Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand
P.O. Box 11-057 Wellington
(04) 385-7545
eco@reddfish.co.nz

Making Waves: Community and the Environment

ECO Annual Conference 24-26 August 2001

The Environment and Conservation Organisations of NZ (ECO) will bring the environment and the community into focus this Friday and weekend, with their 30th annual ECO conference. This year the conference is being held in Wanganui from 24-26 August. Delegates and participants from all around New Zealand will be attending, with members of the public invited to come along as well.

The conference will examine how the environment can be protected by the community and how community attitudes affect the prospect for environmental gains. It will hear how the community can be and is involved in a range of environment initiatives, including:

* Direct conservation efforts on land and on the coast
* Partnerships for conservation and the environment
* The Resource Management Act (RMA)
* The local body elections

There will be sessions on oceans and on controlling the impacts of fishing, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and on citizen participation in environmental decision-making.

Speakers at the conference come from a variety of backgrounds, with representatives from grass-roots groups such as the Bay of Islands Coastal Watchdog and Wanganui-based Friends of the Shoreline, Greenpeace, and others such as the National Council of Women, foresters and people from the Department of Conservation and local government.

On Sunday morning at 9am, Di Buchan of Corydon Consultants will discuss what polls say about community attitudes. Hon. Sandra Lee, Minister for Conservation and Local Government will be speaking at 8pm on the Friday night, and Jeanette Fitzsimons of the Greens will be talking in a session on the Saturday morning at 10.45am.

Besides the various talks and workshops, there will be five field trips to choose from on the Saturday afternoon. One trip will examine reforestation projects just outside of the city limits, whilst another is a visit to a commercial organic garden and orchard (which will also be supplying all the organic fruit and vegetables for the conference catering). A guided walk through the town centre itself will look at how buildings have been restored as an alternative to demolition and reconstruction. And in keeping with the “Making Waves” theme of the conference, the last two field trips will look at the coastal ecology of the sand dunes of Wanganui’s beach areas, and examine issues around the Whanganui river and water treatment facilities.

The conference ends with the AGM of ECO on Sunday at 11am.

Members of the public are invited to attend the conference, although registration fees will apply for most sessions.

The conference is being held at the Quaker Settlement, 76 Virginia Rd, Wanganui.

Friday 2pm-9.30pm
Saturday 9am-5.30pm
Sunday 9am-3pm approximately

ECO Conference 2001
Making Waves: Community and the Environment

Friday 24 August

8am: Registrations

9am: Plenary Sessions - Volunteering for the Environment - Workshop and
talks
9.00am: Volunteering for the Environment: Introductions - Lynda
Sutherland
9.10am: Volunteering in Wanganui - Bryon Fawcett
9.30am: Being a Volunteer - Bridget Gibb
9.50am: Volunteer Workshop Outline - Lynda Sutherland
10.00am: Tea Break
10.20am: Volunteer Workshop, Recruitment and Retention - Lynda
Sutherland
11.40am: Willing Workers on Organic Farms - Fred and Deb Frederikse

12.00pm: Lunch

1.00pm: Registrations
2.00pm: Powhiri - John Maihi

3.00pm: ECO Welcome & Theme
*Agenda 21 & Local Issues
* Environment, Community & Participation - Dorothy Wilson (ex-Waitakere
City Council)

4.15pm: Environment & Community: Local Issues
* Overview - Richard Manneke (Chief Planner, Wanganui District Council)
* Local Issues -Allan Wrigglesworth (Friends of the Shoreline)
* Marine and Coastal Protection: A Community Initiative - Maiki Marks and
Helen Pick
(Bay of Islands Coastal Watchdog)

6.15pm: Dinner

8pm: Local Government, Conservation and Community
Address by the Hon. Sandra Lee, Minister of Conservation and Local
Government

(Evening finishes at approximately 9.30pm)

Saturday 25 August

8.00am: Breakfast and registrations
9.00am: Welcome
9.10am: Community Attitudes for Oceans Policy - Mark Bellingham
9.30am: Oceans, Fisheries and Environmental Management Strategies - Cath
Wallace
9.50am: Oceans and Fisheries, Values, ECOs’ Input and Strategic
Priorities

10.20am: Morning tea and signing-up for workshops

10.45am: Environment & Community - Jeanette Fitzsimons (Green Party)

11.40am: Workshops: Policy and Campaigns
* Sustainable Development: RIO + 10 years and World Summit on Sustainable
Development
(WSSD) NGO Input - Stephen Blyth
* Oceans, Fisheries, Environmental Priorities and Strategies; Fish
Plans:
Developing ECO's Capacity and Campaigns; Our Priorities - Cath Wallace
* Resource Management Act: Environmental Gains and Community Protection -
Jessica
Wilson, Quentin Davies
* Local Government Elections: Local Environmental Campaigning - Richard
Frizzell

12.50pm: Lunch

2.00pm: Workshops: Local Campaigning & Conservation Partnerships
* Localisation: A Youth Perspective - Anna Brooking
* Making Waves on the Coast: Community Vigilance - Maiki Marks and Helen
Pick (Bay of
Islands Coastal Watchdog)
* Certification Schemes: Con Jobs or Conservation Drivers? The FSC and
National
Standards - Rick Barber
* Local Government Review: What Does it Mean for the Environment and the
Community -
Christine Cheyne

3.30pm: Field Trips (Returning at approximately 5.30pm)

1) Forest Restoration Project
2) The River and Water Treatment
3) Coast Care and Coastal Ecology
4) Organic Gardening
5) The Adaptive Re-use of Old Wanganui Buildings

6.00pm: Dinner

Sunday 26 August

8.00am: Breakfast

9.00am: Plenary Session
What polls say about community attitudes - Di Buchan (Corydon
Consultants)

9.45am: Policy Roundtable Workshops
* Key Issues - Multi Discussion Groups
* Forests - Owen Cox
* Marine - Cath Wallace and Barry Weeber
* Biosecurity and GE - Annette Cotter (Greenpeace)
* Resource Management Act (RMA) - Quentin Davies
* Local Government - Richard Frizzell

10.40am: Morning tea

11.00am: ECO Annual General Meeting
Reports, Elections; Policy and Planning
(Please note that some parts may be closed session for ECO Member group delegates only)

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