The Garden City: Phil Mauger, Christchurch City Mayor

Christchurch isn’t called the Garden City for nothing – and it definitely keeps that title when autumn rolls around.

The leaves are turning red and yellow, and starting to fall (we’re sweeping them out of the drains, don’t worry), and the weather is starting to cool off.

There’s still a lot going on around the city and on Banks Peninsula – festivals, markets, you name it. The region is buzzing with life.

Autumn’s a great season to spend some time in one of our outstanding parks or reserves – little slices of nature around town. So, it really bugs me that plants have recently been stolen from places like Mona Vale. These areas belong to everyone in Christchurch, and the plants are there for us all to enjoy.

When someone comes along with a wheelie bin on a scooter or digs them straight out and takes them, it ruins it for the whole community. What has been great to see is the public really getting behind us to stop these incidents.

Recently we had a resident spot someone pulling out plants in Mona Vale again. They stopped them to ask what they were doing, which scared them off, and they haven’t come back.

Let’s keep working together to protect these green spaces and keep them looking good.

It’s on all of us to keep our parks safe and beautiful. They make life in the Garden City even better.