EnviroPAST 2022
Our first event in Wellington, EnviroPAST 2022 brought the conference’s unique mix of speaker sessions, workshops and practical action to Pōneke rangatahi. Attendees enjoyed two days at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, including a visit to Lyall Bay to help with the dune restoration mahi there.
SPEAKERS
Dame Juliet Gerrard
Juliet trained at Oxford University and moved to Aotearoa in 1993 where her career has included roles in both Crown Research Institutes and universities. Juliet’s research background is broad and interdisciplinary, with particular interests in fundamental and applied protein science. She has held an Industry and Outreach Fellowship with Callaghan Innovation, founded a start-up company, chaired the Marsden Council, served on the Board of Directors of Plant and Food Research, and is currently on the Board of Te Papa.
Since Juliet’s appointment in 2018 as the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Kaitohutohu Mātanga Pūtaiao Matua ki te Pirimia, she has worked from a base of four founding principles: rigour, inclusivity, transparency, and accessibility. She has supported the science and science advisor community to provide advice to the PM, ministers, and the public on a wide range of topics, including advice on the Christchurch mosque shootings, the response to the Whakaari | White Island eruption, the Cannabis referendum, rheumatic fever and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Office has released two major reports, Rethinking plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand and The future of commercial fishing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Photo Credit to Elise Manahan
Lani Rotzler Purewa
Ko Lani Rotzler Purewa tōku ingoa.
He uri tēnei no Ngāi Tūhoe, no te Schwarzwald hoki. I’m a young urban māori with a passion for learning about what it means to be in good relation to Rangi and Papa through the matauranga of our tupuna.
I work for Para Kore, and Papawhakaritorito Trust to support community gardens across the Hutt Valley. Our mission at Para Kore is to empower and support kura, kōhanga, marae and organisations across Aotearoa to reduce waste through education and support within the frameworks of kaupapa and tikanga Māori.
It is my greatest privilege to work with rangatahi to restore native ngāhere, grow kai and put to practice regenerative growing methods that support soil microbiology, and enhance wider ecosystems address climate change pressures.
Tim Jones (MC)
Having been our MC for the two previous EnviroPAST conferences, we’re thrilled to be able to bring Tim with us to Wellington! Tim specialises in working with individuals and organisations to help them tap into their Purpose Fuelled Performance, assisting them in the transition to becoming a force for good – hence Grow Good. His purpose-focused consulting, coaching and training programmes are specially designed for those that want to use their skills to achieve meaningful goals in life and work.
Since starting his business he has worked with organisations such as Meridian Energy, The Co-Operative Bank, The NZ Defence Force, The Chia Sisters, Bivouac Outdoors and Cookie Time to name a few. His business is one of New Zealand’s founding B Corps and he is also B Corp Ambassador for NZ. More recently he has been co-teaching the University of Canterbury MBA Programme “Creating Impact-led Enterprises”. That’s why he is New Zealand’s #1 B Corp and business for good specialist,
Erik Behrens
Erik is a physical oceanographer and climate scientist who researches climate change impacts around New Zealand at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Warming oceans and changes to ocean currents impact New Zealand marine ecosystem and climate. Erik developed the New Zealand Earth System Model, which is a tool used to predict how New Zealand’s climate and oceans will change in relation to future Greenhouse Gas emissions. He has a passion for the ocean, which has drawn his attention to the growing issue of plastic pollution in our environment.
ALI KIRKPATRICK
Ali is a mama and yoga teacher, who believes that the world would be a better place if we could all come back to community. Ali was one of the original Boomerang Bags New Zealand crew, co-founded Waste-de – a waste education and conversation platform, and one of two masterminds behind Hopper Refill. She believes that we are all intrinsically connected to Papatūānuku and that as kaitiaki we need to start connecting back to the earth and prioritise her healing.
Lionel Taito Matamua
Lionel is a New Zealand-born Samoan, a father with a passion for design and technology. After completing his Master’s from Vic Uni in Wellington, he launched Creative Pathways, an outreach programme to help make 3D technology more accessible to young Māori and Pasifika students.
Lionel began to explore emerging technologies to tackle the problem, in particular the use of 3D printing technology to create tools and meaningful objects of value from recycled plastic. This could be one way to help address the growing amount of plastic waste filling up landfills and waterways in Samoa, and other marginalised communities.
