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Our Responsibilities At This Time – Restore Passenger Rail

The new Restore Passenger Rail in Aotearoa campaign is building. We know this is no time for empty promises: with no carbon budget left and ecological systems in free fall we have to ACT DECISIVELY! Social science says we must rebel – COP26 shows international meetings cannot stop climate collapse. History shows that Civil Resistance movements, country by country, can. Together, we can.

Want to find out more and how you can be involved? Come and hear climate activists and local people tell the truth about the climate crisis, and learn more about this national action to restore passenger rail, this Thursday 1 September 7-8.30pm at XCHC, 376 Wilsons Road. The session will discuss many things including how resisting injustice and standing up for what is right is a visceral, beautiful experience and part of what it means to be human at this time. Facebook event. Please register for this event here.

Follow Restore Passenger Rail campaign on Facebook – there’s a lot going on with flyering on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30, Zoom huis, and upcoming NVDA training.

Cut Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilisers

 

Cut SNF had a bit of fun with some messy role-playing in ECAN’s lobby a couple of weeks ago, involving a couple of ‘executives’ from Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients, a whole lot of Synthetic Nitrogen Fertiliser (flour) and a river.

Obviously with that combination, things were always going to get messy. The execs yelled “More Grass. More Cows. More MONEY!!!”. The slime monster appeared, throwing river slime everywhere. The Slime Monster yelled “More Slime!!!” The people yelled “ECan, Stop the Slime Monster! Cut Synthetic Nitrogen Fertiliser!”.

WHEN PIGS FLY! Disrupt Tarras Airport

CCC is trying to allow your (ratepayers) money to be spent on building an unwanted new international airport in Central Otago. This will worsen the climate crisis, rip apart the local Tarras community, and ultimately affect the rates you pay or the services you get. Will we allow this to happen? WHEN PIGS FLY!

Come along to participate in a nonviolent, fun protest on Thursday 15 September at 10am at the Christchurch City Council, Art Gallery side, and tell CCC that it is time to reduce emissions not build new airports. Dress as a flying pig, or as a tourist @at the airport. Maybe… hawaiian shirt, camera, bags, hats etc, searching for the departure board, or lost passport.

Our action is timed for the day before the start of local government election voting, in order to make sure that Tarras airport and the climate crisis are election issues, and that we get more councillors who listen to the people rather than corporate greenwashing.

Please bring a mask and stay at home if you have any possible covid symptoms.We may run a song practice close to the event. More details will be posted. Facebook event.

LB Election Candidate Questionnaire

Extinction Rebellion Ōtautahi in coalition with School Strike For Climate Ōtautahi, 350 Christchurch and Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch, have sent surveys to all local body candidates for Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury positions. Candidate responses will be publicised on the XRŌ Facebook page early in September.

There is more information on the questions in the comments of this Facebook post.

Climate Action Grants

Applications from young people are welcomed for this year’s round of Climate Action Grants. Set up by Our Climate Declaration (https://www.ourclimatedeclaration.org.nz/) in honour of former MP and Green Party co-leader, Jeanette Fitzsimons, the grants offer funding of up to $5000 for projects which implement the values Jeanette stood for and which are reflected in our organisation’s goals. These include ending the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, cutting back on intensive farming, replacing the drive for endless economic growth with a circular economy that creates wellbeing for all and respects nature’s limits.

Last year they made three grants; the principal one was for a project to document the effects on climate of deep-sea bottom trawling by commercial fishers. This will result in a short film and a long-form article to increase awareness and provide information for researchers. Grants were also made to a young leader at GoEco Waikato to establish a Climate Hub and to a Waiheke group to establish a system of zero waste at the Waiheke market.

Applications close on September 30. Details and an application form are at: https://www.ourclimatedeclaration.org.nz/jeanette_fitzsimmons_climate_action_grants For more information contact Pat Baskett – 027 634 0902; [email protected]

Climate Poetry Anthology – WORD Christchurch Festival

Sat 3 Sep, 4.30-5.30pm, The Piano, Armagh St. FREE!

How do we adapt, mitigate and create in response to the climate crisis? Join human rights and climate campaigner Kera Sherwood-O’Regan and the editors of the new No Other Place to Stand climate poetry anthology, Erik Kennedy, essa may ranapiri and Rebecca Hawkes, for a conversation about art and activism. How can poetry get us past the language of science and policy to where the ecological and human meet? With readings from contributors including Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’i, Michelle Rahurahu, Kirsty Dunn and Philip Armstrong. WORD event.

School Climate Strike

SS4C climate strike is scheduled for 23 September. More details to come – watch the XRŌ Facebook page or future newsletters.

Keeping In Touch

Welcome Newbees and XR returnees to Heartbeat – Next Heartbeat is 7pm, Friday 9 September by Zoom, password 3344567. Next face-to-face 7pm, Friday 23 Sept at the WEA, 59 Gloucester St.

  • Action circle – meets Wednesday nights, open to anyone who’s been on an XRŌ action – contact Michael for more info – 021 0264 7594.
  • Email – XR Ōtautahi rebs can be contacted by emailing us at [email protected]
  • Facebook – Check out our Extinction Rebellion Ōtautahi Christchurch Facebook events page.