There are numerous citizen science opportunities around Christchurch that you can get involved in.
ULTIMA, or Urban Long-Term Invertebrate Monitoring Aotearoa, is a partnership project between Christchurch City Council and the University of Canterbury’s Environmental Sciences Department.
Several monitoring sites are located within the Ōtākaro Avon River corridor, as part of the Living Laboratory objectives of the Regeneration Plan (page 38)(external link).
ULTIMA seeks to support the community to conduct invertebrate monitoring at their local park or project to uncover:
- How do terrestrial invertebrate communities change over time in urban environments?
- How do terrestrial invertebrate communities respond to restoration and other interventions?
- How can we support the community to do outcome monitoring of their activities in our green spaces?
SPYing on nature
The ULTIMA collective uses standardised collection methods to allow for comparison between sites. These are sweep netting (S), pitfall traps (P) and yellow-pan traps (Y) – or SPY.
Each project site and its results are recorded on iNaturalistNZ(external link).
Invertebrate monitoring workshops are held annually in January.
How to get involved
- Take part in a workshop.
- Join a monitoring session.
- Talk to us about creating a monitoring site at your park or project.
Contact Sarah.Mankelow@ccc.govt.nz or Rob.Cruickshank@Canterbury.ac.nz.
Connecting people, nature and science
One of the key objectives of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan was to be a Living Laboratory; to establish a world-leading living laboratory, where we learn, experiment and research, testing and creating new ideas and ways of living.
The City Nature Lab is a physical space from which to base real-life exploration of the wider area.
City Nature Lab is a community resource providing:
- An accessible laboratory space where people can come together to do science. The space is equipped with collection gear, microscopes and field guides.
- A loan library for scientific gear to support community monitoring efforts and to make science accessible.
- Discovery learning - a programme of workshops and events where anyone can learn how to use the tools of science to support their own projects. Discover - with our tamariki, rangatahi and communities - ways to live, learn, work and play within our changing environment through opportunities for hands-on discovery.
- Citizen Science. A home base for the City Nature Challenge – an annual bioblitz of nature every April.
- Connections. A place for groups and individuals with a shared interest in nature and science to come together to learn and socialise. iNaturalist Youth Club meets here every Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm during the term.
Location
S-block, Climate Action Campus, 180 Avonside Drive.
Open hours
Wednesday, 3pm to 5pm, for the iNaturalist Youth Club, or on request.
The City Nature Challenge is an annual competition using the iNaturalist app(external link) to see which cities can make the mostobservations of nature, find the most species and who can engage the most people.
Ōtautahi Christchurch has participated in this global challenge since 2019. Participation is easy and free.
The event runs from Friday 24 to Monday 27 April 2026.