Full circle moment in the red zone

Fourteen years after clearing liquefaction clogging streets and properties, the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) is back in the east of Christchurch.

But this time they’re helping restore the soil and put new plants into the ground they dug after the 2011 earthquakes.

SVA took part in a marathon volunteering event last weekend in the residential red zone, weeding and mulching around restoration plantings. 

"By returning to the red zone where the SVA spent a lot of our time shovelling liquefaction over a decade ago to now restoring soil is completing the cycle of recovery, and essentially coming full circle,” says University of Canterbury SVA Events Manager Sukhleen Kaur.

“This area is a new planting site by Corser Stream, and our work helps restore part of the important floodplain ecosystem along the Ōtākaro Avon River as part of the Green Spine regeneration project.”

Image credit: Student Volunteer Army

SVA is a volunteer group born out of a student-led clean-up operation after the Canterbury earthquakes. The group is now a network comprised of tens of thousands of volunteers with a desire to help their communities.

400 volunteers attended the Big Give 2025 event, helping to ensure the survival of new plants that will one day form a riparian forest.

Christchurch City Council Residential Red Zone Manager Dave Little says the area’s post-quake progress is a testament to the hard work and dedication of individual and group volunteers.

“The Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor is our largest regeneration area, and transforming this area is an exciting opportunity to create a legacy that will benefit future generations.

“It’s fantastic to see this collaboration with Council’s Red Zone Rangers to contribute to the continued regeneration of the area.”

Refreshments at the Big Give 2025 were supplied by the Burwood East Residents Association, with members of The Green Lab and the Avon Ōtākaro Forest Park helping lead activities throughout the day.

“We’re so grateful to organisations and groups who donate their time or resources and get stuck in at our planting and maintenance days – and we’re always looking for more!” Mr Little says.

Learn more about Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor volunteer days.