MAP / LANDMARKS / WAIĀKĀRIKI/HORSESHOE LAKE
Horseshoe Lake Waikākāriki
[A pleasant rest stop at Waikākāriki/Horseshoe Lake can be accessed off Lake Terrace Road, near Horseshoe Lake Road. On-going restoration areas include those accessed from New Brighton Road.]
Howdy, humans! Are you having fun, travelling along with me, your ‘fan-trail’ guide Huanui? I hope so! There’s always something new to experience on the Green Spine trail.
Did you know 60% of the human body is wai (water)?
And every year, humans in Christchurch guzzle about 57 billion litres of drinking water. Glug, glug!
Fresh water is essential to all living things. So it’s important that we take care of the city’s freshwater systems. There are many creeks, springs and streams in Christchurch that we need to be mindful of: many of them you may not even be aware of! Remember to keep pollution (such as litter and chemicals) out of gutters, drainage culverts and our streams and iconic awa.
Wetlands such as Horseshoe Lake Waikākāriki form part of the city’s rain and freshwater system. The lake area drains into the nearby Avon Ōtakaro River (which, further east, flows into the Ihutai Estuary, as does the Heathcote Ōpāwaho River).
To help reduce flooding and improve water quality here, the council has been involved in community planting days and a novel infrastructure project.
The council’s Red Zone Rangers have been busy planting native plants within the reserve, with help from Conservation Volunteers.
Near by, within the grounds of the Christchurch Golf Club, an amazing floating wetland system has been built. The roots of the densely bedded plants absorb nitrogen, phosphates and heavy metals and so stop seepage of these into the lake and Avon Ōtākaro River. The wetland plants improve the water quality. Nature (with human help) helping nature!
Links
Where the city’s water comes from
Floating wetlands
tps://www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/floating-wetlands-form-part-of-new-look-stream
Horseshoe Lake Forever Trees/5000 Trees That Count
Volunteer planting days