The Southland Open Orchard project is now available in the West Otago/Otago region. The great work done by the Guytons in Riverton to preserve and resurrect the heritage apple trees of Southland has been taken on by Paul Nicol from Edievale, near Raes Junction. We would like to see heritage apples planted by councils, hospitals, schools or anyone wanting to grow heritage trees. Initially we will be doing a grafting workshop in the next few weeks with 50 rootstocks available and a variety of scions from the Southland Region. Another 50 rootstocks will be grafted and planted at Edievale, with excess stocks being for sale in 2010. Edievale will become an orchard of heritage trees and a genetic base for these.
Toward Autumn of 2009 we will be looking to find old heritage apples from the Otago region. As we are establishing a heritage orchard, it will be important to source scion wood from within our own region. No doubt there are some wonderful specimens out there. We have already identified an old orchard that at this stage is being conservatively dated at around 120 years old.
As the West Otago area has a very good climate, we will be looking at other species as well. We already have currants and berries and some soft fruits growing. I would like to see nuts included in this as well. All heritage stock of course!!!
If anyone wants to contact us we are available via email: pmgnicol@xtra.co.nz or ph 03-2048618. Check out www.sces.org.nz for web based information.
SUSTAINABLE LIVING PROGRAMME: Enrol now for COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE LIVING CLASSES in St Clair, NEV and Seacliff: This interactive eight-week course will assist you to learn and share practical tips that make a difference and can save you money, meet others in your community who are interested in living more sustainably, gain support for introducing lifestyle changes you want to make. Facilitated by Dr Maureen Howard, c/o Water and Waste Services, Dunedin City Council.
COURSE CONTENT: Introduction - Sustainability in the home. Making changes; Energy - Efficiency and conservation, Renewables; Waste - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; Composting Shopping - Making better choices. Making your own cleaners; Gardening - Attracting wildlife. Growing your own veggies; Water - Conservation, collection, reuse and keeping waterways clean; Transport - Travelling more sustainably; Final - Community Focus
UPCOMING COURSES:
ST CLAIR, daytime. Start Date: Thursday 16 October, each Thursday, 9.30 -11.30am.
DUNEDIN NORTH, evening. Start Date, Tuesday 14 October, each Tuesday, 7- 9pm.
NEV, daytime. Start Date, Wed 15 October, each Wednesday, 10am-noon.
SEACLIFF, evening. Start Date, Wed 15 October, each Wednesday, 7- 9pm.
All courses are free with a Koha/Donation requested ($25-35 recommended). Courses are restricted to a maximum of 14 people. Registration is essential: Phone Maureen 4739967 or email mhoward@slingshot.co.nz
The Sustainable Living Programme is brought to you locally by the Dunedin City Council.
David Holmgren's global scenario planning has been turned into a website called Future Scenarios: www.FutureScenarios.org
Future Scenarios: Mapping the Cultural Implications of Peak Oil & Climate Change
The Australian co-founder of the permaculture concept David Holmgren has today launched a new global scenario planning website, Future Scenarios: www.FutureScenarios.org.
peak oil and climate change logoHolmgren says his future scenarios will help both policy makers and activists come to terms with the end of the era of growth.
While the end of growth is so unthinkable to many policy makers and economists that they use the term ‘negative-growth’, Holmgren says we are already entering a generations-long era of ‘energy descent.’ We now face less and less available energy each year, coupled with a destabilised climate.
“The simultaneous onset of climate change and the peaking of global oil supply represent unprecedented challenges for human civilisation. Each limits the effective options for responses to the other,” writes Holmgren on www.futurescenarios.org.
Holmgren uses a scenario planning framework to bring to life the likely cultural, political, agricultural and economic implications of peak oil and climate change.
“Scenario planning allows us to use stories about the future as a reference point for imagining how particular strategies and structures might thrive, fail or be transformed,” says Holmgren
Future Scenarios depicts four very different futures. Each is a permutation of mild or destructive climate change, combined with either slow or severe energy declines. Scenarios range from the relatively benign Green Tech to the near catastrophic Lifeboats scenario.
Brown Tech
“Many futurists are looking at Facebook, robot pets and other i-fads, whereas David has been studying a much bigger picture. He works from the fundamental resource and environmental constraints, and I’m convinced that he’s got his assumptions right where others have them very wrong. He has followed through with unusual insight, drawing on 30 years of permaculture thinking, which I would say makes him the most important futurist in the world right now,” said Adam Grubb founder of Energy Bulletin (www.energybulletin.net with over 400,000 visitors a month.)
Green Tech
“These aren’t two dimensional nightmarish scenarios designed simply to scare people into environmental action. They are compellingly fleshed out visions of quite plausible alternative futures which delve into energy, politics, agriculture, cultural and even spiritual trends. They help us reconcile our own competing fears and hopes for the future, and to consider the best strategies for adapting to a changing world,” says Grubb.
