Practical advice for organising a group or community volunteer event.

Organise a clean up
  • Register your event: You will need to contact the landowner for permission to clean up their site.
  • Visit the site before the event: You will need to let your volunteers know the best access points and any possible hazards.
  • Health and safety: Ensure all your volunteers read and understand the volunteer guidelines before taking part.
  • Organise tools: We can provide some of the gear you will need, and Keep NZ Beautiful has free kits of bags and gloves.
  • Organise rubbish collection: If you expect to collect a large amount of rubbish, we may be able to provide rubbish bags and/or arrange collection afterwards. 

Rubbish hotspots

We regularly care for popular tourist beaches at New Brighton and Sumner. You can do more good by focusing on other areas where rubbish collects or by taking an active role in cleaning up your local park. 

  • South New Brighton Domain
  • Charlesworth Reserve
  • Humphrey’s Drive Reserve
  • Coastal Pathway estuary edge
  • Lower reaches of the Ōtakaro/Avon River from Wainoni Bridge downstream (not suitable for children)
  • Lower reaches of the Opawaho Heathcote River (not suitable for children)
  • Brooklands Lagoon – mouth of the Waimakariri River and nearby beaches
  • Waimakariri River lower reaches
  • Lyttelton Bays and beaches (Magazine/Corsair/Purau/Teddington)
  • Barry’s Bay and Duvauchelles 

Do not clear away natural debris from rivers or streams as these often provide habitat for wildlife.

How we can help your group
  • We can support you by offering training, advice, gear, regular communication and information.
  • We cannot support every project. Our staff must consider safety, policy and budget.
  • To find out if your event qualifies for Council funding, see the community funding guide.
  • We can provide advice on and support with forming groups or seeking project funding.

If you need support for your event, fill in a volunteer enquiry form or contact parks.volunteers@ccc.govt.nz

Further support

Get involved in trapping

Be part of a growing number of communities around Christchurch that are contributing to the government’s Predator Free 2050 goals.

Traps in parks

You must have permission to put traps on public land.

We allow trapping only in in priority areas where biodiversity needs protection, such as the Port Hills, Banks Peninsula and key coastal locations. We must approve the traps used, the places they are set and a maintenance schedule. This is to ensure the parks remain safe for people and pets.

Support your local community 

Some of our parks have active community groups that do regular volunteer trapping work. Key sites include:

 For more information about these and other community groups, refer to the map of volunteer locations

Can I set up a new project in my local park?

Traps are not appropriate in all council parks. Contact us to determine if your chosen park is suitable for trapping or if there is a group already operating in the area.

You may be directed to an alternative park nearby if your first choice doesn’t fit our criteria. Refer to page 4 of the get involved booklet to help work out if your park will be suitable. 

Get involved - trapping in parks (PDF 2MB) [PDF, 1.9 MB]

For more information, contact Summit Road Society(external link) or parks.volunteers@ccc.govt.nz