The iconic sound of Tūī song is set to return to Christchurch backyards with a major habitat restoration programme.

Launched in 2019, our goal is to establish a corridor of tūī friendly vegetation between the Port Hills and the central city.

Click here to access a video listen to Laura Moles talk about the project.

The Tūī Corridor project is a partnership between Meridian Energy and The Christchurch Foundation and the first project to be rolled out under the ‘Stronger, Greener Christchurch’ programme. The programme aims to make greater Ōtautahi Christchurch a better place to live through renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.

Having Tūī as regular visitors to the city once again is something all of us can look forward to. The more residents that plant Tūī tucker in their backyards, the more successful the project will be.

Meridian and the Foundation will be planting islands of Tūī vegetation in greater Ōtautahi Christchurch twice a year in consultation with local communities.

This is another step towards building a city at the forefront of New Zealand’s transition toward a greener, more liveable and sustainable future.  

Click here to see where we have planted so far! 

2022 Update: A project which has exceeded expectations 
 
Early plans for the Tūī Corridor envisaged initial plantings of around 10,000 native plants, to be followed with more plantings if successful over the next 2-3 years. 
This goal was reached as a result of the large-scale community participation generated by the initial plantings.  To date, more than 24,000 individual plants have been planted as part of this project. 

A subsidiary impact envisaged by Meridian and the Christchurch Foundation was an increase in volunteer engagement across the city.  To date, more than 33 groups and more than 200 volunteers have contributed to the Tūī Corridor Project, and we expect this number to sustain itself or continue to grow in the future.   

The Tūī corridor has also sparked conversations and encouraged people to think about what they can do to help bring native bird life back to Christchurch. The manager of the project has spoken to school groups and other organisations such as Rotary and U3A groups about the Tūī Corridor project, passing on tips about what they can do to help.  

University of Canterbury Students Research

Four students from the University of Canterbury conducted research for their GEOG309 Project on Bringing Tūī Back to Ōtautahi Christchurch. 

The research will help us make informed decisions on where to plant and how to ensure the great tūī come back is successful.

You can view their project presentation and the full report here.

For any questions please contact hannah@christchurchfoundation.org.nz.