9 July 2006 Environment Minister launches Lincoln as 'Envirotown'

Lincoln University is now located in an ‘Envirotown’, officially launched on 8 July by the Minister for the Environment, David Benson-Pope, in the Lincoln township Community Centre.

Launching Lincoln township as an ‘Envirotown’, the Minister said he believed it could be a world leader in sustainable environmental practices and management.

The Minister also opened a Lincoln Sustainability Centre, which will be managed by the newly formed Lincoln Envirotown Trust.

A day-long environmental expo was held in Lincoln to mark the occasion.

The Trust and the Centre will promote environmental sustainability through education and by encouraging people to make informed personal and community decisions.

Workshops, presentations and setting up small ‘street’ discussion groups and larger facilitated meetings, all driven by the community, will lead to a community-driven action plan.

Selwyn District Council (one of the main partners along with Landcare Research and Lincoln University) is working on its structural plan. The Council will work with the Trust on the facilitated meetings so that residents’ ideas concerning the built environment can be fed into the Council’s planning.

The Trust, chaired by the inaugural holder of the Sir Peter Blake Environmental Educators Award, Dr Sue Jarvis of Lincoln High School, is supported by a grant from the Ministry for the Environment.

Dr Jarvis is working alongside Lincoln University and Landcare Research during her year as the Sir Peter Blake award holder.

Mr Benson-Pope praised the Envirotown initiative saying it would put Lincoln on the map as an example of a community that was meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future.

The Ministry for the Environment’s Sustainable Management Fund gave the project seeding money of $125,000 to help get it up and running because it believed in making a difference to the environment through “community engagement”, said the Minister.

“This project is unique and has the potential to put Lincoln and New Zealand on the world map in terms of establishing a community-owned and community developed approach, to make Lincoln a sustainably responsible town in all areas – environmental, social, cultural and economic,” he said.

Dr Sue Jarvis, who was described by the Chair of the Lincoln High School Board of Trustees Rob Parsons as the “brains and driving force behind the Lincoln Envirotown concept”, said the vision was to “make Lincoln a shining beacon for the rest of the country and the world and reduce our impact on the environment”.

“I see our role as a catalyst, paving the way for other communities,” she said.

Selwyn Mayor Michael McEvedy said that “our communities are the key to our future and they are what we make of them.”

Lincoln was a jewel and all the members of the community could be described as “polishers of the jewel”, he said.

“Each of you can polish the sparkle.”

The launch of Envirotown was a “new beginning”, he said.

Rakaia MP Brian Connell said he regarded the Lincoln Envirotown Trust as “an extension of the community”.

“What you have started here today is a real life model,” he said, and he urged the community to put sustainability into practice and not let it languish simply as a principle given lip service.

The ‘Big Day’ which marked the Envirotown launch was jointly supported by Lincoln University, Landcare Research, Selwyn District Council and many other individuals and organisations.

Lincoln University displays were among the many stands and exhibits at the expo in the Community Centre. Staff with stands included Kelvin Nicolle representing WaterWatch and Dr Maria Ignatieva representing Landscape Architecture. The launch ceremony itself was well supported by Lincoln University staff members too, including Professor Ian Spellerberg, Professor Steve Wratten and Dr Peter Jarvis.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Kirk, who also attended the ‘Big Day’ described the establishment of Envirotown as a “landmark occasion”.

See more about Lincoln Envirotown Trust at www.lincolnenvirotown.org.nz

Ian Collins, Communications Group, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand