Di Lucas

Diane Jean Lucas (born 30 November 1950) is a New Zealand landscape architect and environmental planner known for her conservation works, and particularly in and around Christchurch, Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury Plains and South Island High Country. She is a strong advocate for the protection of natural and indigenous ecosystems, and sustainable rural management.

Biography Lucas was born on 30 November 1950, the daughter of Elsie Lilian Lucas (née King) and Richard Freer Lucas. She grew up on Bendigo Station in the Otago high country, and learnt about conservation early from both her parents and the rugged landscape. After finishing her secondary education at St Hilda's Collegiate School in Dunedin,

She initially worked for the Ministry of Works and Development, but resigned during the Robert Muldoon era saying she could not work under a government whose policies adversely affected New Zealand’s biodiversity and natural rural landscapes.

Her many professional and voluntary roles include time with the Natural Heritage Fund, the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Conservation Authority, the New Zealand Environmental Council, Ngā Whenua Rāhui (a fund that assists Māori Land owners with protection of indigenous ecosystems), the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA), Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association, and the Christchurch City Council Urban Design Panel. The booklets include a street map of Christchurch overlaid on a map of the Canterbury Plains ecosystems and soil types. The ecosystems range from old wetlands to forest, through to younger tussock grasslands. In addition, the booklets provide a guide for nurseries and the public about which native trees, shrubs, climbers and groundcovers naturally belong in different areas.

At the time of the Christchurch earthquakes, she warned that old streams have 'memories'. A map of the city drawn up in 1850 showed a number of old waterways that had since been filled in with gravel and built on. Many badly earthquake damaged buildings were sited on top of these old streams.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Lucas received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and three years later she was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993.

Selected publications Storyscapes: Regeneration of the Port and Banks Peninsula Hills, 2010 (contributor) Indigenous Ecosystems of Otautahi Christchurch Set 1, The Plains of Riccarton-Wigram & Spreydon-Heathcote, 1995 Set 2, The Coastal Plains of Hagley-Ferrymead & Burwood-Pegasus, 1996 Set 3, The Plains of Shirley-Papanui & Fendalton-Waimairi, 1996 Set 4, The Port Hills of Christchurch City, 1997 The Merivale Plan: Developed Through A Community Planning Workshop, 1996 The Shape of Christchurch Within the Frame of the 4 Avenues: A Plan Developed Through the Inner City Charrette, 1995 Woodlots in the Landscape, 1987 Landscape Guidelines for Rural South Canterbury, 1981