Welcome

Hi & welcome to the webpage version of ecoNet Newsletter.

Final issue for 2008: We're taking a break after this the 12 December issue - until the end of January 2009. We think there won't be so much to promote in the diary of events through this period. (You'll still be able to browse our archived issues - catch up on all you've missed through being so busy the last 6 months).

We look forward to helping advertise your environmental interests, causes and events again next year. Feel free to pass on news of ecoNet Newsletter and our subscription address: eventdiary@environment.org.nz to others you think may find it interesting/useful.

Season's greetings, best wishes and thanks for your interest and support these last few months.

Here's another selection of news and articles and bits and pieces of interest from around and about, and here and there, eg:

from here

Canterbury & South Island:

The long wait: No CPW decision before May. (10 December, The Press/Stuff).

Akaroa: Building developments cause upset. (10 December, The Press/Stuff).

Canterbury tops water pollution rankings. (9 December, The Press/Stuff).

The Port Hills' Summit Road: 100 years since commencement. (8 December, The Press/Stuff).

New Botanic gardens permanent display: Gardening with indigenous plants: formal and informal gardens showing how native plants can be used in a sustainable way in an urban context. (10 December, CCC).

North Canterbury: Chilean needlegrass eradication underway. (12 December, ECan).

Ashburton: Approval for Canterbury Plains hydro scheme. (9 December, The Press/Stuff).

Contact Energy ready to start talks: about hydro-electric developments on the Clutha River. (10 December, Otago Daily Times).

Car pooling scheme starts in Wanaka. (10 December, Southland Times/Stuff).

Belt tightening for tourism but camping grounds see boom time. (8 December, Southland Times/Stuff).

West Coast: Timberlands wind up to continue. (8 December, The Press/Stuff).

Tragedy: Didymo found in Karamea River, Kahurangi National Park. (10 December, DOC).

Tasman: Mapua report exposes emerging eco crisis - Green Party. (11 December, Infonews).

The search for the South Island kokako. Last confirmed sighting was in 1967. (8 December, NZ Herald).

New book from Canterbury University Press: Chatham Islands: heritage and conservation. (2 December, DOC).

DOC: Check backcountry track conditions before setting out. Some tracks still affected by fallen trees and debris which make tramping more difficult and trips longer than usual. (10 December, DOC).

Green your summer: Forest & Bird's top 14 ideas/suggestions.

North Island & national:

Groser under no illusions: global climate negotiations - as currently structured - heading towards gigantic failure. (10 December, Fran O'Sullivan, NZ Herald).

UN Climate change conference: Barry Coates from Poznan. (11 December, NZ Herald).

DOC may become country's largest carbon trader. (10 December, Otago Daily Times).

Dunne to chair special select committee to re-consider climate change. (9 December, NZ Herald).

Auckland: world experts gather to ponder the future of loos and carbon footprints. (8 December, NZ Herald).

Environment agencies back RMA reform. (9 December, NBR).

Maori Party under pressure over RMA reform. (10 December, Otago Daily Times).

New changes fairer for most Kiwisavers. (10 December, NZ Herald).

Housing crisis in south Auckland deepening. (8 December, TVNZ).

NZ workers back in chains? Matt McCarten. (7 December, NZ Herald).

NZ sperm: nowhere near as good as it used to be. (12 December, Otago Daily Times).

Survey: Nearly a third of 500 popular NZ swimming spots unsafe - due to high bacteria counts.

Abel Tasman National Park: popularity leads to commercial restrictions. (8 December, The Press/Stuff).

Takaka River: seven ducklings - the first whio (blue duck) hatching for many years - after more than 100 stoats caught. (6 December, The Nelson Mail).

Taiaroa Head: 7000 bottles of wine for endangered northern royal albaltross. (6 December, Otago Daily Times).

Silverstream: morepork chicks' unlikely survival on the ground (forest) floor. (6 December, The Dominion Post).

