Upper Hutt

The first meeting of this group was on 3 March 2008 when 60 enthusiastic people watched the Jo Duff movie on Transition Towns, and discussed what next.

To receive occasional emails from this group (and to send them yourself) join the Transition Upper Hutt mail list at http://transitiontowns.org.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/upperhutt .

Upcoming Events

Previous Events

9 March and 15 March 2011.  Public meetings were held in the HUtt Valley to explore establishing a community group: Friends of the Hutt River.  The group is to safeguard and enhance the Hutt River.  Over 20 attended the Lower Hutt meeting and 40 at the Upper Hutt meeting.  Given the significant interest, the group will be formed.  See the Friends of the Hutt River Facebook page.  For more details contact Pat van Berkel, ph 5288072, email pvanb atsymbol clear.net.nz

5 March 2011.  A networking meeting of community gardeners in the Hutt Valley was held.  A vision of a network of community gardens, school gardens, rest home gardens, public space fruit and nut trees was discussed enthusiastically.

19 Feb and 5 March 2011   A workshop on building a rainwater collection system was held at the Pinehaven Community Hall, Forest Road, Pinehaven, Upper Hutt. The workshop was led by Paul Kennett, Dave Brown and Max Christensen and constructed a strong foundation, 1000L tank, piping and irrigation.  Provided by Pinehaven Progressive Association and Transition Town Upper Hutt, with financial support from Upper Hutt City Council.  The finished tank can be inspected at any time at the back of the Hall.

A complete summary with diagrams and photos of the tank installation is at  http://www.myonlinediary.com/pmwiki.php/Water/RainwaterHarvesting

See File Attachments below for a copy of the April 2008 "The Shed" article on installing a DIY tank.  The article is in two files: Pages 1-8 is 3.6MB and pages 9-15 is 3.2MB.

For more info on Paul Kennett's water tank prowess see http://www.myonlinediary.com/pmwiki.php/Water/Cheap1000LitreRainWaterTanks

Jan 2011  Roz Brown and Pat van Berkel met with the Mayor of Upper Hutt to re-emphasise the Transition message - that oil is depleting, cycleways are needed, etc.  The Mayor noted that the new Sustainability Officer position has been filled by Roderick Boys.  He will work on UH's sustainability strategy during 2011.

15 Dec 2010  Brief presentation made to the first meeting of the full Upper Hutt City Council on the future Transition.

13 Dec 2010  Submission made to Greater Wellington opposing the lowering of Hutt River flows for next 3 years while working on Te Marua storage lakes.  See File Attachments below for a copy.

29 June 2010  Through UHCC Healthy Homes Happy Pockets series and TTUH, Linnea Lindstroem led a workshop on the Wellington Independent Trading System (WITS) which is a community exchange system for sharing skills, goods and services.  See http://www.community-exchange.org/ for info or to join up.

4 Nov & 15 Dec 2009  Roz Brown & Pat van Berkel met Upper Hutt mayor, Wayne Guppy.  Discussed preparation for development of sustainability strategy; followed up ignored ideas from Upper Hutt citizens' submissions to LTCCP 2009; cycleways in UH; 80% Southern Hills landowners favour environmental protection of the Hills

28 Oct 2009   Presentation & discussion on Transition Towns in Pinehaven, at Pinehaven Community Hall, Forest Road, following 7:30pm AGM of Pinehaven Progressive Assn

20 Oct 2009  Film on the Story of Stuff, http://www.storyofstuff.com ; presentation by Maurice Picard, Operations Manager at sophisticated recyclers Earthlink, Upper Hutt; presentation by Jeff Haste on UHCC Waste management; TTUH update; discussion.  At Hapai Club

17 Sept 2009   Presentation at St Hilda's church on Transition Towns and "Getting Involved", by Pat van Berkel

7 Sept & 17 Aug  Steering group meetings.

10 Aug - end Sept   Judy Griffiths runs course on organic gardening through Adult Education programme at Heretaunga College.

6 Aug  Roz Brown & Pat v B met with Wayne Guppy, Mayor of Upper Hutt City Council.  Discussed the sustainability strategy that is now in the approved LTCCP.  Mayor invited TTUH to present ideas on  sustainability strategy development.

April & May 2009  Roz Brown & Pat v B presented TT views on the 2009-2019 Upper Hutt Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).  Supported sustainability strategy, expanded cycleways, rainwater harvesting, etc.

8 April 2009  Public meeting.  Presentation by Christina Bellis, ICLEI and organiser of "Pathways to Resilient Communities" forum, on what makes a resilient community.

18 Feb 2009  Public meeting.  To view humourous "History of Oil" video by Robert Newman.

2 Dec 2008  Celebration.  A chance to reflect on the year, enjoy each others company, relax, eat.

10 Nov  Public meeting.  Dr Brad Ilg, petroleum scientist from GNS, spoke on Peak Oil, followed by discussion on how we can respond to the inevitable changes

3 Nov  Steering group meeting.  Any member of the public welcome.

6 Oct  Steering group meeting

27 Sept  Strategy planning - reviewed previous 6 months, planned next 6 months

Mon 1 Sept   Brief steering group meeting at Lighthouse Cinema, Upper Hutt.  Mary Lochore explained the virtues of becoming a charitable trust.  Meeting ended early so we could watch "The Century of Self" - a fascinating insight into the use of Freudian psychology and focus groups by big business and political parties.

Mon 11 Aug Public meeting, old CIT site opposite Heretaunga train station, Upper Hutt.  David Parker talked and answered questions about peak oil and climate change. David Parker is Minister Responsible for Climate Change Issues.

Mon 14 July Public meeting at Lighthouse Cinema, Upper Hutt. Heard how the project groups are going. Video "Farming with Nature" + discussion on Permaculture led by Andrew Morrison.

7 July Steering Gp meeting
9 June Steering Gp meeting
12 May 2008 Public meeting at Lighthouse Cinema, Upper Hutt. Heard how the project groups are going. Saw "Power of Community" video about organic gardening in Cuba and surviving oil depletion.
11 May  TT display at Sustainable Homes Expo, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt
5 May  Steering Group meeting
1 April  First Steering Group meeting
18 March 2008 Public meeting to form steering group and projects
3 March 2008 Inaugural public meeting
23 Feb 2008 TT stall at Trentham Carnival at Trentham Memorial Park

For more information contact Pat van Berkel, 04 5288072, email pvanb at-symbol clear.net.nz

To borrow a DVD contact Ewan Cole, 04 976 3926.  Available films are:
1. Beyond Treason, WACO: The Rules of Engagement
2. Oil, Smoke and Mirrors, Arithmetic, Population and Energy
3. End of Suburbia
4. Global Dimming (BBC Documentary)
5. Escape from Suburbia
6. Peak Oil - Imposed by Nature
7. Can we save Planet Earth?
8. Permaculture (Bill Mollison), The Power of Community - How Cuba survived Peak Oil, Yesterdays Future
9. The Myths of Biofuels
10. 2 x disks of media downloads and Youtube skits
11. Transition Towns: Planning for a low energy future - Jo Duff. (This was shown at the 3 March public meeting in Upper Hutt.)

Some of the details of the DVDs are given on http://www.oilcrash.com, under Resources.
See also LendingLibrary, FilmList and OnlineVideo which lists interesting films on Youtube.