Within four weeks of the September 4 2010 Canterbury Earthquake a new, loosely-knit community group appeared in Christchurch under the banner of “Greening the Rubble.” The general aim of those who attended the first few meetings was to do something to help plug the holes that had already appeared or were likely to appear over the coming weeks in the city fabric with some temporary landscaping and planting projects. This article charts the first eighteen months of Greening the Rubble and places the initiative in a broader context to argue that although seismic events in Christchurch acted as a “call to palms,” so to speak, the city was already in need of some remedial greening. It concludes with a reflection on lessons learned to date by GTR and commentary on the likely issues ahead for this new mini-social-environmental movement in the context of a quake-affected and still quake-prone major New Zealand city. One of the key lessons for GTR and all of those involved in Christchurch recovery activities to date is that the city is still very much in the middle of the event and is to some extent a laboratory for seismic and agency management studies alike.
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
Helicopter Flight over Christchurch New Zealand
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0340 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2846 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0330 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0344 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2847 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0336 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0329 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17 IMG_0335 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0338 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0346 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0342 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0332 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0333 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17-IMG_0334 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2848 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2859 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0343 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0341 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0345 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.