Nelson Happyzine talks - will be great!

Come along Nelsonians - this will be awesome.

Footnote - A great event - so proud of my love Charlotte and well done Nelson. Next ones this year Dunedin and Auckland.

we used to have trees here

I love trees and forests. There is so much value in trees - as shelter, as food sources but mainly as themselves - a vital and perfect part of our world. We have cut a lot of trees down here - I cannot stand seeing the pictures of the loggers standing beside a massive kauri that they have just killed - yuck. When the opportunity to plant native forest comes along the lure of quicker money entices some larger groups away - But there are many conservation, activists, trusts, maori and community groups who work very hard to plant and pest-proof areas to save. Thank you to all people involved in this. This report (see correction below) however shows how bad it really is

In figures released by Conservation International, New Zealand's forests are placed only behind Indo-Burma as the most at-risk forest ecosystem in the world.The world's 10 most threatened forest regions have all lost at least 90 percent of their original habitat, and are home to at least 1500 plants which are not found anywhere else. New Zealand's forests were home to 5 percent of its endemic species, Conservation International said, and invasive species, such as rats, stoats and possums, posed the most serious threat to the flora and fauna of New Zealand.

It is shameful but we must get over that and get on with the solutions. Those solution must be holistic and see the wider, interconnected view, otherwise it will just create other, sometimes worse, problems. How do you come up with solutions that haven't been thought of and discarded many times? Well Charlotte Squire at Happyzine had the same dilemna with how to save the Mokihinui River. She conceived of an idea called Wild Energy. She got judges, she got the concept sorted and then launched the competition to come up with alternative ideas of how to generate the power that they expect to get from the dam damn they want to build. The competition ended with 14 ideas - from all around the world. Go and read the entries and add your vote to the hundreds of other votes already cast. Good ideas? Bad ideas? who can say - at least they are ideas.


The greens have come out with these good points

National's $54 million cut to the Department of Conservation's budget was a reckless gamble with the conservation estate, given the extreme level of threats our plants and animals face," Green Party conservation spokesman Kevin Hague said. "If we love our unique spaces and the plants and animals that live there, we'll need to re-prioritise the way we spend our money." He said he planned to introduce a Member's Bill into the House to place complete protection over native plants and animals, since many species still remained unprotected.

A Bill is a start but we need a change in consciousness as kevin says - got any good ideas?

Correction - Kiwiblog has a link to a good article by David Young at Pundit which looks into why this survey and the claims about this country's placing are incorrect and an error. That is good news - sort-of.

uplifting and worthwhile

This post from Robert Guyton is brilliant for a number of reasons - it talks about wetlands, those places that are so important for the ecosystem - a transition zone that is both water and land. The wetland was saved from destruction and restored with love and when the name was being discussed - local tangata whenua were consulted and they gifted the name, and other names which describe what happened in those areas beautifully. What a fantastic model for how to do things in this country - everyone benefits. Local tangata whenua feel respected and included and this builds stronger bonds between and within communities. The mauri of Te Wai Korari wetland is strengthened which flows through as mana to the kaitiaki. When Rob wrote to local maori - he gave them the time to reply when they were able and this took some time. Respecting that others work differently and that part of truely respecting is to allow response and recriprocation when the other party is ready, not when we are ready. Just think how many misunderstandings and conflicts could be avoided if we allowed others to respond, in their way, when they were ready. I think about the so called golden rule of "treat others as you would want to be treated" and it is wrong. The phrase should be "treat others the way they want to be treated".

From the post on Rob blog,

"... Expectantly. After several months and a hui that involved discussion on the issue, a beautifully handwritten letter arrived from te tari runaka. Yes, they said, the area was named long ago and yes, they would like to gift us the use of that name. Te Wai Korari. The nectar of the harakeke flower, named from the practice of collecting wai korari from the flowers to be drunk as a ‘cordial’ by children and adults alike, back in the day when sugar was truly a treat, not a mainstay like it is today. So Te Wai Korari it is. Our panel marking the entrance to the wetland is painted with nga rau harakeke me nga korari, puawai hoki, flax leaves, flower stalks and blossoms and the beautiful name. "

This gift of the use of the name has added context and dimension, depth and connection. Imagine what this country could be like if we did that - added the maori names and context to most if not all places and considered as a gift from maori to everyone. The names are there, the histories are there - they are known. It the right of all who call this country home to be able to learn the histories and the correct and meaningful names for different areas.

Visit robs blog it is awesome - Thanks for the post and keep up the great work Rob. Kia kaha.

Happyzine will post Robs story - if you wish to read positive real stories about people like you, doing exciting and good things in this country and around the world then I recomend visiting Happyzine. If you cannot be bothered with the endless negative news on the TV and want to read some positive media then try Happyzine. If you want to write your stories and contribute to a better world then Happyzine is the answer, it cannot be praised highly enough IMO.

We need to build our networks and share our stories.

happyzine - because good news makes a difference

Charlotte Squire - Founder, editor, contributor of Happyzine

I highly recommend Happyzine (pronounced like maga-zine)

This site and blog is dedicated to making the world a better place by offering alternatives to the negative, violence based news from the MSM (main stream media). If you don't watch the news or don't want to - go to happyzine, you will not be disappointed. Even better - become a contributor.

There are many contributors who all talk about their experiences and expertise. The happyzine community is growing and evolving. Making the world a better place starts from us.

I am a contributor and next year will be doing a weekly "Round-up of the Web" for happyzine - highlighting positive, inspiration, innovative stories of people making a difference in the world. And my focus is on environmental and indigenous positive news.

mars2earth will continue as it is.