Greening the Red Zone founder Ashley Campbell is upset contractors have killed native ribbonwood seedlings in the red zone.

Native seedlings naturally regenerating in Christchurch's red zone are being killed by contractors, upsetting conservationists.

Avonside resident and Greening the Red Zone founder Ashley Campbell was horrified when she saw what was once a thick patch of ribbonwood seedlings become a bare patch of dead shrivelled up stalks after being sprayed by contractors.

The dead seedlings were amongst a patch of established trees left behind when homes were demolished, near the corner of Galbraith Ave and Avonside Drive.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Native ribbonwood seedlings are decimated after being sprayed by contractors.

Campbell said the area was not pristine native regeneration, but it was important the natives were allowed to grow because the area was proposed to become part of the green spine that would stretch 150 metres either side of the Avon River.

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"Can we not save what nature is giving us?"

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Greening the Red Zone founder Ashley Campbell, left, and Avon Otakaro Forest Park chairwoman Denise Ford want naturally regenerating native seedlings protected in the residential red zone.

Allowing the seedlings to grow would save money because not as many new seedlings would need to be purchased, she said.

"There's lots of kōwhai, ribbonwood and cabbage tree seedlings coming up but they aren't making it past the first few months of life because they are being sprayed."

Greening the Red Zone chairwoman Celia Hogan said the practice of spraying native seedlings had been happening for a long time, but the group had struggled to get contractors engaged by Land Information New Zealand (Linz) to stop the practice.

"They need some training in how to recognise and identify native plants."

Avon Ōtākaro Forest Park chairwoman Denise Ford echoed Hogan's calls that workers spraying the area needed training.

"People need to have the right skills and they need to be trained."

The group was looking after eight fenced off areas in the red zone where native seedlings were flourishing, but Ford believed this should be allowed to happen in other areas as well.

Linz was responsible for keeping the red zone in a park-like status until final decisions on the area's future were made.

​Linz Crown property deputy chief executive Jerome Sheppard said staff working in the native regeneration areas within the red zone were qualified experts who were able to recognise native species.

Vegetation across the red zone was independently assessed and plants of significant ecological value had been identified and retained, he said. Native regeneration was actively encouraged where plants had been identified for their significant ecological value.

Sheppard said Linz was not able to review its policy until a regeneration plan for the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor was approved.