Wednesday 19^th September – Bottle buy-back
Got beverage containers, want cash? Get paid to recycle! OUSA is buying back your beverage containers including milk bottles, aluminium cans, glass bottles, plastic sipper bottles and 2 litre plastic containers – you can get 10c for every container returned! Limit 100 per person… Depots will be set up on campus from 10 – 3pm outside OUSA on the Union Lawn and at the end of Castle St.
Start saving empties now…. This is a chance to show an incentive to recycle and clean up the streets of Dunedin and showing support for this type of Container Deposit Levy legislation in New Zealand. This one action could become a reality in the future!

Thursday 20^th September @ Backstage 7:30pm – Local Music for Local Issues
The best of local bands accompanied by amazing organic goodies, come join the hot line up with Vibrasics, Julian Temple band, Biff Merchants, The Alan Ibell band, Monica Yeoman, Sneaky Sound Underground and Niamh O Flynn! Fundraising to STOP HOLCIM from building a cement manufacturing plant in Oamaru. Free Organic Nibbles from Taste Nature and Tangente and organic wine from Castle Macadam Wines. $5 at the door.
Proceeds to the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society

Friday 21 September – Maui and Hector’s dolphin National Day of Action
All around NZ, uni campuses are hosting a day to call for a ban on set nets. There are only 111 Maui dolphins left and now is basically the last chance to save them!! Teaming up with the World Wildlife Fund and Forest and Bird, we will be holding a stall at Union lawn and collecting petition signatures and submission writing. This has been organised to coincide with the Draft Hector’s and Maui’s dolphin Threat Management Plan http://www.doc. govt.nz/template s/page.aspx? id=44618 You have until 24 October 2007 to have your say on the draft Hector’s and Maui’s dolphin Threat Management Plan which seeks to help protect these species.

There will be a talk at the Barclay Lecture Theatre at Otago Museum, 5.30pm – 6:30pm.
Title: “Hector’s dolphin ecology and behaviour, and how you can have your say in their protection”
Associate Professors Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson from University of Otago will give a slide show about their 23 years of research on Hector’s dolphin, including the North Island subspecies Maui’s dolphin.

Saturday 22 September – International Car Free Day
Car-free Day was started in 1998 and involves 100′s of millions of people around the world. This year, the Dunedin event will involve meeting at the museum lawn at midday and doing a ‘critical Mass’ walk / cycle / skate to the Octagon. Cycling and pedestrian advocacy groups will appreciate the support of all who join in! The following Tuesday there will be a screening of ‘Escape from Suburbia’ about Peak Oil, at 730 at Clubs and Socs.

How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

Screening: Wed October 18, 7 pm

Venue: Room G106, ground floor G Block

Otago Polytechnic cnr Union St East and Harbour Tce

Introduced by Geoff Craig, lecturer in politics,

co-author of “Slow Living”

and group leader of Slow Food Otago

Film followed by discussion

Suggested donation $8 O /$10 waged           

The Power of Community is an inspiring new film that addresses the problem of Peak Oil. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba experienced a major economic depression. Oil imports were cut by more than half, and food imports by 80 percent. People were desperate for food and there were frequent blackouts on the oil powered grid.

This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community spirit and creativity of the Cuban people. They moved from highly mechanized agriculture using oil-based fertilizers, to organic farming and urban gardens.

The film opens with a short explanation of Peak Oil, the crisis we face now that world oil production is peaking but demand continues to rise. That Cuba faced and overcame just such a crisis shows the possibilities for the rest of the world.

Amnesty International is Hosting a FREE Performance for Peace Night

When: Wednesday October 11, 8PM

Where: ARC Cafe (135 High St)

Entry cost: FREE

The event is to recognise and celebrate Human Rights. The evening will exhibit Dunedin’s local talent of: musicians, jazz artists, singers/song writers, poets, theatrical performers and film makers. The event is to raise awareness about Amnesty International and to promote dialogue and diversity within the community.

To learn more about Amnesty International check out: http://www.amnesty.org.nz/

Hi Slow Food members and supporters,

Just letting you know that there is a change of venue for our 

Permaculture visit on Sunday October 15. 

We will now be meeting at 6 Mclachlan Street in Waitati. After turning off of the motorway, get onto Pitt Street heading toward Doctors Point (rather than going straight ahead onto Mt Cargill Road). Keep on Pitt Street until you hit gravel and at the end of it, turn Left onto McLachlan. The house is the first on the left (wooden villa with red roof). Please arrive at 1.45 for a 2.00pm start.

If the weather is dicey then please call me on 477 2294 at noon on the day and we'll let you know if the event is still on.

Jason, our host, is a local fruit tree expert, and we will also be 

Shown around by Peta who lectures on permaculture at the Polytechnic.

We'll have tea/coffee after our tour - please bring along a mug.

The cost of the afternoon is $10 for non-Slow Food members and $5 for 

Slow Food members. We have a limit of 20 people for this event and there are still a few places left so please rsvp by Sunday October 8 if you want to come along. Hope to see you there!

