We were very fortunate that EcoMatters Environmental Trust, Oxfam and TAPAC all came on board at late notice to ensure were were able to screen Tapped on World Water Day. As an introduction to the movie, Katherine Mason from Oxfam gave a moving presentation about Rosita and her family in East Timor whose lives have been transformed through the introduction of a clean, regular water supply made possible from donations to Oxfam’s Water for survival programme.

Grey Lynn 2030 and EcoMatters  have been able to make a modest donation to Oxfam from the ticket sale proceeds.  However, our supporters may wish to do more especially if you missed World Water Day on 22 March. Please consider making a donation  online to the Oxfam Water Appeal or by calling 0800 400 666.

Tapped the movie was exceedingly thought provoking, resulting in many of the movie goers wondering what we can follow up with locally to get the message across that bottled water is damaging to the environment (from production through to disposal) and individual health, and except in an emergency completely unnecessary. A few facts from the movie that may be of interest:

• 40% of bottled water is filtered tap water
• bottled water companies receive approx 1600% profit on the cost of producing a bottle of water
• independent tests rank the purity of bottled water third behind tap water and filted tap water (the industry is self -regulated so not subject to a transparent testing regime)
• only 20% of bottles are recycled
• in parts of the ocean there are more plastic particles than plankton (to find out more about the sea of plastic discovered by Capt Charles Moore click here )
• we are potentially exposing ourselves to harmful levels of Bisphenol-A (BPA) by drinking from plastic bottles

Tapped can be rented from EcoMatters. Check out the preview here. Find Tapped on Facebook with regular updates from the movie’s director Stephanie Soechtig.

The Story of Bottled Water is also worth sharing around to get the message out that the best thing we can do immediately is to stop buying bottled water.

Grey Lynn 2030 is considering how we are going to act locally to achieve a dream of a bottle water-free NZ starting with our community. For example what about we work to install public water fountains (the village pump!) so that we can refill bottles bought locally? If you are interested in getting involved with the Grey Lynn 2030 water group please email greylynn2030@gmail.com.

As some of you may or may not be aware – Enviroschools are going to be loosing their funding this year as the government has decided to cut and focus on core education such as reading, writing and maths.

Many parents are very saddened by this news as we know what a great programme Enviroschools is.

A quarter of New Zealand schools are Enviroschools, reaching 212,870 New Zealand children. The programme is positive, practical, and wildly successful – another 210 schools are on the waiting list to become Enviroschools, including early childhood centres.

Enviroschools relies on the wonderful Education for Sustainability Advisers whose jobs have been cut, and Matauranga Taiao the tikanga Maori Enviroschools programme for kohanga reo and kura kaupapa has also been cut.

Our children learn to respect and value the natural environment, save energy and water, recycle and compost, grow their own food, and understand the connections between their actions and the future of the planet. These are essential skills for young people in today’s world, and to cut what should be core learning in the name of financial belt-tightening is spectacularly narrow and short-term thinking.

http://www.enviroschools.org.nz/

Ruth MacClure who is involved with Pt Chev Transition Town and Pt Chev Primary is looking for people who would be available should a journalist be interested in covering the story. Please leave a comment on this page on what you can offer.

Here is a short video clip made by a school in Dunedin.

Enviroschools

Not surprisingly the Greens are picking up on this issue ( it was a successful Green bid that secured funding for the programme initially) and are asking you to make the following actions:

Take action to save Enviroschools:

• Visit your local National MP, and express your disappointment that this successful programme is no longer supported. Keep it positive and personal – if you have a child at an Enviroschool, talk about what environmental education has meant for your child and your family. Ask that the funding be reinstated.
• Write a letter or email to your local National MP and cc John Key – we need to keep it on the Prime Minister’s radar.
• Write letters to the editor outlining the importance of environmental education in NZ schools and calling for Enviroschools funding to be continued.

Points you might like to include in letters / emails

• A quarter of our schools are Enviroschools, reaching 212,870 New Zealand children. This is a positive, successful and popular programme that it is achieving great things at a low cost to government.
• These days, knowledge and skills in sustainability is not a luxury ‘add on’; it needs to be an integral part of our children’s learning.
• Enviroschools are delivering on the government’s priorities:
• Economic growth and jobs: Sustainability is a major growth area and young people need to be eco-literate to survive in the global economy today.
• Science and innovation: Enviroschool programmes foster children’s interest in environmental science, technology and primary production
• Literacy and numeracy: Enviroschool programmes regularly utilise other learning skills, such as reporting, surveys, and analysis.
• Enviroschools enable children to become in the educator in the home, sharing their new found knowledge and skills with their family.
• Teachers need the curriculum support, professional development and resources to effectively teach environmental education. They cannot adequately deliver this programme without external support from the government.

Grey Lynn 2030 is invited to the 2009 Wai Care Expo.

Saturday 23 May 2009 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Red Lecture Theatre, Unitec Mt Albert Campus, Auckland.

Wai Care is a community-based water quality monitoring, education and action programme. The Wai Care programme includes member councils from Rodney District, North Shore City, Auckland City, Waitakere City, Manukau City and the Papakura District working together to promote the protection and enhancement of the Auckland Region’s fresh water resources.

The Wai Care Annual Event for 2009 is the Wai Care Expo! This event includes:

Mix and Mingle – Wai Care volunteers and others interested in promoting healthy waterways from all corners of the region

Learn – Keynote Speaker: Mel Galbraith, Senior Lecturer, Natural Sciences at the Unitec of New Zealand. Mel is a Council member of the New Zealand Ecological Society and the Auckland Regional Recorder for the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. With twenty years of experience in biology and science education Mel was awarded a Royal Society of New Zealand Science and Mathematics Teacher Fellowship in 1997.

Celebrate – 2009 Wai Care Annual Awards

Learn – Workshop sessions: Stream bugs and native fish; riparian restoration; and Low Impact Design.

Share and Show – Wai Care groups and partners projects and displays

Please RSVP to Tiere Jackson-Riki on telephone (09) 366 2000 extension 8171 or email Tiere.Jackson-Riki@arc.govt.nz no later than 4:00 pm on Wednesday 06 May 2009.

The History of Suff is a 20 minutes long but so very well worth a watch!!! If you ever struggle with wanting to much this will help you to WANT LESS.

The History of Suff