The Nelson's Environment Centre's new offices will be opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Helen Clark on Thursday (July 24)

The organisation has shifted into offices, shared with Forest and Bird, in Akersten Street, Port Nelson. NEC Chair Derek Shaw says the move signals that the time has come for environment groups.

"The Nelson Environment Centre has worked away since the late 1970s but has been building up resources intensively for the past four or five years - we are now in a great position to help and advise the community and the public on environmental issues," he said. "The messages about the state of the planet are quite grim, but we have a lot of positive advice about what people can do to help."

Derek Shaw says people are contacting the Environment Centre more and more about everything from composting and energy efficient light-bulbs to hybrid cars and home insulation.

The new facilities offer additional office spaces, a meeting room, display space and a resource library where the public can source information. The public is invited to attend a blessing at 8am on Thursday and an open day to view displays on current projects between 3 and 5pm.

Derek Shaw says the new offices were essential to house the six new part time staff taken on to run current projects. These are:

§ Waste Education Services - contracted to local councils to work with businesses, schools and community to educate and set up systems for waste reduction and recycling.

§ Transition Nelson - a community driven programme networking and enabling the community to respond to peak oil and climate change.

§ Sustainable Business Network - the local base for a national programme encouraging businesses to sign up to a network for support and joint actions.

§ Carbon Reduction and Reward Scheme - rewards householders, schools, businesses, and community groups to take action to reduce their carbon footprint.

§ Sustainability Centre - creating a centre that models and informs on all kinds of sustainable options for solar power, waste reduction and energy minimisation.

ENDS