Regards,

Geoff Craig

Slow Food Otago convivium leader

Vegetarian MP Nandor Tanczos will be chilling out at the Hare Krishna $3 lunch on Monday the 2nd of October to celebrate World Vegetarian Day. Come and enjoy the yummy, healthy and cheap food with Nandor, 12 noon to 1.30pm, in the Evison Lounge, Clubs and Socs Building. For details of other Veganz events, email dun_veganz@yahoo.co.nz

285,000 killed
650,000 without aid
2 million displaced

Protect the People of Darfur, Send a UN Peacekeepers Now!….

….”Every day we are receiving more and more names of civilians killed and people fleeing their homes.” — Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

In what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and despite international revulsion at their suffering, the people of Darfur are effectively being held hostage to the deadlock between the UN, the African Union and the Sudanese government.  The Sudanese government has persistently failed in its duty to protect civilians in Darfur from gross and systematic human rights violations.  That responsibility has now devolved to the international community.  The people of Darfur need effective protection.  They need maximum pressure to be put on Sudan’s government to accept a UN force.

The UN says around 23,000 peacekeepers are needed to protect civilians and implement a peace agreement.  Sign our on-line petition to send 23,000 peacekeepers to Darfur now.
Add your blue helmet to our virtual peacekeeping map – www.amnesty.org.nz

Please forward this email on to friends.

An Amnesty International Crisis Campaign

Up to of 12 people can
be catered for. Can split the party and do track work as well (taking turns
around with planting)
1pm Clubs & Socs returning by 5.30 at the latest.

Contact Ken Mason – Ken Mason <kdmason@xtra.co.nz>,

The cost is $45 but I am happy to reduce that for students.

Starting a Vegie Garden

Short evening course, easy practical ideas.

 Find out how to:

 Choose an appropriate site for your garden·

 What to grow where·

 Producing plants from seeds or cuttings·

 Deal with pests and diseases, and lots more!·

Six sessions including a garden visit

When: Mondays 7—8.30, starting 9 October

Where: North East Valley Normal School,

248 North Road, Dunedin

Cost $45 for course

Tutor: Helen Reynolds.

To book phone 473 8614 (or leave a message)

TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Come and hand out fliers regarding switching to clean energy after screenings of the Inconvient Truth by Al Gore

Here are the times for the first screenings:

Sat 17th & Sun 12.20pm   4.15pm   6.20pm   8.30pm
Mon 18th   12.20pm   1.40pm   4.00pm   6.20pm   8.30pm
Tues, wed (as above)

Playing at Rialto:
Movie Info Line: (03) 474 2200
11 Moray Place, Dunedin
Fax: (03) 474 2202, Email: dunedin@rialtocinemas.co.nz
Contact Kim cleland_kimberley@yahoo.co.nz to give a hand for 15 minutes after the screening finishes (screening goes for 1.5 hours)…….Thanks!!

It’s really great to have you involved.

ERMA New Zealand Information Evening held back on 23rd February we have scheduled another visit to Dunedin and invite interested parties to a Community and Environmental Group (CEG) meeting, details as follows:

Revised Date            Thursday, 12 October 2006
Time:                   5.00 – 7.00 pm
Location:               Chester‘s Lounge, The Dunedin Centre
1 Harrop Street, Dunedin (Link to Site): http://www.cityofdunedin.com/city/?MIvalObj=dncentre_glenroygifpdf&MItypeObj=application/pdf&ext=.pdf

Meeting Focus:  Hazardous Substances and New Organisms

We can provide you information about recent applications to us for new organisms and hazardous substances and about some of the current issues facing us e.g. reassessment of 1080, Zinc phosphide, hydrogen cyanamide reassessment;  introduction of Group Standards.

Please forward me issues you would like to discuss or raise as an item for the agenda.

Note that this meeting will only go ahead subject to sufficient interest, so it is important to RSVP by Monday 2nd October.

For more information phone (04) 918 4826 or email annie.roberts@ermanz.govt.nz.

This link will also take you directly to a small explanation about ERMA and the HSNO Act http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/about/whatwe-do.asp

Kind regards,

Annie Roberts
Personal Assistant, Public Awareness Group
Environmental Risk Management Authority
P O Box 131
Wellington 6140
DDI: 04 918 4826
E-mail: annie.roberts@ermanz.govt.nz
www.ermanz.govt.nz

Public Awareness:  Growing Trust and Understanding

Email cleland_kimberley@yahoo.co.nz to reserve a place or for more info

David Galloway – “Lichens in the Otago Uplands ” – 22nd  August, 7pm

Richard Reeve and Marilynn Webb – “Art in the Uplands” – 29th August, 7pm  

Fliss Butcher -  ” Making the connections – Sustainability and the Otago Uplands”  – 6th September, 7pm

Owen Diack, Annette Joel, Robert Reid, Peter Doherty  – ” Farming in the Uplands”  12th September, 7pm

Peter Johnson – “Otago Upland Wetlands”  – 19th September, 7pm

Venue: Skeggs Gallery, Municipal Chambers, Dunedin

www.uplandlandscapeprotection.org