News

STOP PRESS!

Government funding cuts to EfS and EE

Additional information

The Ministry of Education website informs people which areas of education will have budget cuts or do not align with the National governments priorities and therefore will cease to exist.  For more information go to: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/Budget/Budget2009.aspx

Read the executive summary of the 2009 Budget announced on the 28th of May 2009.  http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2009/execsumm/b09-execsumm.pdf

Call for abstracts is now open

Call for Abstracts - NZAEE Conference 2010.pdf

 NZAEE biennial conference

The conference purpose is to foster effective social responses to New Zealand's pursuit of sustainability.  It is for people working in education, communities, business or governance who are interested in encouraging behaviour change that will mitigate human impact on the planet.

Conference Aims

·         To review and document NZ’s achievements in the first half of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainability 2005-2014.

·         To consider directions and goals for the next two years and the roles that sector groups and the Association can play in advancing these goals.

·         To explore and develop concrete ways to champion, promote and measure effective environmental/sustainability education.

·         To give participants the opportunity to view examples of good practice, develop new skills, network with like-minded people and to re-energise themselves.

The central feature of the conference will be coordinated sector group workshops (early childhood, primary school, secondary school, government agencies and non governmental organisations) in which we benchmark and document current practices and set challenges for improved practice over the next two years. 

Currently we are seeking funding contributions from organisations that would like to support environmental education and education for sustainability. This is a chance to demonstrate your organisations commitment to education, sustainability and moving our country forward towards a more sustainable future.  Your support will be promoted to conference delegates and the wider community before, during and after the event.  A comprehensive package outlining sponsorship options and benefits to your organisation can be downloaded on: Sponsorship Opportunities v4.pdf.

A call for papers, posters and workshops will be made in May 2009.  We welcome proposals that:

·         trial new teaching strategies,

·         explore controversial topics,

·         share curriculum development ideas,

·          integrate a diversity of cultural perspectives,

·          involve evaluation of projects,

·         explore the notion of sustainable practices or sustainable business,

·         share ideas on community involvement or projects,

·          interpret the natural environment, or

·          involve challenges (perhaps political) to constraint structures. 

Other unanticipated ideas will also be considered, like all proposals, on merit.

Criteria for presentation proposals will be detailed in the call for papers in May. We are looking for initiatives that provide insight and skills that will advance the quality of our practice.

Vacancy: Educator with responsibility for Bush Builders conservation project

Wellington Zoo is a treasure, housing significant populations of animals, plants and people who are passionate about conservation, education and recreation. 

Some 170,000 people visit the Zoo each year. The Zoo conserves precious species and raises awareness of the human contribution to both the destruction and sustainability of ecosystems.

Under the management of the Wellington Zoo Trust, the Zoo is heading in new and exciting directions. The Trust’s vision is for the Zoo to be a magical place of learning and fun, bringing animals in their environments and people who visit together.

Wellington Zoo created Wellington Bush Builders, through funding by the Nikau foundation, a school based environmental project for primary school children. The project is designed to get school children carrying out scientific research on the biodiversity of their neighbourhoods. Through discovering animals and plants that share their neighbourhood they become inspired to help protect and improve their surroundings. Over 800 children have already participated in this exciting project which won the DOC conservation award for education advocacy in 2008.

As an educator with responsibility for Bush Builders you will be managing and delivering this successful project.

You will have a proven interest in conservation and wildlife, strong inter-personal skills, relevant experience with children, be customer focused and excellent organisational skills.

Applicants are advised that this a part time position with the possibility for flexible hours.

Outdoor work is a major part of the job and a moderate level of fitness is required. First aid skills are desirable. The successful candidates must

agree to have a police background check done on them.

For a role description and application form please email

Sarah.satterthwaite@wellingtonzoo.com

Send your application to

Attention: Sarah Satterthwaite, Educator with responsibility for Bush Builders conservation project vacancy, Wellington Zoo Trust, 200 Daniell Street, Newtown, Wellington, or by email as above.

Applications close 5pm, Monday 23^rd March 2009.

Step up for active travel with Feet First

The Feet First 2009 action project is encouraging primary school students to walk to school with a caregiver, friend, or organised walking group at least once a week, every week, during term time. 