WORKSHOPS
Clothing Repair with Genevieve Rae
Learning to repair your clothes is one of the most impactful personal sustainable actions we can take. In this workshop we will look at four different hand stitches that we can use to mend and upcycle our clothing. Genevieve will run us through the stitches one step at a time, so everyone can get the basics down. We’ll cover how to hem clothing and fix seam holes. Then we’ll look at some embroidery stitches for a sneaky decorative fix to spice up even the most worn down pieces. All materials will be provided and everyone will receive a small sewing kit to take home.
Genevieve Rae is a Masters student at Massey University Wellington, doing textile design research into mycelium materials. Mycelium is like the root structure of fungi, mushrooms are the fruiting body, or reproductive organs, of fungi. During her bachelors degree, Genevieve was able to explore many material processes, from sewing, weaving, and knitting, to 3D printed jewellery and natural dyes. Emerging start ups are beginning to provide markets with sustainable mycelium packaging – a styrofoam replacement, mycelium leathers, and mycelium sponges. This is a material that textile designers must be familiar with for future sustainable materials development.
“The most important thing I’ve learnt while studying textiles is how to form an embodied understanding of a material. Practicing and playing with a material helps us design with it much more sustainably.”
Creative Communication with Jordan Hamel
Jordan Hamel is a Pōneke-based writer, poet and performer. He was the 2018 New Zealand Poetry Slam champion and represented Aotearoa at the World Poetry Slam Champs in 2019. He is the co-editor of Stasis Journal and co-editor of No Other Place to Stand, an anthology of Aotearoa climate change poetry from Auckland University Press.
This workshop will look at different ways in which poetry can be used as a tool to understand, communicate and respond to the current climate crisis that we face. It will explore the many roles of the poet as an activist, observer and a voice for change.
Submission Writing with the Wellington Community Justice Project
We are Boston, Jack and Jessie from the Wellington Community Justice Project. The WCJP is a student-led charity within law school at Victoria University. We are the leaders of the Law Reform Team which aim to ensure that the legislative and policy processes in Aotearoa are open and accessible to all. Our team produces submissions to parliament, works with various organizations to encourage legislative change and conducts legal research for environmental organizations.
This workshop will focus on submission writing. Submissions we write can be either to select committees or directly to a government body, for example Ministry for the Environment. This workshop will cover the things you should be considering when writing submissions, where to find supporting resources and some writing tips. We will also read some of our previous submissions and watch some of our volunteers make oral submissions to select committees.
LIVING WITHOUT A RUBBISH BIN with Liam Prince and Hannah Blumhardt
The Rubbish Trip is run by Hannah Blumhardt and Liam Prince. They’ve been living without a rubbish bin since the beginning of 2015 and have a raging passion for all things zero waste. Since they launched The Rubbish Trip in 2017, they have travelled for nearly 3 years and delivered over 400 presentations to over 20,000 people across every region of Aotearoa New Zealand. They also Co-Founded Takeaway Throwaways and do research with Zero Waste Network Aotearoa. Hannah is Co-Founder of Reuse Aotearoa, coordinator of the New Zealand Product Stewardship Council, and researcher for Āmiomio Aotearoa, and Liam is Chair of the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance and Compost Manager at Kaicycle.
Hannah and Liam, the two helping humans behind The Rubbish Trip have been living without a rubbish bin since the beginning of 2015, and have been doing talks about living waste-free for 6 years. Why would anyone want to live without a bin? And how would you go about it, even if you wanted to? Isn’t that impossible? If you’re curious to find out more, or to share your thoughts about zero waste with others, join this 90 minute facilitated workshop with Hannah and Liam. Together we’ll imagine a world without waste and brainstorm ideas, tips and tricks that anyone can start putting into practice!
Practical Action
DUNE RESTORATION
Every year, our practical action event is the highlight of the conference for attendees. For this year’s event, we are teaming up with Conservation Volunteers, Wellington City Council, and the Department of Conservation to help with their dune restoration mahi. Conference attendees will be transported by bus to a local beach and will join the hundreds of volunteers who have helped to plant thousands of native dune plants and remove invasive plants from Wellington’s dunes.
CVNZ works closely with Wellington City Council (WCC) to help restore the local dune ecosystems around Wellington’s south coast, and continually review and monitor the restored areas to determine success and further revise the restoration programmes. Natural sand dunes play a vital role in protecting our beaches, coastline and coastal developments from coastal hazards such as erosion, coastal flooding and storm damage.