Meetings have been held in the Waimakariri and Selwyn districts by concerned lifestyle block owners with emergency services with a view to creating animal evacuation plans. They follow the recent bush fires in Australia and flooding in Southland.
First-term Waimakariri district councillor Niki Mealings says lifestyle block owners tend to ‘‘fall between the cracks on just about everything’’.
Urban communities are supported by local councils and farms are supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries and primary sector organisations.
‘‘By and large, it’s just families with a few stock or growing some trees, and you don’t have any protection as it’s not considered residential and you don’t come under commercial use.’’
A recent meeting in Ohoka, near Rangiora, had speakers from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the Waimakariri District Council’s Civil Defence team and Animal Evac’s Sarah Lodge, who recently volunteered in Australia.
‘‘It was an opportunity to discuss a community-based plan, including who has what animals, who has safe havens, who has feed stocks, what skills people have and who has transport.
‘‘The last thing we want is for people to just release their animals, because people are evacuating too and you don’t want all those animals on the road when you’re trying to get away.’’
One possibility is using the GetsReady software developed by Neighbourhood Support.
Niki has lived on a lifestyle block at Ohoka for 20 years and created the Waimak Lifestyle Block Group page on Facebook two years ago to help with advice.
‘‘I asked if people would be interested in setting up a new group and I was amazed with the response.’’
The first meeting in March 2018 attracted 45 people. It has continued to grow, with more than 600 members on Facebook.
The group holds monthly meetings.
‘‘I was really stunned that people came from Oxford, North Loburn, Amberley, Swannanoa, Mandeville, Waikuku and West Eyreton and all round the place to meetings in Ohoka.’’
During the Waimakariri Zone Committee’s zone implementation plan addendum process in 2018 and 2019, there was tension between farmers and lifestyle block owners.
One of the speakers, environmental consultant Megan Hands, now an Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillor, addressed the issue.
‘‘It comes back to the confusion about where do lifestylers fit in and what do you do if you want to do the right thing,’’ Niki explains.
ECan has a lifestyle block environment plan process for properties above five hectares which are winter grazing or irrigated, but Niki recommends anyone with at least 4ha should consider having one.
Niki is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to New Zealand after meeting and marrying her husband, Philip Mealings. He was born in Kaiapoi.
The couple bought a one-hectare block at Ohoka 20 years ago and over the years have kept dorpher, Suffolk and texel sheep, as well as ponies and chickens. They have a large garden and small orchard.
She says by getting to know their neighbours, they have become largely self-sufficient, including being able to get milk from a neighbouring dairy farm.
‘‘We have had it all except for the house cow. We even had a beehive for a while, which a friend managed.’’
Before coming to New Zealand, Niki had a background in business and fashion. In recent years she has completed a level 2 certificate in horticulture and worked as an artificial insemination technical assistant.
‘‘It’s been interesting. The more I’ve lived in the country, I’ve become more ‘countryfied’.’’