This year Feet First will also provide curriculum content for teachers to talk about walking in relation to safety, exploring, creativity, and saving the planet!  Teachers will be able to draw from a range of curriculum materials that link to the environmental, social, economic and health benefits of going on foot.

Students could look at the wider issues related to walking such as urban design, community development or the environment. They could study family history looking at ‘how we used to walk to school’ or look at the health benefits of active travel.

There are a range of prizes available for schools that participate, some of which are linked to collecting walking numbers, but others are judged on creative input.  In the first term there will be an optional website participation project for each school to submit one illustrated story about ‘How we used to walk to school ‘.  Each participating school will be given a book voucher to present to their winning student. 

Every culture has used stories and storytelling not only as a means of entertainment, but also for educational purposes. With this in mind, one school in Term Four will get the chance to publish their own picture book on active travel working alongside a professional author, illustrator and editor. The book will also have a professional launch and be distributed to every school library in New Zealand.

For further information on Feet First Walk to School Every Week or to register there is an interim website www.feetfirst.govt.nz or you can email feetfirst@nzta.govt.nz.

A new interactive schools website (same web address) featuring the curriculum resources will be launched in late January 2009. The site will showcase articles, case studies and links to class blog sites so participating schools can compare and share information.

What is NZAEE Foundation Member Pam Williams PhD Research all about?

NZAEE invites Pam to share her research with us.

University Leadership for Sustainability:

UNESCO (1997) notes that “Education, in short, is humanity’s best hope and most effective means to the quest to achieve sustainable development” and there are increasing calls for both formal and informal education sectors to take a leading role in education for sustainability - to help citizens learn how to manage change and make transitions in practice away from unsustainable practices. Yet, as a part-time member of the national team of Education for Sustainability Facilitators, regionally based within Aotearoa New Zealand universities, I was astonished to find (in 2002) very  little learning for and action for sustainability among tertiary students in our universities.

I wondered why this was so, and when I realised how complex the reasons may be, decided to enrol part-time for a PhD, knowing that a research enquiry would provide easier access to a range of academics and policy makers involved in sustainability initiatives. At that time I knew of several international universities that were involved in learning programmes for a sustainable future, many linked to the operational sustainable management practices of their institution and I wondered how they had managed to establish their courses and whether our national universities could be encouraged to follow suit. In addition there are growing societal expectations that universities will undertake a leadership role in facilitating learning that enables current and future generations to re-design their personal and professional activities, for creating a more sustainable future.

Twenty lecturers teaching in integrated sustainability learning programmes, including eight in Australia, six in Canada and two each in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom were interviewed. The interviewees had experience in developing sustainability learning programmes and represented a range of different schools within university faculties. Initially I hoped that finding out what sustainability learning initiatives were being developed and implemented in universities and then seeking how they were developed would provide a platform for Aotearoa New Zealand universities from which to adapt or create successful sustainable learning initiatives for their students.

Interviews were also conducted with ten lecturers involved in the development and teaching of courses or papers with a sustainability focus, in four of the eight universities in Aotearoa New Zealand. I planned to compare their experiences with those of the international interviewees and decided, when faced with an extensive range and overwhelming quantity of interview data, to use grounded theory methodology to analyse the results. As often happens with research, I ended up in a slightly different ‘space’ than I had anticipated.

Extensive analysis of my research findings revealed that much more than ‘process’ was involved in developing tertiary learning for sustainability initiatives. There were key themes underlying the differences in sustainability learning programmes between international universities and those in Aotearoa New Zealand and the role of university leadership for sustainability emerged as an important factor that helps explain these differences.

In my thesis I discuss these leadership themes, relate them to academic leadership theory (an interesting new academic learning area for me!) and describe how this led to gaining fresh insights into the importance of effective ‘positional’ university leadership supporting cross-university ‘distributed’ leadership, for enabling the implementation of sustainability initiatives. Eventually this led to generating a theoretical model: an active dendritic framework for university leadership for sustainability, that may be useful for connecting and enabling collaboration between university leaders for sustainability.

