Lyttelton Tunnel Road bridge. This includes the mudflat areas on and adjacent to our saltmarsh and project zone at Calder Green Reserve. We need as many members and other volunteers as we possibly can get because this is a large area to cover and it also receives everything that washes from higher up the river. This year low tide is at 8:15 am so the mudflats will be exposed and we will be including as much of the mudflat areas on and adjacent to our saltmarsh and project zone at Calder Green Reserve as we can in the cleanup. There is also plenty of rubbish along the edges all the way to the tunnel bridge. Can you help?
Please meet at 9:30am at the carpark off Ferrymead Park Drive, Ferrymead. This is the Ferrymead end of the track through to Calder Green Reserve. This will be signposted from Bridle Path Road. You will need sturdy shoes or gumboots and gloves (gardening gloves are good). Note that the cleanup goes ahead regardless of the weather. If anyone has a robust wheelbarrow they would be happy to bring please contact Joy (see below). It would be great to have 1 or 2 available. Any questions contact Joy Talbot at joytalbotnz@outlook.com phone 03 9422917.
Valerie Campbell is also coordinating a cleanup along Clarendon Terrace and Richardson Terrace: meet her at 9:30am at the Clarendon Terrace side of the Radley Street bridge.