The project site is a strip of land between Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and the sea, which required us to alter our State of the Takiwa methodology to be appropriate for terrestrial landscape with a stronger focus on native plants, lizards and insects. Ew required access to some parts of the land owned by Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury. Many of the whānau had never been to these parts of the land before.

There are several significant native species at Kaitorete including:

• Shrubby tororaro (Threatened – Nationally Endangered)
• Pygmy clubrush (At Risk – Declining)

We undertook a baseline assessment in 2022 and a follow-up assessment in 2023.

The assessments considered:

• Traditional site status evaluation.
• Degree of site modification.
• Accessibility to harvest mahinga kai.
• Conducting a cultural health index assessment.
• Assessing the presence of native and introduced plant, lizard and insect species.
• Actions to improve site health.
• An overall state of the environment report.

An outcome of these assessments was the ability to safely construct a runway without impacting native species. Mana whenua was enthusiastic about learning some of the scientific and cultural significance of many native species on their whenua.

Boffa Miskell landscape architects created a restoration planting plan and assisted with the physical planting process.