I can hear those who never took human biology asking the question … “what is dendritic”? Well, dendrites are those microscopic filaments (for want of a better word) that send chemically activated messsages back and forth from one nerve cell to the other. There is constant active feed-back and feed-forward to keep the body working normally and lots of rapid response when circumstances change. You will get the picture.

There are many challenges facing university teachers who wish to include authentic learning for sustainability in their programmes, some are similar to those challenges facing teachers in primary and secondary teaching. However, when I used the theoretical model and evaluated reasons for the relative lack of comprehensive education for sustainability in our universities ……… the key theme remained ‘leadership’. This led to examining the roles of government, the Tertiary Education Commission and university policies for teaching and learning for sustainability/sustainable development and finding them inadequate, or largely rhetoric. While the research findings and the theoretical framework may apply to many other institutions, because I was limited by the requirements of a PhD thesis, I remained focused on universities, leading to recommendations for;  

To paraphrase Martin Luther King’s words, we face the fact that ‘tomorrow is today’ and we face the ‘fierce urgency of now’ and consequently, in the concluding thoughts of my thesis, I suggested that for universities to further delay embarking on learning and teaching for sustainability is to shirk their professional and personal adult responsibilities for current and future generations of students. Additionally, if universities fail to engage in education for sustainability, then they may encounter genuine antipathy from a society wishing to move beyond rhetoric and academic debate, to learning how to manage current and predicted challenges to a sustainable future.

I argue that if universities fail to engage in learning for sustainability, society may look to leadership from government and support government intervention in education to achieve national goals of sustainable development. One possibility is to make it a legal requirement to include education-for-sustainability (as in Sweden) in all sectors of education, particularly the tertiary sector, and develop a new Tertiary Education Strategy to better reflect the sustainability context. Another intervention is to strategically re-orient funding for university teaching and research to encourage changes to learning for sustainability, as occurred in Taiwan (J. Su, personal communication, January 25, 2006).

I suggest that maintaining a ‘business as usual’ approach is the metaphorical equivalent of the behavioural challenge that humans face when attempting to alter entrenched habits, particularly addictions, to make changes that lead to a preferred, healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, to date there is little evidence that New Zealand universities have adequately engaged with the international agenda of education for sustainable development, nor considered how best to meet the many challenges that face them when re-orienting their research, teaching and learning to address future sustainability issues. Stone and Baldoni (2006) suggest that although aspects of bio-physical resource sustainability issues are explored in some university programmes, the human factors, including values and aspirations appear to have little coverage.

Hopefully, the findings, interpretations and recommendations made in “University Leadership for Sustainability – an active dendritic framework for enabling connection and collaboration” will stimulate conversation and debate and support those in universities (and other tertiary institutions) who have begun their journey to establish comprehensive university-wide initiatives for learning for sustainability.  

The thesis will be on the website: www.futuresteps.co.nz from early November. Meanwhile, if you really ’need to read’ and can’t access the website, email Pam on pam.williams@vuw.ac.nz and she will forward you a pdf. copy (4.5 MB). Or you can read a hard copy in the VUW library.

             Be a Good Ancestor, Today

Find out which political parties support EFS.

Listen to the podcast of WWF's forum on education for sustainability - Be a Good Ancestor, Today.

Be a Good Ancestor, Today: WWF Forum on Education

What do politicians have in mind for our children’s education? And how does a sustainable future fit in with that vision? WWF-New Zealand presents you with an opportunity to find out at our pre-election forum on education.

Our duty to the children of today is to provide them with the education they need to face the challenges of tomorrow. Without a doubt these challenges will be linked to the way we relate to each other, and the natural world. We all want to see a future where we have a flourishing environment, happy and healthy communities, and a vibrant economy. What and how we teach our children in schools is pivotal to seeing this vision become reality, and education policy is the means we use to get there. This forum is an opportunity to hear what political parties have in mind for education in New Zealand, and the role they see it plays in securing a sustainable future.

WHAT:  An invitation for you to come and listen to a pre-election Q & A forum on education hosted by WWF-New Zealand.

WHO:  All political party spokespeople for Education have been invited to respond in person to pre-prepared questions from an audience of NGOs, schools, businesses and Universities all involved in Education for Sustainability.

