The POW Summer Camp 2002 was a huge success. It saw a great group of members gather at Glendhu Bay for a weekend of outdoor activities and learning sessions. In addition to tramping, trail running, kayaking, mountain biking (and jumping in the lake!), we did heaps of learning and connecting. One of the most common items of positive feedback from the camp was how the POW community was so open to having different climate conversations.
We heard from an excellent variety of speakers from various areas of the climate scene. An interactive session using climate simulator En-ROADS with our lead advocate, Marian Krogh, demonstrated how current science integrated with policy can be used to model and assess climate outcomes.
New on the agenda was climate communication with Komie Kolandai from the University of Auckland. Komie detailed how important effectively communicating science to the public is, with a particular emphasis on choice of language.
Tim Adriaanson Zoomed in from his bike tour around Aotearoa to emphasise the importance of ‘all of us values’, especially when communicating the benefits of public and active transport. For example cycling lanes won’t just benefit people who bike, they’ll benefit people who drive, they’ll benefit kids, they’ll create healthier people and cleaner air. Bike lanes benefit all of us.
POW board member and climate change policy advisor Rachel Cooper gave us a background to the Paris Agreement and COP 27 followed by an outline of New Zealand’s emissions profile and reduction plan. In summary, there’s been some progress but not too much is happening on an international or national level, and there’s just been some local elections so now is the time to focus on local action.
Snow hydrologist and POW board member Todd Redpath from the University of Otago gave us the low-down on recent developments in snow research techniques and new projects he is involved with through the university in tracking snow changes in New Zealand. Snow is important for recreation in the mountains but it’s not studied for that reason, it’s studied because it’s an important source of water. To date there’s been surprisingly little research on snow in Aotearoa but Todd and his team have been gathering heaps of data lately and soon we’ll know a lot more.
To wrap up, newly elected council member Cody Tucker joined us for a casual chat and Q&A. As a young and new council member his perspective was especially appreciated. Working for the council is tough and there’s some things that are tough to change but there’s other areas where community groups such as POW can really get involved and advocate for improvements. An excellent opportunity that’s just been announced is the Queenstown-Lakes District aims to have the tourism sector be zero carbon by 2030. Let’s get to work and help this be achieved! Start by signing this open letter for electric public transport in the area. Electric buses connecting Queenstown and Wanaka will benefit everyone, locals and visitors.
Access resources related to these talks here.