Local school tackles climate change as part of national campaign

Dunedin, November 8 2007 – A new national campaign aimed at inspiring thousands of New Zealanders to help tackle climate change is profiling a Dunedin school as an example of how easy it is to do your bit.

“Port Chalmers School is doing some amazing things to reduce its contribution to climate change and help the environment,” says Be the Change campaigner Jo McVeagh. “It has formed 11 environmental groups, which focus on everything from waste reduction to recycling to engaging with the local community about environmental issues.

“The teachers and students have taken the initiative and come up with inventive and effective ways to reduce the school’s carbon footprint and it’s really making a difference.”

The Be the Change campaign is spearheaded by Greenpeace, Oxfam and Forest & Bird, and is joining with community groups and individuals to inspire all New Zealand into lessening their personal impact on the climate.

It was launched just over two weeks ago in Auckland by television personalities Robyn Malcolm and Francesca Price. Part of the campaign is a bio-diesel bus tour of the country, which kicked off in Bluff earlier this week and ends in Whangarei on December 12th. The bus arrives in Dunedin tomorrow.

The bus runs on biodiesal sourced from tallow (a byproduct of meat production) and everything onboard runs on solar power. It includes a mobile exhibition of impacts and causes of climate change, an opportunity to learn about everyday solutions, and a web centre where people can sign up on the spot to Be The Change.

“There are already many people around New Zealand doing great things to reduce their impact on the climate,” says Ms McVeagh. “Be The Change aims to capture and showcase these initiatives and show there's a growing movement of people who care about climate change, in order to inspire others to take action.

“The risk is people think the climate change problem is too big. It’s not. Every little bit helps and once you get a whole lot of people making small changes, it really makes a difference. This really is an all-hands-on-deck moment. We're all in this together so we all need to be involved in the solutions.”

Via its website – www.bethechange.org.nz - the campaign has already encouraged thousands of New Zealanders to make changes in their lives and share their experiences with others.

While in Dunedin, the bus and its crew will hold an open day, and pay a visit to Port Chalmers School on the Monday the 12th. Also on the Sunday the 11th of November the Be The Change climate rescue bus will pay a visit and share their ideas and solutions with the Waitati settlement. The Waitati settlement is helping to tackle climate change by promoting local food production initiatves and cutting the carbon cost of the food we buy. On the Sunday they will stage a showcase and networking event for sustainability, showcasing such things as local solar initiatives, the single turbine inventions, grey water and composting systems.
Waitati is also involved in a pilot project with Otago university energy research centre tracing the implication of energy policy into communities, aiming to reduce energy consumption by improving energy policy initiatives and promoting small scale energy production more appropriate to communities.

The school will then feature on the Be the Change website, along with a web video and images of the school’s environmental activities.

Contact: Be The Change communications officer Michelle Thomas – 021 577 556

LOCAL OPEN DAY -The Octagon: Saturday 10 November, 10am- 5pm.
PORT CHALMERS SCHOOL VISIT: Monday 12 November – 9am- 12 noon. All media welcome.
Waitati networking event Sunday 11th November..Media Welcome 2pm - 5pm

OTAGO AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

Climate change is said to be the single biggest threat the plant has ever faced. One of the reasons for this is that it affects every person and organism living in every country on every continent, Otago included!
The region will see changes in average temperature, sea level rise and rainfall patterns. Climate scientists estimate Otago's temperature could be up to 2.5°C warmer over the next 70-100 years. This compares to a temperature increase in New Zealand during last century of about 0.7°C. To put this in perspective, the 1997/98 summer, which many New Zealanders remember as particularly long, hot and dry, was only about 0.9°C above New Zealand's average for the 1990s.
Coastal North Otago could be up to 10% drier while the rest of the region could be wetter - up to 30% wetter in inland Otago. The region as a whole is likely to experience more varied rainfall patterns and flooding could become up to four times as frequent by 2070.
The effects of climate change may bring significant costs to the community. If extreme weather events become more frequent or severe, the costs and damages associated with them are also likely to increase. The cost of dealing with stock losses, replacing or repairing damaged roads, bridges, houses and stormwater drains, and dealing with increased soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients can be formidable. Recent extreme weather events such as the Marlborough and Canterbury droughts, Cyclone Bola, flooding in the Waikato/Coromandel area, and coastal flooding have shown how vulnerable our society and economy is to the weather and climate.
– sourced from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/climate/about/climate-change-affect-regions/otago.html

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