WHY:  To provide you, the voter with the information you need to determine which party best reflects your vision for quality education.

WHEN:  6pm – 8pm, Thursday 25 September 2008

WHERE: Turnbull House, 11 Bowen Street, Wellington

RSVP: By Tuesday 23 September 2008 to Wendy Barry at WWF
Email: wbarry@wwf.org.nz
Phone: 04 499 2930
WWF– World Wide Fund For Nature
(also known as World Wildlife Fund)

NZAEE Letter to Political Parties 2008

NZAEE continues to advocate environmental education and education for sustainability.  With the 2008 election drawing closer the national executive decided to write to all political party presidents for 2008, offering independent advice on environmental and sustainable education and push for further improvements in the New Zealand environmental education system.

Friday 01 August 2008

Dear Madam/Sir Party President

Offer of independent advice on Education for Sustainability and Environmental Education.

The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) is the country’s only independent organisation for promoting environmental education and education for sustainability at both a national and regional level.

As part of that role, in the lead up to the 2008 election we’re writing to you to offer independent and expert advice on environmental and sustainability education issues. 

With a huge shift in the level of public and media interest in climate change recently, sustainability issues will be a hot topic for voters this year.  Our organisation is offering to provide a key advisory role on education in relation to current environmental issues and up-to-date information on local initiatives.   We have been serving teachers, community groups, businesses and environmental educators in this advisory capacity for 24 years.

Who is NZAEE?

Established in 1984, NZAEE's mission is:

Promoting and supporting life-long learning and encouraging behaviours that lead to sustainability for Aotearoa New Zealand. 

We are an independent voice for environmental education, empowering people to respect and nurture the environment, recognising its link with the social, cultural and economic aspects of sustainability.  Our primary objective is to foster the development of environmental education and education for sustainability in New Zealand.

Our national executive committee is a dedicated group with representatives from a variety of backgrounds and high level roles within the field of environmental and sustainability education.  We also have eight regional branches in Northland, Auckland, Manawatu, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch and Southern.  Our branch memberships have firm roots within community group networks, local government, businesses, universities, polytechnics, schools and kindergartens.

What do we do? 

NZAEE offers a national environmental education conference every two years, coordinates Seaweek at the national level, frequently hosts workshops and forums, and is an active participant in a number of initiatives including the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.  At the regional level, our branch activities are designed to inspire and strengthen the work of our members.  They cover the whole spectrum from: resource-sharing meetings to field trips, movie nights and “Green Drinks” events.  As an example; 300 people regularly attend NZAEE Green Drinks networking events in Auckland, proving that people really value these opportunities to connect and gain momentum from each other.

What do we promote?

In accordance with our statement on the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, NZAEE advocates for the following actions in the areas of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainability (EfS):

Ø       establish an inter-ministerial coordinating body on EE/EfS to oversee the implementation of EE/EfS in government policies and planning

Ø       promote and support EE/EfS initiatives by financially supporting NZAEE

Ø       establish networks which promote and implement EE/EfS practices in their districts, cities and regions

Ø       include EE/EfS policies and outcomes in their planning; and

Ø       support EE/EfS actions within communities.

Ø       reorient the emphasis of present environmental education programmes towards the broader concept and practices of sustainability;

Ø       reorient the curriculum to include mandatory EE/EfS and to provide subsequent advisory support and review procedure; and

Ø       model sustainable practices in the operation and management of teacher training institutions, and establish evaluation procedures for these practices and programmes.

What do we want from the next government?

1.         NZAEE would like the next government to amend the Local Government Act and make Environmental Education/Education for Sustainability a mandatory function for all levels of local government.

2.         NZAEE seeks your strong support for the following recommendations in a recent research report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) NZ into ESF practices in schools:

3.         NZAEE would also like the next government to maintain and strengthen the existing EE/EFS and Matauranga Taiao advisors (school support services) network. 

