The Ashburton District Council visited the enchanted forest in response to some complaints and has deemed it to be an appropriate addition to the walkway, under some guidelines.
There were fears it was being removed due to closed signs being erected at the section of the walkway, but it was just a coincidence as the Methven Lions Club was busy removing dangerous trees and reshingling the track.
The Lions have coordinated a community project in collaboration with the council to upgrade and expand the walkway around Methven.
The walkway opened in 1979 but Lions spokesman Mac McElwain said it had fallen into disrepair until the Lions decided to take it on as a project a few years ago.
“We divided it into three loops and we have pretty much got two of them done,” McElwain said.
“There is powerful logic behind it as walking and cycling is in vogue and there is a lot of benefits to be had both mentally and physically from people using it.”
“The objective is to make it all weather and suitable for most capabilities – walking, biking, mums with push chairs, and most of it is wheelchair accessible if not a bit bumpy.
“If you are really adventurous you can get a mobility scooter around it.”
The section along Mt Harding Rd, from the RDR past the Thyme Stream subdivision, was boosted by a biodiversity grant from the council going towards native planting.
At the other end of the track, the Lions had only just finished the section by the Methven Cemetery when strong winds in September brought down several trees, closing that section while the trees are removed.
As for the Enchanted Forest, council’s community services group manager Steve Fabish said the fairy adornments could be treated as an art installation, which would require a simple approval process handled by the Methven Community Board.
The walk was to have been part of the Methven and Foothills Walking Festival which was a Covid casualty, and organisers are now planning for 2023.
Instead it will now be part of a competition alongside the popular scarecrow trail during the April school holidays.
-By Jonathan Leask
