Environment
Kaikōura is home to many special plants, birds and landscapes.
This unique biodiversity helps keep our air clear, our water clean, and provide fuel, food, education, medicine and recreation for our local residents and visitors.
Council is proud to be working with our community to protect our wildlife and land and make sure our district’s environment has a sustainable future.
This page contains information about Kaikōura's biodiversity, Council's environmental work, how you can get involved and news/updates about our environment.
Get in touch with Council's biodiversity officer Kate Hunt for more information about any of these project.
Biodiversity
New Zealand’s Biodiversity is unique and a large number of our species can be found nowhere else in the World.
In Kaikōura, there is a wide range of important native species and ecosystems. Kaikōura is well-known for its NZ fur seals, whales and dolphins. It is also home to twelve native lizard species including the unusual black-eyed gecko and almost a quarter of the native plant species in the country. The last two surviving colonies of Hutton’s Shearwater breed here along with 30 other indigenous bird species.
Council's Environmental Work
Council is proud to be working with our community to protect our wildlife and land and make sure our district’s environment has a sustainable future.
There are a number of Council led environmental programmes that are aimed to help our community members increase and protect our district's biodiversity.
Find out more about Council's environmental programmes here.
Get involved - community groups and initiatives
A number of local groups and initiatives are doing great things to protect and manage the environment in Kaikōura.
From helping to protect the Hutton's Shearwater's, protecting seals at Point Keen or planting a tree to offset carbon, there are lots of different ways you can get involved and do your bit to help out precious environment.
Find out about local groups here, including how to get in touch with them.
Community environmental news and updates
02 October 2018
With over 150 members of the Kaikōura community in attendance, lots of rubbish was collected from Waikōau/Lyell Creek and the surrounding beach area.
Thanks to Environment Canterbury, Kaikōura's Primary Schools, CCSP (Creation Care Study Programme), NCTIR, Kaikōura Youth Council, Kaikōura Mums and babies group, Whale Watch, Department of Conservation Innovative Waste Kaikōura, Keep New Zealand Beautiful and everyone who came along for helping to make the day a success.
23 August 2018
The Department of Conservation has announced the three finalists for the 2018 Great Walk application round, and although the Waiau Toa/Molesworth was not one of the finalists, DoC were impressed with the community support for the application.
Recovery Plan Goal: Restore, protect and enhance Kaikōura’s unique natural environment and biodiversity and sustainably manage disposal of waste.
How we'll achieve it
Local stewardship of the natural environment: Encourage local stewardship of the coastal marine environment and the restoration of quake affected waterways by supporting local groups involved in their management such as the Kaikōura Marine Guardians and Waterzone Committee. Monitor the health of coastal and river ecosystems.
Manage construction and demolition waste: Ensure policies, plans and approaches are in place to safely manage construction and demolition wastes, such as building deconstruction, the reuse of materials and asbestos management. Ensure negative legacy issues are managed.
Protect unique landscape features: Investigate opportunities to protect unique landscape features and areas of geological significance such as the newly expressed fault lines. Identify sites of significance and establish pathways for their protection. Explore related educational and tourism opportunities.
Useful Links
- Link to the rural section and vegetation clearance rules of the District Plan
- New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy
- Canterbury Biodiversity - ECan
- Canterbury Biodiversity Strategy - ECan
21 September 2018