We are sending this letter to every political party president in New Zealand as a proactive step towards creating a greater awareness of NZAEE and EE/EfS.  We want to help your party to lead New Zealanders along the right track to a sustainable future.  If you would like to meet up with your local branch representative or attend any of their meetings, please contact our National Coordinator Jamie Winiata, for their details.  As a charitable organisation, we are also seeking your funding support for our member’s work and you can find out more information about how to join or make a donation on our website www.nzaee.org.nz or by talking with Pam Crisp.

We look forward to working together in the future.

Kind regards

Trish Kirkland-Smith

Co-chairperson

NZAEE Executive Committee

 For correspondence relating to this letter, please contact:

Jamie Winiata

National Coordinator

New Zealand Association for Environmental Education

PO Box 6189

Wellington

Email:  admin@nzaee.org.nz

GLOBAL EDUCATION FUND

Applications Close 31 October 2008

The Global Education Fund (www.globaleducationfund.org.nz) is a contestable fund to develop awareness and understanding of global perspectives among New Zealanders, to encourage them to become responsible global citizens, and to create a safe and just world.

GEF funding is provided by NZAID Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti, New Zealand's International Aid & Development Agency www.nzaid.govt.nz.

Grants are between $2,000 and $15,000 (ex GST).

For applications to be successful:

·         the subject matter of the educational materials and/or activities must be explicitly global,

·         the educational materials and/or activities should highlight the relevancy of the issue to those living in Aotearoa New Zealand, and

·         the project must encourage critical thinking, reflection, and action encouraging New Zealanders to be responsible global citizens, and to create a safe and just world.

For information on eligibility requirements, the selection criteria and how to apply visit: www.globaleducationfund.org.nz

The next funding round closes 31 October 2008.

Previous applicants should note the application form has been updated.

The fund is administered on behalf of NZAID by the Development Resource Centre www.drc.org.nz

Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE)

15th Biennial Conference - Environmental Education up the Track: Hot Topics for our Community

9 - 12 July 2008 Darwin Northern Territory

Themes covered at the AAEE 15th Biennial conference:

Energy-efficiency schools: new online guide

Energy-inefficient buildings, fossil-fuel energy sources, and energy practices of an earlier era – that is the common perception of New Zealand schools.

However, many schools are reviewing their energy use. They are adopting energy-efficiency practices, often building them into the curriculum, and they have exciting success stories to tell.

Some of these stories are outlined in the Energy-efficient Schools guide, which will soon be online at www.neri.org.nz/education/energy_efficient_schools

A collaborative guide

The Energy-efficient Schools guide is a collaborative venture, initially produced by the National Energy Research Institute (NERI) in partnership with The Enviroschools Foundation, the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (EECA), and supported by the Ministry of Education for this web development.

In addition, an advisory panel of energy and education experts contributed their expertise. The result is detailed, up-to-date information on efficient technologies in lighting, heating, equipment, hot water, and transport in schools. Based on this information, downloadable audit and planning templates are provided. Coming soon are interactive tools for inputting energy data and obtaining data for comparison and monitoring.

Learning from successful schools

The guide explores the impressive energy-efficiency efforts of two large secondary schools and two small primary schools, from Auckland to Southland. It then details how all schools can take action.

Taking action is not simply a technical matter, but first involves changing behaviours. For example, an audit conducted during the holidays by students at Northcote College found 289 items left on unnecessarily. This finding led to an important change of focus, which the Northcote case study details.

At Wallacetown Primary, an energy audit led to improved classroom lighting and heating, and a longer swimming season, yet the school’s overall energy use dropped. The Wallacetown case study explains how they achieved this happy outcome.

An action plan and templates

The guide first recommends planning as a whole school, followed by an action plan with three different areas of focus:

1.    Avoid wasting energy.

2.    Use energy more efficiently.

3.    Use energy from renewable sources.

Each of these areas is detailed in the guide, starting with simple `housekeeping’ measures to counter waste. These measures typically bring immediate savings of at least 10%, carry zero cost, and have a strong educational component for both students and their families. Students and staff can use a simple-fix template in the guide to check their school’s energy use and to prioritise change.

Once the immediate savings are gained, a longer-term planning template enables schools to tackle deep-seated issues, from energy-inefficient equipment to sustainability.

