A group of Northeast Valley area residents is making its own plans to tackle issues of climate, energy and economic changes it says are coming.
Transition Valley 473, the number in the name relating to the telephone code for the valley, arrived at the annual plan hearings yesterday to ask the council to continue to help the group with its work buying and maintaining fruit and nut trees, which were being planted on council land in northern Dunedin.
It also called for more effort from the council to encourage solar energy, insulation, greenhouse gas reduction, and other policies related to peak oil and climate change.
Committee member Maureen Howard said the group started in 2008, growing from sustainability courses that were held.
Members included Opoho and Pine Hill residents. Its aim was to help cope with coming change, and work with the community and council to foster skill sharing and support for relevant community projects.
Activities included everything from vegetable garden tours to bicycle maintenance workshops.
An initiating group and focus groups had developed, and the group had planted almost 40 trees and berry bushes on council-owned land, and wanted the council to include more food-bearing trees in its tree-planting programme.
Ms Howard and group member Philippa Jamieson told the committee community resilience in terms of food production was vital for Dunedin, and the group aimed to plant 1000 trees.
Ms Howard said the group was not asking for an increase in the council's budget, but for more priority to be given to fruit and nut trees, rather than other varieties.
Funding had been received from the Southern District Health Board's healthy eating healthy action programme, and council help had included the provision of mulch and stakes for the trees, which Ms Howard said was "a wonderful thing".
As well as the tree planting, the group listed things it wanted the council to do, including strategies to address climate change and peak oil, increase resilience through "relocalisation" of food production, encourage urban food production, promote low carbon transport, and improve energy efficiency in households.
