INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY: PHOTO COMPETITION
Friday, 11 June 2010 13:18
Biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life.
Ko te koiora kanorau, he tauoranga, ko te koiora kanorau to tātou tauoranga.
Photographers are being asked to celebrate New Zealand’s unique biodiversity by getting clicking in a national photo competition to mark the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
The Department of Conservation, NZ National Commission for UNESCO, NIWA, and Forest & Bird are seeking entries now for winning photographs of our wonderful native wildlife.
The themes of this competition are: Biodiversity of land and sky, Marine and fresh water biodiversity and People and biodiversity.
The competition will be judged by wildlife photographers Craig Potton, Kim Westerskov, and Norman Heke. Winning entries receive cash prizes: winners of each theme, under both young and adult categories, will win a cash prize of $300.The overall winner will receive a $1000 cash prize and runner up $500.
The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the huge value of biodiversity for all of our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: its biodiversity.
UNESCO sees the International Year of Biodiversity as an effective instrument to advance the cause of biodiversity conservation.
DOC General Manager Conservation Engagement Nicola Holmes said that the global recognition of the importance of biodiversity was in reality a celebration of the variety of life.
“For New Zealanders, the photo competition provides an opportunity to take delight in our amazing natural environment, but also to think about the actions we need to take to protect the thousands of unique plant and wildlife species we have in this country,” she said.
“With increasing land-use changes, agricultural intensification, pollution, and development, much of our biodiversity is now under more threat than at any time since Europeans arrived,” says Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Kirstie Knowles. “This year and this competition are about getting out there and experiencing our fantastic range of plants and animals, and giving people a sense of responsibility to safeguard their future.”
NIWA Chief Scientist Biodiversity and Biosecurity Dr Don Roberston says, “Marine and freshwater biodiversity is at least as important as biodiversity on land. And small organisms – many that we can see only with a microscope – are at least as important as the plants and animals we can easily see.”
The winners and runners up will see their photos featured in a road show display touring New Zealand in 2011. Prizes will be presented at an awards ceremony. There are two entry categories: Adult and Young Adult
Contact: Shelley Biswell - Department of Conservation, International Year of Biodiversity Coordinator, Telephone 021 985 843
International Year of Biodiversity 2010
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 13:53
The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity.
This NZ government biodiversity website provides information about Aotearoa New Zealand’s native biodiversity, what is being done to help conserve and manage it, and who is involved.
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity which celebrates life on Earth and the value of biodiversity for everyone’s lives. This webpage includes information on what is biodiversity, why is NZ’s biodiversity unique and events in NZ celebrating biodiversity.
The Ministry for the Environment is the New Zealand Government's principal adviser on the environment .They have a webpage that provides information on biodiversity.
UNESCO "Realise the Dream" Prize won by Jake Martin, Cambridge High School
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:00
Outstanding Cambridge High School Year 13 student, Jake Martin, has won this year’s UNESCO Senior Student Award in the national science and research, Realise the Dream competition.
Over the past year, Jake discovered that charcoal produced by his clean wood burning engine - last year’s supreme Realise the Dream winner - was paramagnetic. This was a significant discovery that saw him working long hours alongside scientists at Waikato University where he is also taking some university papers.
Twenty nine extraordinary science students from all over New Zealand are selected to take part in the annual Realise the Dream event that is organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Genesis Energy is the event’s principal sponsor, Dairy NZ and the NZ National Commission for UNESCO are supporting partners.
UNESCO is the only United Nations specialised agency with a specific mandate to promote science and education. "Realise the Dream" sits within UNESCO's commitment to science and its recognition of the role the application of science plays in international cooperation towards peace, human rights and development.
UNESCO Realise the Dream Senior Science Winner, Jake Martin and UNESCO Chair, Bryan Gould
Thursday, 22 October 2009 12:14
Wellington Youth Climate Forum 2009
What causes global climate change? What are its consequences? What are our potential solutions? These were some of the issues considered by more than 60 secondary students attending the Wellington Youth Climate Forum (WYCF) at Victoria University in September. The NZ National Commission for UNESCO helped make the forum possible with a grant from the 2009 UCAF fund. Students also planned and carried out a range of public actions to draw attention to climate change that included: making chalk art mural on Lambton Quay; handing out certificates to passengers at the railway station; writing a press release; and prepring a 'communique'. The final part of the forum saw participants use the skills they gained over the weekend to begin planning further action for fellow classmates in their respective schools on the 23rd October 2009: 350 Schools Day of Action on Climate Change. Several students also became active participants on the ReGeneration Network: a social networking site with more than 270 youth members.
Monday, 03 August 2009 17:08
SANZ to Launch Blueprint for Global Sustainability
In September, Sustainable Aotearoa NZ or SANZ is to release the resource, “Strong Sustainability for NZ: principles and scenarios”. A blueprint for sustainability that replaces the widely-used triple bottom line measure and instead gives social, environmental, and economic values equal weighting, with a model that gives greater priority to ecological values in order to sustain the natural systems and resources societies rely upon. For more information: http://www.phase2.org