While the guide provides tools for schools to use themselves, it’s interesting to note that all four schools in the case studies used expertise outside the staff and student body to undertake energy audits. This external expertise was funded in various ways by the different schools.

Grants, loans, and further advice

The guide includes extensive contact details for funding agencies, advisory organisations, and websites.

The websites include education websites, both New Zealand-based and overseas-based. They are particularly useful to schools who are building their energy-efficiency programme into the curriculum. With New Zealand’s new energy policy and growing environmental awareness, this process has much to commend it.

Energy efficiency is a key part of the Enviroschools Programme, which supports students and their schools to plan, design, and take action for sustainability. In addition to the Enviroschools’ teaching and learning resources, two new initiatives will support schools to develop sustainable energy and environmental building projects. Available later in 2008 are:

·       Measuring Sustainable Outcomes: a tool which assists schools to audit, measure, and track their energy saving. It enables regional and national school comparisons.

·       Sustainability Directory: an online database of sustainable products and services relevant to school sustainability projects.

The Energy-efficient Schools guide supports schools to get started.

Kotahi Moana – Kei konei te tīmatatanga

One Ocean - It starts here

02 – 09 March 2008

Seaweek, March 2-9, turned up the radar on the marine environment, providing opportunities for Kiwis right around New Zealand to experience, learn about and take action for the marine and coastal environment.  Seaweek was launched in Auckland by the Minister of Conservation, Hon Steve Chadwick, with the gala opening performance of "The Perils of the Deep Blue Sea", an experiential theatre piece produced by the Real Theatre Company and set in historic Fort Takapuna, Devonport.


Also in the spotlight was Taranaki teenager Paige Hareb, world number two under-20 professional women's surfer, and Seaweek 2008's ocean ambassador: "Everyone needs to get out there and lend a hand and I'm more than willing to challenge my mates and fellow surfers to do something really useful to keep our coast and seas healthy.  Surfing is one of our biggest growing youth sports. We can lead the way here and we can make a difference.  "I jumped at the chance to help with Seaweek because looking after my local beach at Oakura has been a big thing my whole life. My family and I have picked up rubbish there for years and this year we've also helped build nesting boxes for blue penguins along the Taranaki coast."

Over 400 people attended the launch, which coincided with a monthly Green Drinks gathering hosted by DOC, bringing together a wide range of marine stakeholders. Performances of "The Perils of the Deep Blue Sea" continued throughout the week, giving hundreds of Auckland school children and their teachers and parents an experience of the perils Maui's dolphins and other marine life must face every day.  Travel for low decile schools to attend the performances was funded by the ASB Trust.

Seaweek's aim is to raise awareness of our coasts and ocean and encourage all New Zealanders to help look after their local marine areas all year round. The event is coordinated by NZAEE, with support from the Department of Conservation, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry for the Environment, St Kilda Marine Environment Trust and NZ Geographic.  Thanks to our Seaweek partners and sponsors, this year's national coordinator, Linda Bercusson, the regional Seaweek co-ordinators and everyone else involved for making Seaweek 2008 such a success.

Seaweek has experienced exponential growth across New Zealand. In 2005 there were 85 events registered with Seaweek; in 2006 there were 130 and in 2007 we had over 200. All were listed on our dedicated Seaweek website: www.seaweek.org.nz.  Activities were run throughout the country and ranged from presentations, to community festivals to restoration projects. 

We supplied nearly 500 school packs, until supplies were exhausted. These packs included the Seaweek poster and educational booklet, plus the Ministry of Fisheries publication The State of Our Fisheries.  Sections from our 2007 Seaweek educational booklet can be found on our website in PDF format

NZAEE is proud to continue bringing Seaweek to New Zealand and we sincerely thank our 2007 partners the Sir Peter Blake Trust and our other sponsors including the Department of Conservation, Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Fisheries, St Kilda Marine Environment Trust and our media sponsor, New Zealand Geographic. 

Of course Seaweek could not happen without the volunteer co-ordinators around the country. Thank you all so much – we could not have done it without you!

We still have Seaweek 2007 posters left over. If you would like a copy please contact NZAEE national office.

Contact NZAEE if you would like to be involved.