Earth Stewardship
Holmgren says “we will need resilience and adaptability in the face of radical change.”
‘Energy Descent’
Holmgren coined the term ‘energy descent’ in 2005 as a less negatively loaded way than ‘decline’ or ‘collapse’ for describing a future defined by constantly diminishing energy production.
“I chose the word ‘descent’ because it implies a long and sustained process through which it is possible to survive and even thrive. While energy descent does suggest the demise of globalised industrial civilisation, that process will play out over many decades, if not centuries. For individuals, households, organisations and communities focused on socially and ecologically adaptive design, energy descent is as much an opportunity as an obstacle. Realistic assessment of the larger forces at work in the world helps empower us to better refine our strategies.”
About Permaculture
Permaculture is an environmental design framework modelled on the patterns and relationships found in nature, yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.
About David Holmgren
david02.jpg Holmgren co-wrote the first permaculture text Permaculture One in 1976 with Bill Mollison (published in 1978). With his 2002 book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability David re-emerged from the relative shadows as the leading intellectual force of the permaculture movement. Rob Hopkins, founder of the popular Transition Towns initiatives in the UK, described Principles and Pathways as “the most important book of the last 15 years.”
David, his partner Su Dennett, and their son Oliver live at ‘Melliodora’ a small permaculture demonstration property in central Victoria, Australia where they are self sufficient in fruit, vegetables and animal products and provide most of their own energy needs.
Futher info:
David Holmgren
+61 3 5348 3636
info@holmgren.com.au
www.futurescenarios.org
www.holmgren.com.au
Hope it's of use, and any publicity or feedback would be appreciated.
cheers, Maureen
Blueprints & footprints: change consumption to benefit the planet: Next term the University of Otago Design Dept is running this national competition for secondary schools. The idea is for students to present creative solutions to reducing their ecological footprints at home.Registrations close 1 Aug, deadline 8 Aug. Last year's winner took home a Macbook, so the incentives are good!
What do we want?
Energy is what feeds us, keeps us warm and lets us build things. To produce energy requires massive investment into materials and waste. A better solution would be to reduce consumption - not build more power plants.
This project is based on your home, we want you to consider what you could do to heat and cool the home other than turn on a heat pump / heater or air conditioner; as these use more energy again.
The theme is sustainability, how can you imagine reducing waste, pollution or other factors that contribute to your global footprint.
To be successful in this competition, and you needn't necessarily be a student of "art" to design a good solution. Text and image-based submissions are encouraged, but the main abilities we are looking for is practical innovative thought matched to social and economic awareness. These are not skills specific to any one subject. This is a great opportunity to explore meaningful ideas in a very open brief, and win great Apple prizes great tools for ongoing learning.
At University of Otago Design Studies we look beyond design for solutions. Unlike all other NZ design courses our students can also choose to study arts, music, film, science, ecology, law, or commerce. We are used to seeing design from many different perspectives so we look forward to your ideas, however you want to communicate them to us.
For more information about Design Studies at the University of Otago please visit www.design.otago.ac.nz
A Project for World Environment Day 2008
Village Action to Combat Climate Change: Hampden
Awareness-Raising Week
The Ministry for the Environment has granted Hampden Community Energy (HCE) funding to run a climate and energy change awareness-raising week of activities first week of June. Hampden is one of only 11 such grants in NZ and one of 2 in Otago, so we are very privileged. Programme includes:-
Monday June 2: Energy Efficiency Expo
This Expo will be an “ideas fest” just as much as a “things fest”. So while there will be lots of exciting new commercial energy-saving devices we want you to show or demonstrate any idea that you have found saves time or energy and might help others and the environment generally. We want it to be a living, working event with plenty of hands on to make it fun for all. We also want to have home tours to see larger systems in place, with owners explaining how they work.
Tuesday June 3: Cloth Shopping Bag Project
For Schoolchildren to design artwork with environmental theme for application by fabric dye to locally-made cloth shopping bags for distribution to the community and as gifts.
Wednesday 4 June: Tree/Garden Awareness Day
Includes setting up fencing and planting fruit and shelter trees at a joint school/ community garden and making an inventory and map of local heritage fruit trees for expert identification an seine would cutting for future grafting buy the children.
Friday June 6: Local Low-Carbon Community Dinner
A menu of novelty wild food, such as pork, duck and wallaby, and locally-grown produce. This will be followed by local entertainment including school play, a band and premiere showing of “Lessons from an Ice Cap” on climate Change in the artic. The evening encourages the use of low-carbon transport to attend!
Saturday June 7: Erection of a large public road sign
To show we are a carbon-aware community but which will include space for notifying any local community events
HCE would like to hear from you with ideas of offers to help. In particular, if you know of someone who has a great energy efficiency gadget or idea and who would be too modest to tell us, then dob them in! We want to talk to them. Most of all, please throw yourself at this weeks events and help make it the success it should be.
