Involved for a long time with Avaaz and 350, I was well aware of the preparation of Climate Marches all over the world ahead of the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 (read the IPCC recommendations here). When I checked in October, I found out that the closest march was 280 km away so I dived and signed up to create an event here in Wanaka.
It’s been a stunning month of preparation. I received an amazing support from everyone in the community.
We’ve eventually had a volunteers team, 2 banners, a facebook event page, 6 local newspaper articles, 2 radio talks, a poster all over the place, a video made before and a video made during the event sent to the world organisers days later, an informative leaflet, 100 signs pre-made, face-painting, bubbles, 25 sponsors/supporters and even a song!
Most importantly, it’s been a great success! Between 320 and 350 people came to the Dinosaur Park and / or marched to “the Wanaka Tree”, with music, signs and cheerfulness. People here care for the planet.
A BIG thank you to everyone who supported the event, particularly my Team Green students who carried the banner all the way into the water!
And the Paris COP 21 conference was a victory, as governments signed the beginning of the end of the fossil fuels era.
Eco-consulting 