The Bridge Hill fire, caused by three students from Christchurch on a school trip, burnt through about 900ha of the high country in December.
About two-thirds of the land was on Flock Hill Station.
Station manager and chair of Craigieburn Fire Recovery Trust Anna Hill said the group’s aim is to restore the area and make it even better.
The trust wants to establish a 100-year vision for the wider basin, not just the area burned in the fire.
“We need to keep that 100-year view in place so we are heading in the right direction,” she said.
Hill said the fire, while devastating, had kick-started the group getting together. It is made up of land owners, conservationists and other stakeholders.
The group held its first workshop in April.
“It was amazing how everyone in the room had the same view of what we wanted.
“Since the fire, the focus has been on assessing the extent of the damage, but also on weed and pest control.
“We know the biggest risk to the area is weeds and pests, and left completely to its own devices, it most likely will just revert to gorse and broom.
“There has also been a focus on gathering seeds which can be planted in the burnt area.”
One upside to the fire is it knocked out a large number of wilding pines, which have plagued the basin.
When the weather is favourable, the group plans to plant test plots of beech and other natives that can be used for future regeneration.
Hill said they also want to map the area to track the progress of the regeneration.
In the long-term, the group wants not just to recover the burnt area, but develop the whole of the basin.
The Department of Conservation has been working with the trust and allowing access to gather seeds from conservation land.
Hill said the group is initially working on a five-year plan, which will form the basis for a community agreement between the trust and DOC.
While the three students responsible for the fire were not charged, they did go through an intervention course run by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
