TT Motueka Update Mar 14th 2010.

Dear TTMers, 1. The Fresh FM Transition Town Show is beginning again on Monday March 22nd, 5.10pm with an interview with Comunity Board member, Duncan Eddy on Local Democracy.     The show will be repeated on Saturday 6.40pm. Also tomorrow, Monday 15th, 9.40am, there will be an interview with Mary Curnow of Nelson Environment Centre.   2. The TALENTS stall will be at the Motueka Market again today and on succeeding Sundays. Its purpose is to familiarise people with the idea of a local currency, encourage them to join     the network, and to display a small portion of the wares available on the network. Do pop in, and consider joining.     3. There is an opening for Transition Town people to write on relevant issues for the renewed website MotuekaOnline. David Armstrong, its editor, welcomes relevant input, and suggests,      for example, short articles relevant to the Ecofest Challenge of eating local for the month of July 16th to Ecofest. I suspect that many TTM people eat mainly local food, avoiding imports.      It would be good to write tips about how you source your food and substitute local for imported food. Go to http://www.motuekaonline.org.nz/   4. Mining in National Parks is a TT-relevant issue. Places for spiritual renewal, forests to hold carbon out of the atmosphere are vital resources for all of us, and for future generations. NZ National Parks in general,     and Kahurangi in particular are threatened by mining interests persuading the government to spend our money on mining surveys preparatory to digging up our sacred trust, and building roads through wilderness.     Graham Valley and Cobb Valley have been mentioned as within the sights of the mining corporations. This poster is for a Wellington demonstration.  We need local action on this as well. Joni Bridge at Te Mara Farm,     Motueka is our champion on this issue - jbridge@orcon.net.nz   5. In relation to the Ecofest Eat Local Food Challenge, there is a task that could be done by any interested TTMer, as described by Carolyn Hughes. The Ecofest site is worth a look,    

On the Ecofest site there is a list of organic producers and retailers in the region with the possibility of having others added to the list.

Could that be a role for someone in Transition Motueka to scour the countryside for food and beverage producers as well as retailers?

http://www.ecofestnelsontasman.co.nz/organic.html

6. A message from Lee Barry, the leader of the NZ Earth Hour Campaign:   Earth Hour is coming up on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm. It's a global occasion for communities to unite in one simple action - turning out their lights - to show the huge and growing support for action on issues of climate change and over consumption. Reaching over a billion people in 2009 its the world's largest mass-participation event ever.

watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FclcMfzjwug

As the leader of the New Zealand campaign and TT member I urge you all to :
1. Take part - turn off your lights at 8.30pm on Saturday 27 March
2. Encourage & engage others - no other environmental action is more easy to communicate 
3. Be active in your community - check out the website (

www.earthhour.org.nz) for Councils nationwide who have committed support - some of you are already working with them. Also there you will find resources to download, print and distribute or display. We also have events listed on our website  - you can add yours.   7. Don't forget to register with Jayride, trips you can offer to others, and trips for which you'd like a carpooling offer. www.jayride.co.nz   Warm wishes, Joanna