We meet at the entrance on Hackthorne Road near the toilets about once a month. The reserve has a large area of well-established native trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, it also has some areas of invasive weeds and low-value plants that are the initial focus of the group. There may be opportunities for further planting in the future.  Anyone is most welcome to join us!

We are a small group of local residents who come together to care for and restore the reserve. Cracroft Reserve is a 3.2ha public reserve on the Cashmere Hills situated below the Sign of the Takahe. Cracroft Reserve is a popular stop for tourists, and residents, with its viewing platform at 200 metres (660 ft) elevation providing panoramic views of Christchurch City, the Canterbury Plains, and the Southern Alps. There is a scout den in the reserve and the reserve is regularly visited by the local school and kindergarten. A community effort to trap mammalian predators has been operating since 2019.

Cracroft Reserve is named after John Cracroft Wilson. Cracroft Wilson sold the property, once part of the larger Cashmere farm, to the city in about 1925, as part of prominent local politician Harry Ell’s initiative to establish a network of reserves, rest houses, and tracks through the Christchurch Port Hills.