The Rod Donald Trust took possession of the main Te Ahu Pātiki land on 1 July 2021.
A huge thank you to everyone who has donated to Te Ahu Pātiki, and to The Press and Stuff for massively increasing our reach and the visibility of the Te Ahu Pātiki project with your Buy the Hill campaign. It is both humbling and wonderful to feel so much public support for this project.
Thank you to Christchurch Foundation and Givealittle for providing public donor platforms – we couldn’t have done it without you all.
Thank you to former owners Philip King and Sarah Lovell-Smith for being willing to part with the land you have owned for 30 years so that it could become a conservation park and create a legacy for future generations.
As of today we have received donations of $952,593 from 3064 Foundation Sponsors. Thank you to everyone who donated. Please see our Foundation Sponsor list here.
855 of our Foundation Sponsors chose to donate anonymously so we do not have your name or email address and are not able to invite you to celebration events or send information on the park’s progress. If any of our anonymous donors would like to be on our invite lists, but still remain anonymous on public lists – please contact us via manager@roddonaldtrust.co.nz.
$600,000 of these donations has gone directly to fund the park purchase. The balance of over $350,000 from your generous donations has been allocated for setting up the new park. The immediate work plan includes strengthening boundary fencing, improving walking tracks and clearing gorse from park boundaries with pest control to follow.
The land is to be protected with a QEII covenant and public access walking easements on the main tracks.
As already announced, we have partnered with Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Inc and Orton Bradley Park on the long-term future of the park. Our joint aspiration is to create a new Charitable Trust to own and manage Te Ahu Pātiki in the future. In the interim the wonderful staff from Orton Bradley Park will deliver the immediate work plan.
If you do wish to visit Te Ahu Pātiki – please download the Te Ara Pātaka brochure first. Plan prepare and equip yourself well for a big all day hike to a high and very exposed location. There are many different ways to get to Te Ahu Pātiki park, but please be aware that you will cross private property belonging to our neighbours on all routes, and that some tracks will close 8 August – 15 October for lambing. Choose a fine day outside those times and head up the hill to experience this fantastic new conservation park.
If hiking is not for you – we do encourage you to photograph the park from across the harbour so that you have a record at the start and can monitor progress of the regenerating forest in the years to come.