
Christchurch has unveiled an ambitious $2 billion plan to re-create the central city as a green, people friendly, low rise zone, inside a garden. Almost six months on from the destructive February earthquake most of the centre still sits cordoned off, and half the buildings need to come down.
To the casual observer, community gardens may look like places where people just come to grow fruit and vegetables. Through digging beneath surface appearances, however, the research literature suggests that there is more to the creation of and participation in community gardens than that which is immediately apparent. The overall aim of this research was to explore and interpret the meaning of community gardens in terms of the sought and experienced well-being of the individuals who participate, and their associated communities. This research was undertaken in the Christchurch/Selwyn district, in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. This research utilised the technique of photo-elicitation interviews to study the meanings attributed to community gardening, in the post-earthquake environment. Five gardens were investigated. Results show that a range of meanings, and well-being outcomes are experienced through a combination of physical, educational, aesthetic appreciation, contemplative, creative and social connections within the garden and within the overall context of nature. Significantly, within the post-earthquake environment, the community gardens can offer participants the opportunity to appreciate life and what it means for them.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Marika Begg with the macrocarpa tree stumps in her garden that were chopped down after earthquake damage. Di Madgin story".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Marika Begg with the macrocarpa tree stumps in her garden that were chopped down after earthquake damage. Di Madgin story".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake as residents start to clean up. Jo Mackwell digs out the garden of her parents from under the silt in Reaby Street, Burwood".
Today marks seven years since the devastating Christchurch Earthquake. We turn out attention to the Garden City, first celebrating the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra’s 60th anniversary with violinist Natalia Lomeiko, then organist Martin Setchell on the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church organ rising from the rubble.
Elephant grass sculpture in Re:Start mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
Reindeer grass sculpture in Re:Start Mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
The Peacock Foutain in the Botanic Gardens, in the background is the Christchurch I-Site which has reopened in a potacom.
Cunningham House at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens is still closed due to earthquake damage. I wonder if it will ever re-open or suffer the demolition fate many other iconic structures in Christchurch have.
A video of the 2016 Civic Earthquake Memorial Service, held to mark the fifth anniversary of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The service was held on the Archery Lawn in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens at midday on 22 February 2016. The service was filmed for the Christchurch City Council by Alan Radford of Multicam TV.
Elephant sculpture made out of grass in Re:Start mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
Whale-shaped sculpture made out of grass in Re:Start mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
Animal-shaped sculpture made out of grass in Re:Start mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Garden City Helicopters flown by Mark Read uses a 700 litre monsoon bucket to dump water on loose boulders and rocks on the cliff face above Redcliffs School to dislodge them".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Garden City Helicopters flown by Mark Read uses a 700 litre monsoon bucket to dump water on loose boulders and rocks on the cliff face above Redcliffs School to dislodge them".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Garden City Helicopters flown by Mark Read uses a 700 litre monsoon bucket to dump water on loose boulders and rocks on the cliff face above Redcliffs School to dislodge them".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Garden City Helicopters flown by Mark Read uses a 700 litre monsoon bucket to dump water on loose boulders and rocks on the cliff face above Redcliffs School to dislodge them".
Animal sculpture made out of grass in Re:Start mall in Re:Start mall. This was one of the sculptures presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust.
Text across the top of the cartoon reads 'You know you live in Christchurch when...' Six cameos follow reading 'You can stir a cup of coffee without a spoon' - a cup of coffee is shaken; 'after 30 years you finally know your neighbours' - a group of people get to know one another; 'the latest fitness craze is sandba' - a couple shovel a heap of liquefaction to music from their transistor; 'everyone gets to drive a slalom' - someone weaves along a road avoiding cracks and mud in their car; 'there's a craze in "unique garden features"' - a longdrop has been dug in the garden; and lastly 'you have tea under a doorframe' - a couple eats and drinks under a doorframe for safety. Context - the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011. Published in The Press Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
View down Re:Start mall, an elephant grass sculpture presented by the Christchurch Garden City Trust and street lights with banners in the Canterbury colour, red and black.
The cartoon depicts a little plant with two tiny leaves; text reads 'THE GARDEN CITY'. A second version includes the words 'Begins to grow again'. Context - The earliest stages of the rebuilding of Christchurch after the earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011. Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
A pdf copy of panel 1 of Guy Frederick's 'The Space Between Words' exhibition. The panel includes text from an interview with Meredith Dyer about her experiences of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Above this is an image of Dyer sitting on a path in the Botanical Gardens.
The first passenger train from Piction to Christchurch since the devastating Kaikōura earthquake has arrived in the Garden City - Kathy Templeman was on board and says it was an emotional experience.
A PDF copy of pages 310-311 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Rotherham Clock Park'. Photos with permission from Greening the Rubble
A PDF copy of pages 300-301 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Coffee Zone Mini Park'. Photos with permission from Greening the Rubble
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Garden City Helicopters flown by Mark Read uses a 700 litre monsoon bucket to dump water on loose boulders and rocks on the cliff face above Redcliffs School to dislodge them. Daniel Currie, ground support crew, steadies the monsoon bucket on takeoff".
From the time it opened in the 1920s, the Winter Garden ballroom was the place to go for debutante balls and big-band concerts in Christchurch. Queen Elizabeth II even dined there during her visit in 1954. But this special part of Christchurch's history is over and the Armagh Street building has been placed on the urgent demolition list because of earthquake damage. Tiny Kirk is the chairman of the Trade Union Centre which has owned the building since 1984.
Creative temporary or transitional use of vacant urban open spaces is seldom foreseen in traditional urban planning and has historically been linked to economic or political disturbances. Christchurch, like most cities, has had a relatively small stock of vacant spaces throughout much of its history. This changed dramatically after an earthquake and several damaging aftershocks hit the city in 2010 and 2011; temporary uses emerged on post-earthquake sites that ran parallel to the “official” rebuild discourse and programmes of action. The paper examines a post-earthquake transitional community-initiated open space (CIOS) in central Christchurch. CIOS have been established by local community groups as bottom-up initiatives relying on financial sponsorship, agreements with local landowners who leave their land for temporary projects until they are ready to redevelop, and volunteers who build and maintain the spaces. The paper discusses bottom-up governance approaches in depth in a single temporary post-earthquake community garden project using the concepts of community resilience and social capital. The study analyses and highlights the evolution and actions of the facilitating community organisation (Greening the Rubble) and the impact of this on the project. It discusses key actors’ motivations and values, perceived benefits and challenges, and their current involvement with the garden. The paper concludes with observations and recommendations about the initiation of such projects and the challenges for those wishing to study ephemeral social recovery phenomena.
Damage to a building on Colombo Street. Beside it is a sign that says 'Footpath closed Please use alternative route'. Ongoing demolition work and street cordons in Christchurch mean that gardens are left and becoming overgrown.