SEAWEEK CREATES A SPLASH!

Auckland says “cheers” to international green movement

Sustainability is a vast and popular topic at the moment and what better way is there to debate the subject than over a drink?Representatives from more than 100 different organisations have come together to participate in Auckland’s last three Green Drinks events, and even more are expected at monthly events during 2008.

Green Drinks is a simple concept that has generated an international movement that is now active in 312 cities around the world. The international website www.greendrinks.org highlights everywhere you can go and join like-minded people in regular, fun, social networking.

“It’s basically all about people from different professions and backgrounds getting together and talking about sustainability in their city, but they are in a relaxed social setting, not a stuffy bureaucratic meeting” says one of the Green Drinks organisers, Trish Kirkland-Smith.

“It’s about scientists talking to ad execs, urban planners talking to teachers, business leaders talking to not-for-profits, engineers talking to artists, academics talking to TV producers, and actors talking to architects” says Ms Kirkland-Smith.

The inaugural Auckland Green Drinks event was hosted by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) at the Auckland Regional Council buildings in September 2007 and was an overwhelming success. With an initial thought that maybe 50-60 people might attend, the NZAEE Auckland Branch were flabbergasted at the 200 RSVPs received and the buzz generated on the night.

There were two other events in 2007 – a fun evening of networking at the Viaduct hosted by Creo Sustain Communications, and a wonderful evening of sculpture and plants at the Botanic Gardens hosted by Auckland Regional Council.

2008 is kicking off with a marine theme, with the Department of Conservation hosting Green Drinks and the launch of SEAWEEK on the 29^th of February at Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve. Guests at this event will be treated to the Gala Opening of the experiential theatre production “Perils of the Deep Blue Sea” that has been developed by The Real Theatre Company in partnership with the Department of Conservation and NZAEE.

More Auckland Green Drinks events are planned – including a Street Party hosted by the EcoStore and Wright Communications. If you are interested in receiving invites to future Green Drinks, then just email auckland@nzaee.org.nz.

Connections and Actions Conference

16 - 19^th January 2008 Dunedin, New Zealand

The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education’s biennial conference, Connections and Actions, was  held in the South Island city of Dunedin, New Zealand, January 16 – 19, 2008.  Dunedin is located on a dramatic coastline and affords easy access to spectacular Central Otago.

See  http://www.cityofdunedin.com

The conference’s main themes:

Connections and Actions is aimed at staff from local and central government, teachers from all sectors, youth, NGOs, community volunteer groups and businesses.

The conference combined speakers, workshops, fieldtrips, and showcased local EE/sustainability activities and programmes.

For further information see the conference website or contact Pat Johnston pat@dcms.co.nz

CONFERENCE OUTCOMES:

The expectation of the Connections and Actions conference committee is that all participants leave inspired and empowered to further their own sustainable practices and facilitate positive behaviour changes and environmental action within their communities.

It is the intention of the organisers that papers will be available on the conference website following the conclusion of the conference.

New Zealand Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowships

During 2008 the Royal Society of New Zealand is offering a range of one and two term Teacher Fellowships.  For more information about these awards visit www.rsnz.org/awards/teacher_fellowships/ or contact:  john.auty@rsnz.org. Click here to view environmental and ecological fellowships.

A number of projects are available in Canterbury, Westland, Wellington, and Auckland. Congratulations to southern branch member Jennie Upton for being awarded the opportunity to develop her project Marine life down south, through the RSNZ scholarship and supported by the University of Otago.

Birthday News

Normally last minute news arrives at the eleventh hour, but this was not the case with our quarter of century birthday news- news arrived at 10pm -on the eve of the big day.

A founding member of the Association, Warren Jowett contacted NZAEE highlighting the discrepancy – we were in fact younger than we realised – two years shy of 25 years still!

It was decided at the AGM to cut the cake and celebrate our existence all the same. Past Chairperson and founding member Pam Williams sliced up the non-birthday birthday cake.

The AGM was well attended by members, past members and NZAEE associates supporting the new strategic direction. Attendees from the night commented that if it hadn’t been for the birthday celebration they may not have come, but how good it was to meet up and celebrate many past achievements.