Media Release
24 October 2007

Native Plant Supporters Call for Regional Education Centre

Conservation groups are advocating for the establishment of a regional plant education centre to help mobilise native plantings and habitat restoration throughout Canterbury.

The recommendation is one of a raft of proposals generated at this year’s Flock Hill Workshop, attended by leaders in conservation and biodiversity projects. They propose a regional education centre that would function as a nursery for ideas, information and resources to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and to support new projects.

Professor Ian Spellerberg, director of the Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation, says there is strong support for a facility that can provide a focus for community-based and private conservation efforts. The idea was partly inspired by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s 2001 report, “Weaving Resilience Into Our Lands.”

“The next steps are to talk with interested parties and to prompt as much discussion as possible about the idea,” says Professor Spellerberg. “We have already talked to most plant nurseries in the area and all are supportive. Perhaps one day we will have the New Zealand version of the Eden Project in the United Kingdom.”

The Workshop also recommends the development of a series of demonstration projects showing how native plant communities can be used to provide economic and ecological benefits. It says these should be fostered as a network to help overcome common barriers, share information and to access financial support together.

Other recommendations include:

• Endorsing a process established by the Selwyn District Council to protect and enhance remnants of native plant communities
• Establishing a management committee to implement a proposal of the Te Ara Kakariki Trust, to establish a series of green corridors between the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers
• Investigating incentives, such as tax breaks, rates relief and grants
• Seeking help from land owners who are willing to produce a map of remnant and significant areas of native plant communities, and potential new areas.

About the Flock Hill Workshop

The Flock Hill Workshop is an annual event which aims to promote discussion and analysis of challenging and contemporary issues. Attendance is by invitation only. The report from this year’s Workshop is available from the Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation and will also be posted on the Centre’s web site.

About the Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation

The Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation was established in 1999. Its mission is “to promote the conservation of biological diversity and other elements of nature, it’s sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of its utilization, through education, training and advocacy.”

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