Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum
The 2008 Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum was held from 27 April-1 May in Wellington and once again, it proved to be a hugely successful event. Interest in the forum has continued to grow and this year brought together 44 delegates who were nominated by regional councils, throughout the country, for their outstanding work and interest in the environment.
During the forum delegates carried out group work on three environmental themes. A land and water use project included a visit to Waitangi Park to investigate wastewater initiatives. Another group learned about sustainable housing and carried out an audit on a suburban home, owned by a Ministry for the Environment staff member. The final project looked at sustainable tourism and included a visit to the Youth Hostel Association as well as completing an audit on the Kingsgate Portland Hotel. In addition to these projects delegates also paid a visit to Te Papa, were given a guided walk around the Karori Sanctuary and planted trees in Trellisick Park.
Throughout the week delegates were supported in their project work by experts from the Ministry for the Environment, as well as other agencies such as Tourism New Zealand, EECA, and the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Both the Minister for the Environment, the Honourable Trevor Mallard and Labour MP Charles Chauvel addressed the forum. At the culmination of the event delegates made presentations to invited guests at Parliament House. Everybody involved in the forum returned to their communities both challenged and enthused about ways in which they could make a difference to the environment.
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe