Monitoring Ecological Heritage Sites About 50 sites of special ecological significance have been recognised in the Proposed City Plan .
Special rules apply to some areas to protect the values they represent.
Sites of special ecological significance are found throughout the City, from the Port Hills to the low plains and coastal environment. They cover a variety of vegetation categories including wetlands, woodlands, saline habitats, hill and plain forests, grassland and shrubland. Many of these remnants are unique to Christchurch including sites such as Riccarton Bush, The Tors Reserve and McLeans Island. The monitoring programme began earlier this year with a new site visited most weeks. After starting with a number of areas at the western end of the Port Hills the sites have since been prioritised and in most cases are visited in order of the ranking they have received.