Ferrymead has the 'Qualmark' tourism endorsement. The number of volunteer groups involved in the Park has also increased. Maintenance of the grounds and buildings is predominantly carried out by paid staff, enthusiastically assisted by the efforts of a small team of staff and service users of IDEA Services Ltd, a division of IHC, the largest national organisation providing support and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. Member societies The following societies are currently active: Canterbury Centre for Historic Photography & Film Inc. Canterbury Railway Society Inc. (operators of the narrow gauge Ferrymead Railway) Diesel Traction Group Inc. Ferrymead Aeronautical Society Inc. Ferrymead Clydesdales Society Inc. Ferrymead Museum of Road Transport Inc. Ferrymead Post and Telegraph Historical Society Inc. (with display of early Rotary system automatic telephone exchange) Ferrymead Printing Society Inc. Ferrymead Two Foot Railway Society Inc. (operators of the narrow gauge Ferrymead Two Foot Railway) Fire Services Historical Society Inc. Friends of Ferrymead Fraternity Inc. Garden City Model Railroad Club Inc. Heathcote Studios Theatrical Society Inc. Heritage Youth Inc. Lions Club of Ferrymead Inc. Radio Preservation Society of New Zealand (Ferrymead) Inc. (Radio Ferrymead) Society of Rural History Inc. Tramway Historical Society Inc. (operators of the standard gauge Ferrymead Tramway Other societies have come and gone, notably the Ferrymead Military Museum Society. Heathcote Studios Theatrical Society is the most recent member. Geography The park is in the Heathcote Valley. Being close to the sea and low-lying, it was historically subjected to frequent flooding. A major event was the "Wahine Storm" of 1968, in which a large part of the site, then in embryonic development, was under water. This is no longer a major issue due to the filling of large parts of the site. Since the active involvement of the CCC began in the mid-1990s, flood and stormwater management have been implemented in the park and surrounding lands. The major project of the Heathcote Valley Park aims to integrate these along with the development of wildlife habitat areas and native plantings. In the days of being managed by the Heathcote County Council, prior to local government amalgamation of 1989, part of the site was used as a rubbish dump. The raised location known as "Woods Hill" was formed artificially by the large-scale compacting of refuse dumped there over a number of years. This area is rather unstable land and buildings constructed there without appropriate foundations have been damaged by