Wellington Celebrates Earth Day

Wellington is celebrating the 45th anniversary of International Earth Day with a range of events including planting of over 500 trees and holding environmental workshops.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, says, “We’re committed to the philosophy of Earth Day and Wellington’s development as an eco-city. We have seen several projects implemented in Wellington in the last few years to reduce the City’s carbon footprint”.

“There has been considerable work in developing renewable resources over the last 6 years, including the development of two large scale windfarms producing enough energy to power over 100,000 homes”, she says.

Councillor Iona Pannett, Chair, Environment Committee, says, “Wellingtonians are committed to leading more sustainable lives and are leading the country in this regard”.

“We love our open, green spaces and are enthusiastically involved in restoration and biodiversity work. The Council supports over 100 groups working across the city to protect and restore our local environment”, she says.

“Over 16% of Wellington commuters use public transport, and over 20% walk or cycle to work - the highest rate of all New Zealand cities”, says Councillor Pannett.

Cycling numbers in Wellington have also increased by 200% over the last ten years and 21% since 2014.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will be planting over 500 trees with students from Queen Margaret College to celebrate Earth Day. Trees will be planted on the banks of Karori stream as part of the restoration project to increase shading of the stream. Cool stream temperatures are preferred by native fish and shading also discourages algae and weeds from growing.

Wellington City Council has set a target of planting two million trees in Wellington by 2020. Since 2002 more than 1.2 million trees have been planted around the city as part of this project – all from the award-winning Berhampore Nursery.

Local Earth Day events include:

21 April 6-7pm, Newtown Community Centre
Make your own skincare workshop. Learn how to make your own skincare using natural products. For more information and to register: http://chalkle.com/wellingtontimebank/myo-skincare-products/4664

22 April 7-9 pm, Newtown Community Centre.
Conscious Consumers workshop. Learn how to make a difference with your shopping choices. $10 waged/$5 unwaged. For more information and to register: http://chalkle.com/wellingtontimebank/conscious-consumer-workshop/4684

23 April 10.30am, Island Bay Library
‘Save the World’ story time

From 14 May – 2 July, Newtown Community Centre
Sustainable Living Trust workshop series

Celebrated on 22 April, Earth Day is an annual event comprising events held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.

The Earth Day network launched the Green Cities campaign in 2013 to help cities around the world become more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. The campaign is focused on three key elements – buildings, energy and transportation. The campaign aims to help cities accelerate their transition to a cleaner, healthier, and more economically viable future through improvements in efficiency, investments in renewable technology, and regulation reform.

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