Eastern Bays Climate Response Network

Kia ora - this is a quick update with a few items of interest coming up. As always, thanks also to the Glean Report!

Ngā mihi nui.

Interested in supporting climate action?

We need a Secretary/Researcher for the Lower Hutt Climate Action Pathways Group.

8 hours a week at $30/hr. Coordinate and record group meetings; update, maintain, and report from a database of Lower Hutt climate actions; other project work as time permits. Contact Bruce Anderson 027 625 0720 or bruce.ndrsn@xtra.co.nz for further information before end of business Friday 20 September.

Matira - research showcase

. Wednesday 4th September .

Join us for a showcase of the work of our researchers, followed by a panel discussion.

Overview

Climate change, sustainability, and conservation

The showcase will highlight our work on understanding and responding to climate change, biodiversity loss, natural hazards, sea-level rise accelerating the electrification revolution and kauri dieback.

Health

Our work improving the health and wellbeing of all our communities will be highlighted in the showcase, including research related to improving outcomes for Māori women, developing life-saving vaccines, understanding rare diseases, and exploring the role of digital tools to support mental health.

Society and politics

Our researchers work across diverse topics that affect our everyday lives. The showcase will highlight work being undertaken to improve the criminal justice system, support families of autistic children, and transform education.

Science and technology

The showcase highlights our expertise and research across the sciences, engineering, and technology that has the potential to transform our futures. Topics include space exploration, how physics is awesome, and the application of technology to solve problems in health, conservation, and other areas.

Panel discussion

From ideas to impact - How can research be truly ‘engaged’ to create wider societal, environmental, and economic benefits?

Moderated by Professor Nic Smith, Vice-Chancellor, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Wednesday 4 September

showcase—4.30 pm onwards
panel discussion—6 pm.

Mezzanine Floor, Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus

Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand 2024

Attend Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand 2024 on 11 September in person or watch the livestream. Falling Walls Lab is an interdisciplinary pitch competition to showcase the next generation of students and early career researchers.

Royal Society Te Apārangi with support from the German Embassy in Wellington, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and EURAXESS Australia & New Zealand would like to invite you to Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand 2024.

Participants will have 3 minutes to showcase their innovative research, scientific idea, or evidence-based initiative, and how it could make a difference for society.

The event is inspired by the world-changing event of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, with the question at every Falling Walls gathering: Which walls will fall next?

19 participants from Aotearoa and the Pacific Island Nations have been selected to pitch their innovative breakthrough idea to the Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand Jury for the chance to represent the region and compete at the Falling Walls Lab Global Finale in Berlin.

Attend this FREE event to hear the 19 participants pitch their breakthrough ideas to the Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand Jury and be inspired by these students and early-career professionals!

Morning Session - Hōtaka Programme

11.30am Mihi welcome and introductory remarks
11.45am Pitch presentations (participants 1-10)
12.45pm Kai a te Rānui Lunch

Afternoon Session - Hōtaka Programme

1.45pm Pitch presentations (participants 11-19)
2.45pm Networking break / Kaiwhakawā Jury evaluation session
3.45pm Award ceremony / Group photo and closing remarks
4.15–6.00pm Networking and connecting reception

View more on the participant's topics.

The event will also be livestreamed. Register for livestream to receive the livestream link.

Aotearoa’s Coastal Change Dataset

This coastal change dataset for Aotearoa New Zealand provides nationwide coverage of coastal erosion and accretion patterns from the 1940s to present day.

https://coastalchange.nz/

Improving the Communication of Weather and Wildfire Information

Communication of weather and wildfire information, including warnings, is delivered in a way that gives planners, emergency managers, and communities the information they need when they need it.

Project description

During the past few decades, technology has changed the way communities are informed about the risks of high impact weather events and imminent threats to lives and property. However, there has been limited research to date on how best to do this in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Working with stakeholders and partners, including emergency management groups, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Queenstown Lakes District Council and MetService, we aim to develop more effective communication strategies for high impact weather events.

To do this, we are investigating how social media and other technologies can be used to communicate risks and gather information about the impact of events. Other areas of focus are the increasing wildfire risks posed by growing populations in the urban fringes around our towns and cities and the best ways to include Māori in planning and preparedness for high impact weather.

Our research will include analysis of the communications and community responses in case studies of actual events: the January 2017 storm in Wellington, and Cyclone Debbie and the Edgecumbe flooding in 2017.

In addition, the team is carrying out a qualitative study of wildfire risk perception and preparedness of urban fringe residents in northern Wānaka and Albert Town in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts. This community has been selected for the study as they are exposed to high wildfire risk but have not experienced a significant wildfire event.

Our goal is to make Aotearoa New Zealand more resilient to high impact weather by identifying targeted and effective communications methods.

https://resiliencechallenge.nz/project/improving-the-communication-of-weather-and-wildfire-information/

Related news items from Radio NZ

Is New Zealand's immigration 'set up' to take in climate migrants from the Pacific?

It's predicted 50,000 Pasifika people could lose their homes each year due to climate change. In the last decade, one in ten people from Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu have already migrated due to…

'Surging seas are coming', warns UN chief

Antonio Guterres, who is in Nuku'alofa for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' summit, provided an update on the present-day impacts and future projections of sea-level rise.

University of the South Pacific launches new research hub for climate change

The Centre for Sustainable Futures will be a place of "seamless blending of expertise, diverse knowledge, indigenous wisdom and knowledges alongside modern science", the USP says.

Curated events - see Glean Report for full list of events.

POSTPONED Wed 28 August 12:30 - 13:15 Author talk: Ultrawild: an audacious plan to rewild every city on Earth. A talk by Stephen Mushin *IN PERSON* | More information

Wed 4 September 16:30 - 19:00 Matira: a research showcase *IN PERSON* | at Mezzanine Floor, Rutherford House, VUW | More information

Mon 9 September - Tue 10 September 8:30 - 17:00 Climate change and business: leading climate action. A conference *ONLINE* More information

Wed 11 September 11:30 - 18:00 Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand 2024. A showcase *IN PERSON or ONLINE* | at Royal Society of New Zealand | More information

For a consolidated diary of all previously announced events go to the Glean Report website.

Eastern Bays Climate Response Network on Facebook. Feel free to comment or post on topics related to the goals of this group on the Facebook page.

EBCRN is focussed on the need to act now to both mitigate the causes of accelerating climate change as well as prepare for the impact on our community. You can find out more about Eastbourne and the Network here. If you have climate related events, resources, requests, suggestions or any other information you would like to share please send it to us.

Note: we create this newsletter "on the fly" as information and events come to our attention. Sometimes short notice of event dates mean the event passes before we send this out, so each email may be triggered but an upcoming event rather than a reasonable interval since the last release. Please feel free to give feedback on content and frequency of news, and send through items you might feel are of interest to the group.

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