Background on our Climate Change response:

• Early in 2022 Dr Phil Driver was commissioned to facilitate making a community-based strategy for the District, focussed broader than an internal document to guide Council work, but timed to suggest input ideas and priorities to the Council’s Long Term Plan update in 2024. Dr Driver's initial work was a scoping exercise to investigate the priorities of elected members, relevant council managers, Mana Whenua, business executives and their associations, farming representatives, social service providers, and community representatives. Findings confirmed a strong community mandate for action.

• The series of 50 one-to-one interviews with local leaders gave a clear message that South Canterbury was ready to engage with these issues, and also that serious financial commitment was already being made by businesses. A commitment by the Canterbury Mayoral Forum Its Time Canterbury aligned with the Climate Change work programme Timaru District Council was undertaking.

• A well-attended public meeting at Caroline Bay on 21 September 2022 with expert contributors and local speakers, confirmed public interest (links below + recording of this event). This was backed up by drop-in sessions held at libraries. Two open meetings in October held at the Eco Centre, on an evening and a Saturday, identified local issues, some first themes for follow-up consideration and potential volunteers for an advisory group to assist Dr Driver.  Additional recruits were found to give a broader geographic, age and gender spread. See the recordings of this public meeting below.

• On 18 January 2023 an open meeting focussed on Coastal inundation and Erosion, with so much interest that another on the same theme was organised in Temuka for 22 March, also fully subscribed. Community engagement on this topic is planned for 2025.

• On 8 February the theme was domestic food resilience, and on 22 February we examined lower- emission, more resilient transport. Water supply resilience followed on 8 March. Ideas from each of these issues were worked into draft SubStrategies.

• A first report on the Timaru District Climate Change Strategy (TDCCS) including principles and several SubStrategies was prepared by Dr Driver and the Advisory Group to present to the 2 May 2023 District Council Environmental Services Committee (click here to read the Agenda and first draft presented to the Environmental Services Committee).

• On 5 July 2023 the additional theme of commercial food resilience was considered, with help from guest speakers, as input to another SubStrategy (click here to watch the recording of these presentations).

• It has been proposed that additional SubStrategies be produced by an independent body, providing useful information and advice from many sources relevant to South Canterbury, with users including but not limited to TDC. Trust structure, governance and sponsorship is yet to be established, and Council role and connections were discussed by District Councillors in November 2023 and February 2024 but not resolved.

• As part of our engagement with the community on climate change, we also heard from youth. Below is a Word Cloud on the images which came to young people's mind on the topic of climate change in 2023. Further enquiries on youth perceptions on Climate can be sent to climatechange@timdc.govt.nz

The Question asked of youth:

Last updated: 15 Jan 2025