Speaker this Saturday morning - 26th September
10am to 12 noon. - Celebrating Age Centre Victoria St South - parking under and around Celebrating Age, Grantham St.
Hamilton Citizens & Ratepayers Association welcome with a cuppa anyone who wishes to hear our speaker: Matthew Stott a Microbiologist (from Taupo)
"The Unseen Majority" (A study of microbial biodiversity from a geothermal environment perspective)
Reel Earth Film Festival Movies on this Sunday/Monday at Victoria Theatre
Organised by Environment Centre Hamilton and Forest and Bird. Bookings phone Victoria Theatre 838 3036 (book early) only $12.
Sunday 27th September at 7pm
Feral Peril
Director: Andrew Sully
Australia 2008
Nominated for Best Feature Film (53 mins)
A novel approach means this Australian film gets off to a cracking start. Set as a detective thriller, Feral Peril investigates whether foxes really have invaded Tasmania. Producer Ian Walker was “intrigued by the idea that there was a lot of money being spent in Tasmania to set up a very high-tech bunch of people who were dedicated to eradicating foxes, but their dilemma was that they couldn’t find one”. Feral Peril explains why foxes would be such an ecological catastrophe for Tasmania, and explores why the iconic Tasmanian devil may have an important role to play—if it can survive an unrelated and gruesome threat to its own survival. Several issues, including the setting of priorities for conservation funding and the importance of effective relationships with hunters, have great relevance for New Zealand, while insights from a diverse range of people including shearers, hunters, verterinary experts and researchers, “Fox Squad” staff, and environmental philosophy professor Andrew Brennan are supported by excellent filming and slick editing to make this a fascinating and highly entertaining film.
Grandma Builds An Earthship
Director: Kent Gunnufson
USA 2008
Screening time 8pm Thursday 21 May (58 mins)
Who says age and inexperience are barriers to accomplishment? She might be 67 years old with a cardiac problem, but Pascha dug the trenches, placed the timbers, wired the outlets, milled the cabinets, trowelled the walls, and did most of the other work to build her home in the mountains at 3000 metres. And, as if the Colorado Rockies weren’t hard enough, she overcame a mountain of regulatory barriers to build her home using alternative construction methods and energy sources (it’s completely off the grid). But the challenges of building her dream home also built her inner spirit, and the film inspires not just by showing possibilities for alternative building but by showing the power of imagination, determination, and humour.
Monday 28th September 5.45pm (Note earlier time)
Herbal Pathways
Director: Anna Hickman New Zealand / Vietnam 2009
Nominated for Best Short Film and Best New Zealand Film
Runner Up: Environmental Choice Award for Best Short Film (22 mins)
Filmed in the stunning mountainous Sa Pa region of Northern Vietnam, ‘Herbal Pathways’ shares a quietly intimate and informative account of the Medicinal Plants Innovation Project (MPIP). MPIP brought NZAID and the hill tribe people together on a quest to fulfil two objectives—poverty alleviation and plant conservation. Intellectually engaging, Pathways combines stunning cinematography with the hugely positive story of the conservation of important medicinal plants and of the communities that rely on these plants.
So Right - So Smart
CO Directors: Justin Maine,Leanne Robinson-Maine,Guy Noerr & Michael Swantek USA 2008
Nominated for Best Feature Film
Winner: Destination Manawatu Award for Best Feature Film (99 mins)
“I was a plunderer of Earth; stealing my grandchildren’s future. And that is not the legacy one wants to leave behind.” One of the slickest, most professional films submitted to this year’s festival, So Right So Smart tells the story of how, in an epiphanal moment, Ray Anderson, founder of the hugely successful Interface Corporation, realised the implications of his company’s way of operating. Describing it as “like a spear in the chest,” Anderson accepted the ethical imperative to ensure Interface no longer imperilled but in fact contributed to a sustainable future. The decision, he believed, was “So right.” As his vision turned into action, he realised sustainability was also “So smart”—it helped, not hindered, his business goals. So Right So Smart also shows how ecologically sound business practices foster better business in general, using examples such as clothing company Patagonia, the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, rock stars the Bare Naked Ladies and others. Insights from luminaries like Paul Hawken, David Suzuki, Lester Brown, and many others entertain and inform, and the narration by Daryl Hannah links the various aspects of the film to help create a truly inspirational film that should be required viewing for all our politicians and captains of industry. Highly recommended.
3rd October ENERGY WORKSHOP
Michael Lawley, EcoInnovations, will go through ways of reducing your home's energy load, how to carry out an energy audit, and provides a hands on opportunity to learn more about onsite microgeneration, such as wind turbines, solar hot water, photo voltaic cells and so much more. www.ecoinnovation.co.nz. $20 per person
Contact Megan Edmeades megan@greenme.org.nz or 021 414 529
November 2nd NZAEE Quiz Night
Only 6 weeks away, so make sure you mark your diaries and start getting some teams to enter.
$10 entry per team (Maximum of 4 people per team)
It will be hosted at Singer Bar on Hood St. Ray Webber (Singer Bar) has been supportive of environmental events in the CBD.
Entry includes nibbles
Test your environmental knowledge and have some fun!
Register your team name before Oct 30th by emailing
aaron.fleming@hcc.govt.nz
