Parks Week 2021 Spotlight: Environment Canterbury


This year the awesome team at Environment Canterbury are getting involved with Parks Week with a mounted rogaine in the Waimakariri Regional Park (March 14). We had a quick chat with the Parks and Forests Team Leader, James Page, to learn more.

Tell us what you have planned for Parks Week... This year, we have organised a Mounted Rogaine and Games event in the West Melton Forest in the Waimakariri River Regional Park. For this event, anyone can bring along their horse and will be given a map to plan their route and navigate between checkpoints to complete a long or short course. Afterwards there will be spot prizes, games, and BBQ with the park rangers.

We also had an event planned to be held for the opening of a new dog park in The Willows area of the Waimakariri River Regional Park, but unfortunately this has been postponed due to Covid Alert Level 2 Restrictions still being in place too soon to the event.

Once it's safe to do so, we will announce a new date and provide more information about the new dog park which will be a great place for dogs and their owners to explore and exercise amount 4.3 hectares of established trees and open spaces, and there will also be agility equipment for the dogs to enjoy.

What was the inspiration for this event.. We held a mounted rogaine last year, and it was such a success there was no question we would do it again. It was fantastic seeing the pure enjoyment young riders had on their horses and it was contagious! Rogaines have always been popular on foot, but we fancied giving the event a twist and challenging the riders to enjoy a different kind of ride and navigate between points of interest within the forest.

Why you're taking part in Parks Week... Parks Week is a great way to connect with the community and remind them about the natural playground they have right on their doorstep. We are passionate about these spaces, and it's a real privilege to look after three parks in the Canterbury region (Ashley Rakahuri, Waimakariri and Lake Tekapo Regional Parks).

Why should people come along... The Mounted Rogaine is a fun event that that gives riders an opportunity to see the area in a new light.

A fun fact about Waimakariri Regional Park... It's home to the Canterbury spotted skink and boasts at least three species of native orchid!

Visit the Parks Week website for a list of events near you!

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