Hamilton

Hamilton already has many groups who are involved in activities contributing to energy efficiency, alternative transport options, raising awareness of permaculture and organic gardening, sustainable building, urban design and lots more.

Recent activity - 2009

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

A TT Food in the City group had an initial meeting with 17 people on the 11th August 2009 at the Environment Centre in Hamilton. We did a visioning excercise around what we want to see in Hamilton by 2020  and came up with a huge list -

Strong networks/communication/sharing and reciprocation
A variety of food production taking place in the city and on its margins - market gardens, vegetables, bee hives, poultry, tree crops, fruit and nut trees growing in public spaces medicinal herbs etc.

Receptive Farmer groups

Plant up verges

Public land made available as allotments to the public - individuals and collectives.

Food gardens in workplaces, schools, rest homes, hospitals etc

Gardening/food groups in local communities

Private sections utilised for growing food - reduce lawn areas, longer lawns,

Food exchanges
Locally sourced food retail enterprises - eg farmers markets, vegetable boxes, neighbourhood butchers

Advisory services & self help groups available within the city, for private and collective food growers.

Workshops and information events, widely available and publicised, available to private and collective food growers at no or low cost., egpreserving, bee keeping, cheese making

Decent local infrastructure, both private and communal, to support local food growing:

Information and advice services, water security, fertilisers and nutrients, tools and raw materials, seeds, local storage and transportation etc

Clean water, rain harvesting, local water storage systems

Out of the discussion came a few actions that we are a keen to implement:

1. Decided to undertake a Permablitz for a family. - find a family - ask around our networks, if we can't find one then go wider into the media. Agreed once family found to organise another meeting to do plan of action.

2. Make Information available - pages on a website, TT network with links to/from others eg Environment Centre, HCC  and HPT websites - List of garden groups, events, workshops, contacts, info on simple how to start. Advertise through eg Bunnings and garden centres - make a brochure

We are presently looking for a suitable family/property for the permablitz, and have started a database of food around the city which will be public soon - watch this space.

If you want to go on our list of interested people, contact the Environment Centre via our website www.envirocentre.org.nz

First meeting

Our first meeting was held on Monday April 21st 08 at 5.30 at the Environment Centre, 25 Ward St. We had a good turnout, did a short introduction, and showed an ABC documentary by Jeremy Leggett which is only 14 minutes long but gets the message across. People were really interested, and we already have two people from that meeting putting their hands up to lead/coordinate groups, one in edible gardening and landscapes and one in advocacy, with an emphasis on public transport. We also identified all the groups already established in the city whose aims are primarily around climate change and peak oil, as well as groups who will be good conduits into the wider community with whom we already have links. The group were keen to meet in the not too distant future, an email list has been circulated and dvds will be distributed to members of the group to show to friends and colleagues. It was a great start, accentuating the positives, meeting some new faces,and hopefully the beginning of a renaissance for Hamilton.

23rd April Forest and Bird showed "A Crude Awakening" at Victoria Theatre. It was fully subscribed and another showing is scheduled in the Environment Centre on the 7th May.

Contact

For more information call Katherine at the Environment Centre on 839 4452 or check out our website for a link to our email address www.envirocentre.org.nz

Resources

The Environment Centre holds the following resources which may be borrowed locally or watched in the centre: DVDs: End of Suburbia, An Inconvenient Truth, Peak Oil - Imposed by Nature, The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, 4 Corners - ABC documentary on peak oil, The OIL Factor, A Crude Awakening , Crude Impact, Arithmetic, Population and Energy - Dr Albert Bartlett, Interesting Times Peak Oil meets Climate Change - Dr Peter Lloyd