School teachers: LEARNZ trips for the first term 2009. (LEARNZ Virtual field trips are FREE for all NZ registered teachers and their classes).
Marine Reserves: Take your class to Cape Rodney - Okakari Point Marine Reserve to kick off your Sea Week studies. (Feb 25 - 27 2009).
Renewable Energy: Take your class to a biodiesel factory and wood pellet fuel making plant. (4 - 6 March).
The Main Divide: Take your class to climb the Franz Josef Glacier and learn about the temperate rainforest on the West Coast. (25 - 27 March).
Wind Farming: Take your class to a wind farm. Climb up a turbine and learn about using wind for electricity generation. (1 - 3 April).

Re-linked awards, submissions, consultations etc:

• Comment sought: Estuary shoreline walkway proposal. Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust. Comments by 31 March, 2009.
  Contact: www.estuary.org.nz or info@estuary.org.nz or c/- Mt Pleasant Community Centre, 3 McCormacks Bay Road, Mt Pleasant, Christchurch 8081. (see also: Archive Issue 27).
  
  
• ECan's summertime warning: watch out for Phormidium - black matted, toxic algal growths - in rivers and ponds due to prolonged dry weather. Can make you sick, kill your dog, stock etc. (4 December, ECan).
  
  
• Interested in alternative energy generation or other energy issues? Lincoln Envirotown Trust (LET) wants to set up an energy sub group. Contact Sue 329 5898.
  
  
• February 2009 is Bike Wise Month. More info: here. (www.bikewise.co.nz).
  
  
• Raising the profile of cycling and walking: a guide for decision makers (PDF: 1.87 MB). (Ministry of Transport).
  
  
• Wanted: for Bayer eco-minds youth forum 2009: three NZ students between the ages of 18 & 24, studying natural sciences, engineering & technology, social sciences or commerce/management to represent New Zealand at this international forum. Entries close 24 December 2008.
  
  
• Primary school teachers: a suggestion for next year's Seaweek (1 - 8 March, 2009): How To: Teach the Sea from the Land. Lessons that mix science, writing, and art to bring the ocean to the classroom. (www.edutopia.org).

• Wanted: submissions on the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. Until 23 January 2009. More info here.
  

• Now open: 2009-10 Sustainable Management Fund. (Ministry for the Environment). Till 22 January 2009.
  
  

& from there

• Financial crash: as historic as the end of communism. (9 December, Times Online).
  
  
• US: Economists without a clue. Sadly, this time the tracks have been moved, maybe dismantled altogether. Richard Heinberg. (4 December, Energy Bulletin).
  
  
• Bolivia: Save the planet from capitalism. Evo Morales. (11 December, Zcommunications.org).
  
  
• US: Obama pledges public works on a vast scale. (6 December, New York Times).
  
  
• Chinese tour groups go house-hunting in US. (7 December, Los Angeles Times).
  
  
• UK: Climate: Press the panic button. Jonathon Porritt. (10 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• Climate: Bad tidings: the country most at risk from rising sea levels? Vietnam. Rich nations called on to bail out the vulnerable. (10 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• UK: Too late? Why scientists say we should expect the worst. (9 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• UK: Climate change experts lose faith in renewable technology. (9 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• UK: Grand plans for global green energy under threat - but from unexpected sources. (29 November, Times Online).
  
  
• Why are gasoline (and oil) prices so low - and where are they headed? (8 December, The Oil Drum).
  
  
• Canadian tar sands project will have increasingly devastating impacts on migratory birds. (6 December, Red Green & Blue).
  
  
• US: Diesel from coffee grounds. (9 December, Environmental News Network).
  
  
• Climate change: the carbon atlas. (Interactive map). (9 December, The Guatdian).
  
  
• UK: Seawater holds key to future food. (4 December, BBC News).
  
  
• UK: Amazonian Indians' ancient skills 'could reverse global warming'. (7 December, The Independent).
  
  
• Brazilian eco-farmers thrive - even as climate change bites. The contrasting fate of two families in the arid north-east. (10 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• UK: Supermarkets? - No thanks. Local food co-ops are taking the country by storm. (10 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• New York: commuters take to bikes - but can't find a spot to park them. (5 December, Bloomberg).
  
