Your walk through Travis Wetland today will take you back to the past and forward to the future as you find out more about what is happening here.
Restoring a wetland involves much more than plantings. This seemingly natural landscape of ponds and streams has been created with the help of machines and man-made structures.
Recreating the original vegetation types is the one of the main restoration tasks. Although the area around you appears natural, most of these native trees, shrubs, and tussocks were planted.
Artificial management is needed to prolong the life of open wetland habitats. Here at Travis, some marshland habitats favoured by wetland birds can be best preserved by continuing to graze cattle.
These plantings along the edges of Angela Stream are recreating glimpses of what primeval Christchurch would have looked like.
Keeping barriers between people and protected wildlife unobtrusive but effective is an importand restoration issue.
Restoring native forest is a long-term goal. This willow woodland is being managed to encourage the establishment of plants typical of native swamp forest.
Restoration takes advantage of the habitat layers that already exist in the willow woodland.
Conserving and extending habitats now rare elsewhere in Canterbury is one of the main aims of restoration.
Although modified, most of the wetland soils and habitats that once dominated the Christchurch area are still present here. This biodiversity rivals that of iconic Riccarton Bush.
Restoration projects are as much about people as they are about wildlife habitats. The ongoing restoration of Travis Wetland involves the work and support of countless volunteers, citizens and visitors.
This is one of the main restoration sites of Travis Wetland, where coastal bush once typical of stabilised sand dunes is being re-established.
Adjacent housing and its associated discharge of storm water can pose challenges for the protection of wetland habitats.
Restoring the wetland and sharing traditional knowledge about its values reinforces Maori association with this habitat in a modern context.
Preserving historical buildings and structures is an important part of the telling the story of how wetlands were used in the past and the associated impacts.