WSP supports the Christchurch community on February 22

Around 80 staff used their WSP Community Day to work alongside the Christchurch City Council (CCC) Red Zone Team, the Avon-Ōtākaro Network (AvON), and primary school students from Banks Avenue School to support the Christchurch community on the anniversary.

They supported three projects in  Christchurch’s Avon Residential Red Zone; Adventure Ave, Riverbend Refuge, and Casa De Bambini Pre-school. The Avon Red Zone covers a largely vacant 600 hectare stretch of land along the Avon River / Ōtākaro from the CBD to the coast, where 8000 households lost their homes following the quake.

Josh Blackmore, Community Day organiser and Graduate Electrical Engineer/ Kaipūkaha Paetahi Hiko, says February 22^nd remains a significant day for many with connections to Canterbury, including WSP staff.

 “We wanted to do something really meaningful to recognise the significance of the earthquake anniversary, the 185 people who tragically lost their lives, and the impact that day had and continues to have on people and the city of Christchurch,” he says.

A tribute to those who lost their lives at 12:51pm

At midday, the team stopped work and gathered with members of the local community for the River of Flowers Memorial event at the site of the iconic Medway Bridge footbridge, which twisted significantly in the earthquake.

At 12:51pm they held a two-minute silence for the 185 people who lost their lives during the February 2011 earthquake, before placing flowers in in the river. As they sent the flowers adrift, students from Banks Avenue School sang a waiata to mark the occasion.

A memorable and rewarding experience

Having lived through the earthquakes, the city’s recovery, it’s ongoing rebuild, or all three, people from the Christchurch team say they were pleased to be able to use their Community Day to mark the anniversary.

“I found it very rewarding doing my little bit in helping to improve the area we were working on. I mostly worked on weed removal. Our supervisors were students from Banks Avenue School. They were very clear in their requirements and what was expected from us. They told us what to do and we did it—it was great! Thankfully they did allow us an ice block break.” Michelle Blanchet, Project Financial Officer.

“I was blown away by the children from Banks Ave School and the time they took to talk to us about the projects they want to complete on land gifted by CCC. Working with the community to help create something that is meaningful for current and future students was humbling, and a nice way to spend what is typically a hard day.” Hannah Gibbons, National Manager – Business Support Services.

 “Visiting the Red Zone and listening to the passionate community members we interacted with regarding their plans for the area was a really positive way to mark the significant day. I thoroughly enjoyed contributing a few manual hours of work to give back and engage with this resilient community.” Jess Gale, Graduate Engineer Bridges and Civil Structures, who also says the experience was eye opening.

“I didn’t realise how badly the earthquakes ripped apart that part of town, and it is incredible to think they’re still recovering after all these years,” she says. “It was awesome to work with the kids, whose whole lives have been defined by the earthquake recovery, and really inspiring to see how much effort they’ve put into making the Red Zone a habitable and useful space. A really moving and memorable way to mark 10 years.” Emma Wardle, Engineer Structures, and recent Christchurch resident.

Collaborating with our clients and the community

Another special part of the Community Day was partnering with our clients (CCC), the end-users of one of our current projects (Banks Avenue School), and an organisation that has done a fantastic job of supporting the community in the decade since the quake (AvON).

“What we did on our Community Day was about ‘creating what matters for future generations’. We were able to engage with young students from Banks Avenue Primary School to help them realise their vision, support a charitable pre-school, and help create an environment that will be enjoyed by generations of Cantabrians to come,” says Josh.

Rob Shelton, Christchurch City Council Red Zone Team Leader, says it was great to see so many different organisations come together in support of the community on this important day.

“I believe the work done collaboratively by WSP, Banks Avenue School, Avon Ōtākaro Network and the Christchurch City Council on this significant day demonstrated what can be achieved when people unite around a common goal,” he says.

Hayley Guglietta, Avon Ōtākaro Network (AvON) spokesperson, agrees and says removing those last little traces of rubble is a significant step to help the community move forward from the disaster to the long-term recovery and regeneration.

“It was great to see the collaboration between corporates, council and community all working together on such an important day. Evan Smith one of the founders of the Avon Ōtākaro Network and the River of Flowers passed away last year. He had fought hard for this type of partnership and would have been so proud of what occurred,” says Hayley.

The projects

Adventure Avenue is a project run by students from Banks Avenue Primary School to design and develop an adventure-themed area in the Red Zone, including bike tracks, gardens, swings, tree huts and a food court. The Community Day volunteers were met and welcomed by 50 students, aged 9-10, from Banks Avenue School. The students explained how they had impressively designed the play area, sought consent from Christchurch City Council, and started building their vision.

The WSP team was organised into five teams by the students, who effectively managed each team to continue construction of the play area. This included maintenance and improvement of the bike track, vegetation control, reinstatement of relocated plants, and construction of small huts using branches and other materials salvaged from the bush.

At Riverbend Refuge, WSP people helped to maintain this special area. Riverbend Refuge is an initial step in regenerating the riverbank habitat and includes riparian planting, creative seating, sculpture and poetry to create a tranquil space along the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor.

Casa De Bambini Block is a preschool and charitable Trust which chose to remain in the Red Zone, even as the houses around them were demolished. The preschool now uses the surrounding empty sections as part of the kids’ playground, allowing them to hunt for bugs and pick fruit in a safe environment. The WSP team helped to maintain this area, to keep it healthy, beautiful and safe for the children who attend the preschool.

The hope is in 10 years’ time Christchurch’s former residential Red Zone will be full of wildlife trails alive with birdsong, a clean river full with life, and attractions and recreational facilities to draw people to the area. In the meantime, projects like Adventure Ave, Riverbend Refuge and Casa De Bambini Block are bringing life and laughter back to the Red Zone

Michelle Blanchet provided one anecdote, symbolising what hope for the city’s future looks like. “The pivotal moment of the day for me was finding a rose bush hidden away with very little light and being strangled by weeds. Yet it still was flowering. It really hit home then that this was someone’s garden and for 10 years this poor rose has been uncared for. I am going to go back to feed and prune it.”