  
• US: One of the world's first: Electric aeroplane costs $0.70 to charge, does 70 mph. (4 December, ecogeek).
  
  
• China: peasant revolt in China: farmers fight for their land. (3.27 video). (11 December, Financial Times).
  
  
• UK: It's official: Men really are the weaker sex. Evolution is being distorted by pollution. (7 December, The Guardian).
  
  
• Ten mistakes to avoid and needs to meet when seeking to create a better world. (9 December, Celsias).
  
  
• Elephants live much longer in the wild than in zoos. (11 December, International Herald Tribune.
  
  
• Snowflakes: as you've not seen them before. (photographs). (New Scientist).
  

Using ecoNet

Is easy. Just send in to the editor information about an event, activity or submission you want to share and it will go in ecoNet....as long as it's appropriate of course.

ecoNet is put out (Fridays) by Christchurch Branch of NZAEE (NZ Association for Environmental Education), a non-profit, national organisation of people working to promote and support environmental education, lifelong learning and sustainable behaviour throughout New Zealand/Aotearoa.

How do I contribute?

Use the links below to:

• forward ecoNet address to others you think may like to receive it - it's free
  
• become a subscriber
  
• send us information for the weekly diary.
• contact us

 

 

• Free, research-based advice on sustainably renovating your home.

  HomeSmart delivers warmer, healthier homes that are more affordable to run and kinder to the environment. Further details: www.beaconpathway.co.nz. (Homesmart Renovations).
  
  

• Event: Christchurch Vegetarian Centre's Xmas/Solstice Party.

  When:  Saturday, December 13th: 4.00 pm for Santa (bring a named wrapped present for your child for Santa's sack); 4.30 pm for everyone else.
  Where: Wyenova, Broadfields. ( Main South Rd, past Templeton, first turn L onto Waterholes Rd. Wyenova is 2.5km on the left. Look for balloons on the letter box).
  Bring: a vegan dish to share, plate, cutlery and own drinks
  All welcome.
  Need a ride/Can offer a lift?/info: www.vegetarianchristchurch.org.nz or Monica  355 7776.
  
  

• Film Screening: Zeitgeist: Addendum.

  When: 4.00 pm Sunday, 14 December.
  Where: Knox Centre, Knox Church, corner Bealey Ave & Victoria St.
  Info: Zeitgeist addendum. (wikipedia).
  

• Inaugural annual Fonds Pacifique lecture: France in the Pacific:

  the JM Tjibaou Cultural Centre in a Pacific perspective.
  Speaker: Emmanuel Kasarherou, Director, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea.
  When: 6.30 - 8.00 pm Monday, 15 December.
  Where: Our City Otautahi, Worcester Boulevard, Oxford Tce corner.
  (Sponsored by French Embassy & Macmillan Brown centre for Pacific studies, University of Canterbury).
  
  

• Talk: Alexandra Shackleton talks about her grandfather, Ernest.

  When: 6.00 - 7.00 pm Wednesday, 17 Dec.
  Where: Bird Hall, Canterbury Museum.
  
  

• Volunteers wanted: to collect for SAFE:

  (save animals from euthanasia).
  When: 19, 20 December.
  To register: click here. (safe.org.nz).

• EARTHWISE, Plains FM 96.9

  Each Monday & Wednesday at 10 pm.
  Conservation, environment and peace with justice.
  This week's interview: The Marshall Islands, a small island nation with big problems.
  Holly M. Barker, advisor to the Marshall Islands Embassy for 18 years and now lecturer in anthropology at the University of Washington. Her latest book, written with Barbara Rose Johnston, is "Consequential Damages of Nuclear War - The Rongelap Report" and Mark Stege, Marshallese MBA graduate focusing on climate change policy and energy.
  Presenters: Martin and Lois Griffiths.
  NB: Listen again to Earthwise programmes on archive: (http://plainsfm.org.nz/programme/ earthwise).
  
