Sustainable Christchurch in Action
Great intentions need to be translated into practical actions, so SOC organises activities and a newsletter for its members.
Upcoming events are:
At 7.30 pm on Tuesday 30 August SOC is holding a meeting for members at the WEA Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to develop the SOC submission on the "Draft Central City Plan". SOC encourages all its members to come along and contribute to giving Strong Sustainability the best possible chance in the plan.
Some examples for recent action and events:
At 7.30 pm on Tuesday 5 July SOC held its Annual General Meeting at the WEA Hall. The speaker was Adair Bruorton of the Christchurch City Council. Her topic was "Community Wellbeing and the Central City Plan".
In May SOC held an event called "The Heart of the Matter: Rebuilding Christchurch as a Sustainable City for the 21st Century". Following a brief presentation from each of several speakers the more than 80 attendees workshopped their ideas for the future of Christchurch.
In November SOC screened the DVD "Life after Growth" at the Environment Canterbury Waiau theatre. Following the screening there was a discussion and supper.
In September SOC and the WEA planned to host a mayoral forum as part of the lead up to the local body elections. Unfortunately this had to be cancelled at the last minute in the aftermath of the earthquake.
On Tuesday 27 July SOC hosted a meeting at which Bob Frame, a Principal Scientist at Landcare Research, spoke about a book he edited along with Richard Gordon and Claire Mortimer. The title of the book is "Hatched: The Capacity for Sustainable Development". The book is available online and more information can be found here.
The SOC AGM was held on 22 June. Following the AGM Dr Liz Slooten of Otago University spoke on the topic: "Sustainable Christchurch: A Myth?".
On Tuesday 11 May at 7.30pm SOC hosted a public meeting where Mike Reid, Governance Manager at Local Government New Zealand, spoke on the topic "Is local democracy relevant for a sustainable future?".
In November SOC co-hosted with Living Streets Aotearoa a talk by Dr Colin Meurk on the award-winning Christchurch Great Perimeter Walkway.
On Saturday 24 October many SOC members participated in the 350.org International Day of Climate Action.
In July SOC held a social event at which Henry Sunderland educated and entertained us with the history of GNOMEology.
On Monday 22 June at 8pm SOC hosted a discussion on the topic "The Urban Development Strategy and Strong Sustainability: Making the Links". This discussion featured James Caygill of the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy (UDS) Implementation Committee and John Peet (SOC and Sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand).
Later in April SOC made two further submissions: Submission on ECan LTCCP and Submission on Regional Land Transport Programme
In April SOC made a submission was on the CCC Long Term Council Community Plan.
In March two SOC committee members made submissions in their own right and made them available to SOC. Tom Taylor's submission was on the CCC wastewater discharge consent application and Arthur Williamson's submission was on the CCC draft water supply strategy.
On Wednesday 25 March SOC hosted a public meeting featuring Professor Markus Milne of the Department of Accountancy and Information Systems, University of Canterbury. Professor Milne has for the last 15 years been researching corporate social and environmental reporting and most recently has critiqued corporate attempts to address the issues of Triple Bottom Line and Sustainability. The topic was "How different does sustainable business need to be for business to be sustainable?" Click here to download his PowerPoint (.ppt) presentation (5 MB large file). If you don't have PowerPoint it can be opened with OpenOffice, or if you do have other Microsoft Office programs a free PowerPoint viewer is available from Microsoft.
SOC supported Walk2Work Wednesday on 18 March and had a presence in Cathedral Square that morning. Walk2Work is an event which encourages the people of Aotearoa to get out there, leave the car behind and walk to work, or utilise public transport for part of their journey and walk the rest. Check out the Walk2Work website for more information.
In March 09 SOC made a submission on the CCC proposal for funding the social housing portfolio in Christchurch.
On 16 December 08 SOC hosted a presentation by Christoph Hensch on the opportunities offered by the current financial crisis. Entitled "Money - why is there never enough?" the presentation was held at 7.30 pm at the WEA. Christoph sees the financial crisis as an opportunity to create an economy that is sustainable and in tune with the overriding laws of nature. Solutions such as alternative exchange mechanisms may be used to empower individuals and local communities. Click here for some background information.
In November 08 SOC made a submission on the Department Of Internal Affairs discussion document "Building Sustainable Urban Communities".
In early November 08 the SOC committee held a Sunday afternoon planning meeting. Notes from this meeting can be read by clicking here.
On Tuesday, 14 October 08 SOC co-hosted an election forum at the Knox Church, corner of Bealy Ave and Victoria St.
On Saturday, 15 March 08 SOC hosted a bus tour to four Transition Communities in the Christchurch area.
Very interesting presentations at selected monthly committee meetings. The most recent topics were on peak oil (May 07), and the Orari River project (August 07).
Contributing to several Christchurch City Council working parties and stakeholder meetings, including the CCC Sustainability Working Party, healthy environment strategies stakeholder workshop, and urban development stakeholders' forum.
Involvement in the Lyttelton Energy Project with the installation of a warm wall.
Making submissions to Christchurch City Council and to Environment Canterbury about their draft 10 year Community Plans (known as LTCCP) and reminding Councils that the 2002 Local Government Act requires sustainability thinking within these plans. We have made a range of other submissions on relevant plans and policies, such as waste management, surface water, Hagley Park and Botanic Gardens, community development, and gambling.
Seeking closer involvement in the joint Councils working group on the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy. It is a process which will influence the future shape and form of our city's land use and transport.
Meeting business people through the Sustainable Business Network.
A bus tour of energy-efficient homes, to hear about unconventional construction design and materials. Canterbury homes need not be cold in winter.
A day forum for 40 members and guests on the Greater Christchurch Development Strategy (May 2005) resulting in a substantial submission document.
Ran a seminar for the Mayor, Christchurch City Councillors and Community Board members in March 2006, to get sustainability more firmly onto their agenda. We held a similar seminar for Environment Canterbury Councillors on 5 April 2006.
Hosted visits to the city by visiting experts, arranging seminars by them, and hosted a film screening about the social impacts of a major USA retail chain on communities, employment and environment.
Enjoyed a social gathering and shared meal in a members' home before Christmas
Our predecessor groups, Christchurch Agenda 21 Forum and Sustainable Cities Trust had been productive for a decade prior to this.