It's been 200 years since the endemic boulder copper butterfly was abundant across Canterbury.
A local primary school has set out to change that, by creating a special garden to entice them back.
Little hands with big plans to restore a rich biodiversity.
"It's always nice to have fresh air in your throat and the blue sky above you," one 10-year-old Burnside Primary School student said.
Especially when there are 400 natives to plant to recreate a habitat for the endemic boulder copper butterfly.
"This butterfly wasn't found in Christchurch anymore, hadn't been here for 200 years - so our tamariki decided to do something about it," Burnside Primary School head of science Bianca Woyak said.
They're using shingle and shrubs to replicate a braided river - the habitat that the butterflies once thrived in.
"It's important for the butterflies," seven-year-old Ferris Mehijan said.
Entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste, also known as the Bug Man, joined in the planting, sharing his passion with the students.
"This particular one has got this beautiful purple reflection on the wings, it's so beautiful," Kleinpaste said as he described the butterfly.
Nine-year-old Raphael Dolan said it's pretty rare as "it's only found in Canterbury".
But right now butterfly numbers are down.
"We love our kiwi, we love our tūī, our korimako - our bellbird, but without these insects our birds won't be here," Woyak said.
"If everybody would do what these kids are doing here... we would see a real increase of all these special taonga and that is really what education is about," Kleinpaste said.
In six months' time the few butterflies that can be found will be translocated to the new garden.
Woyak said that's when they "hunker down" and settle down into the plants and reproduce. And hopefully spread across the city.
"I can go back to that and say 'I did that and I helped with that'," 10-year-old Alexander Weir said.
"This just inspires kids to be kaitiaki of their area and bring about change," Woyak said.
Change that could be seen for generations to come.