  

• Radio NZ: Our changing world.

  National Radio, 9.00 pm Thursdays.
  Recent archived editions here.
  

Coming up:

• DOC Canterbury summer programme:

  Take up the challenge - come and experience our great outdoors with the DOC Twizel and DOC Aoraki areas’ programme. (Sponsored by Meridian Energy).
  
  

• Celebration: Save Happy Valley Coalition’s 3rd year of occupation.

  Where: Happy Valley, Buller, West Coast.
  When: Sat, Sun 24-25 January.
  To register interest/for more information: Occupation@Savehappyvalley.co.nz or 021 032 3335.

• Community education courses 2009.

  Here's a list of 60 odd courses to consider for next year: www.xtend.co.nz.
  
  

• CWEA short courses for early 2009.

  
  

• University of Canterbury summer break courses:

  e.g.: At the marae, 3 daytime sessions.
  e.g.: Further nooks and crannies of North Canterbury, 1 day field trip looking at aspects of Nth Canterbury history.
  (University of Canterbury community education).
  
  

• CPIT 08 - 09 Summer School courses: online brochure.

  (Nothing on environmental subjects however).
  (Christchurch Polytecnic).
  
  

• Visit: Windflow's Gebbies Pass wind turbine.

  When: 3.00, 3.30, 4.00, 4.30 pm Sunday, 1 February.
  Where: Meet at Wheatsheaf Tavern, Teddington, for short video & transportation to the site.
  Bring: Windproof gear, good shoes.
  More info & map: www.windflow.org.nz
  
  

• Sustainable Living: Christchurch evening courses, 2009.

  When: 7.00 pm  Mondays from 16 Feb. (8 sessions).
  Where: Cashmere High School.
  Also:
  7.00 pm Tuesdays from 10 February.
  Where: Papanui High School.
  Also:
  a series at Woolston; and daytime sessions in Darfield & Ashburton during Term One, 2009. 
  More info: Rhys 03 960 2656 or (from January): www.sustainableliving.org.nz
  
  

• 2009 Dune Restoration Trust conference.

  When: 18 - 20 March.
  Where: Piha Beach, Auckland.
  More info here.
  
  

• 2009 Auckland conference: Property Rights and Sustainability.
  

  The evolution of property rights to meet ecological challenges.
  When: 16-18 April 2009.
  NZ Centre for Environmental Law (NZCEL).
  More info: see under News and Links: from here, Issue no 23: here (archive)
  or here: www.nzcel-conf.auckland.ac.nz

Reminders:

• Exhibition: Tchakat Moriori - heritage of the peaceful people of the Chatham Islands.

  Their distinctive artefacts, landscapes & homeland culture.
  Where: Canterbury Museum.
  Other museum exhibitions: here.
  
  

• History on a plate: five plant foods that have changed the world

  an exhibition at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens Information Centre.
  More info: here. (CCC).
  
  

• Advertisement: Support Lincoln Envirotown Trust (LET):

  Buy:
  - the Lincoln native planting guide. (from Lincoln library).
  - mail box stickers: “No Junk Mail but Local Newspapers Please”. (from Lincoln Library).
  - the Lincoln calendar:  at outlets around Lincoln or from Sue: 329 5858.
  LET website: here
  
  

• Free trial: Bike trailer for a month.

  See how easy it is to carry loads without a car.
  Contact: Steven Muir 03 365 8238 or:
  thepope@cyclingchurch.org.nz.
  
  

• Opawa car sharing group:

  Interested in cutting the costs of personal transport?
  Contact: Caroline 980 9113 or Dave 366 0628 or tranportmatters@paradise.net.nz
  
  

• Oxfam Trailwalker 2009: Lake Taupo.

  Walk 100 km in under 36 hours to help overcome poverty and injustice.
  A team challenge: do something extraordinary for yourself and good for others. Funds raised bring real change to real people.
  When: 4 & 5 April, 2009.
  Contact: www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz
  info@oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz
  or 0800 OXFAM NZ.