A group of students at Rangitoto College has been busy
this term encouraging their peers to take action to protect our environment.
Cakes and music for the planet
A group of students at Rangitoto College have been very busy
this term encouraging their peers to take action to protect our
environment.
Inspired by the worldwide Live Earth concerts, Jennifer Baik,
Bernadette Ellisha, Francisco Berezunza-Lara and Rachel Kim pooled
the schools musical talents to stage their own lunchtime Greenpeace
concert.
"Music is everything to us," noted Jennifer, "It's the way to
attract teenagers and to convey ideas."
Complete with film footage of Greenpeace actions, the audience
rocked to a top-notch line up including "Smokefree Rock Quest"
finalists Solomon, The Janis Marque and vocalist Emma Penty.
If music is everything, then food must come a close second. So
this savvy group of activists planned a huge cake sale to benefit
the planet. If golden oven mitts were to be handed out, one would
surely go to Bernadette who worked like a machine and baked an
incredible 700 whale biscuits!
One thing is for sure; these students know how to have fun while
saving the planet!
A Tireless Worker for the Cause
Since 1999 Chris Burman has been part of the Greenpeace team,
working in Luxembourg, the US and Australia. He's been involved in
fundraising, campaigning, volunteering and taken part in many
actions. He's now an integral part of our community outreach team,
here in New Zealand.
A highlight for Chris was assisting in Luxembourg's successful
GE Free Food campaign, following which supermarkets removed
genetically engineered food from their shelves.
"People need to be woken up about the emergencies facing our
planet," says Chris.
During his spare time he gives informative talks at local
schools. Inspired by Chris's talk on over-fishing and destructive
bottom trawling, students from year 3 at Cockle Bay School said
they would never eat a piece of orange roughy again in their
lives!
"It's stories like this," Chris says, "that make the hard work
so rewarding." We think it's terrific that Chris is out there every
day, being a strong voice for our environment.
A Regular Face at the Office.
Meet Johannes Okubo, one of our dedicated volunteers. Be it
mailouts, archiving or painting, Johannes pitches in with loads of
enthusiasm.
When the Chernobyl explosion hurled plumes of radioactive
fallout across Europe, Johannes was eight years old and living in
Germany. He remembers his mother forbidding him from eating the
contaminated berries in the forest.
From this time on, Johannes had an eye and an ear for things
that could destroy nature. "Whether its beetles disappearing or
corals dying, these are calls for me to take action and find a
solution," said Johannes.
In his final years at school, Johannes's goal was to fit his
school with solar panels. He founded the Student Solar Initiative
and together they raised the equivalent of $NZ42,500 to buy a very
big solar panel.
A big thanks Johannes for all your help. It's fantastic to have
your friendly face around the office and we're all inspired by your
activism!
The Raglan Whaleathon
Meet Jason Beaudry, Sarah Steed and Lin Van Craenenbroeck,
organizers of the successful creative whaleathon for children in
Raglan.
For 2 weeks, Lyn and Sarah taught workshops on mosaic, paint and
clay that culminated in an exhibition where all the whale artwork
was sold to the highest bidder. It was an event that gave rise to
lots of fun and laughter and raised a whopping $3620 to help fund
Greenpeace's campaign to end whaling.
For Jason who is team leader of the Hamilton Door outreach team,
the highlight of the event was having a professional auctioneer
create a lively atmosphere.
While raffle tickets were being sold, kids lined up to have
their faces painted and the local door outreach team handed out
environmental fact sheets.
By all accounts the event and response of the community was
fantastic. Jay summed it up: "The community made the art and the
community bought the art."