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On 25 Feb 2010 at 10 a.m., Chris Tobias, Lead Strategist at Forward, will deliver a guest lecture at National University of Singapore's School of Geography. The lecture will cover Energy Production and Sustainable Societies. If you are interested to attend, please contact him for more information. 
Join us for yet another great edition of Forward Thinking Thursdays. Chill out and have a chat with other switched on people and share what you're up to. No cost, RSVP's appreciated. See you there! PS: Have you gotten on www.Celsias.co.nz yet? Check it out and join the many other people involved on this great kiwi website! What: Forward Thinking Thursdays Where: Mezze Bar and Tapas Restaurant, Durham Lane (between High St. and Queen St., behind Whitcoulls) When: 24th September, from 5:30 onward Why: Relax and mingle with a group of switched on professionals about the issues that matter. Enjoy good food and drinks and great conversation!
This month on Forward Thinking Thursday, we have a really special sneak peak of Celsias! www.Celsias.co.nz is a hub for professionals working in the sustainability space to share their stories, intiatives, actions, and thoughts. We're interested in helping share the stories of kiwis who are making things happen! Accompanying the website is a 6-monthly magazine put out by HB Media. All attendees to Forward Thinking Thursday will get a FREE copy of the magazine. Join us for good conversation, yummy food, fabulous wine, and highlights of a really cool project. No cost, RSVP's appreciated. See you there! What: Forward Thinking Thursdays Where: Mezze Bar and Tapas Restaurant, Durham Lane (between High St. and Queen St., behind Whitcoulls) When: 27th August, from 5:30 onward Why: Relax and mingle with a group of switched on professionals about the issues that matter. Enjoy good food and drinks, and get a FREE copy of Celsias magazine. The online portal for New Zealand's eco-system has arrived! Join us online today: www.celsias.co.nz (and keep an eye open for Celsias Magazine bundled with Idealog coming out August/September!) 
 Some June/July announcements (in no particular order):
1) Check out the latest Idealog Magazine for two articles from us: one on permaculture in business and another on the stunning New Zealand film This Way of Life. 2) The latest Forward Thinking Thursdays event held on the 25th of June was another success! See you at the next one on the 30th of July at Mezze Bar. 3) For the month of July we'll be overseas attending the 15th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference in Utrecht, Netherlands. We'll also be exploring cultures in Eastern Europe, as well as checking out an organic farm and landfill-cum-wildlife sanctuary in Singapore. Sound interesting? Stay tuned! In the coming months, Celsias.com in cooperation with HB Media will be launching Celsias.co.nz, a hub for the professional sustainability community nationwide in New Zealand. We’re currently helping pull together contributors and content for the project. If you or your organisation would like the routine opportunity to share what’s on in your area of interest, send an email to info@celsias.com with your contact details and what you’d like to share. Celsias is open to organisations, local and national government, non-profits, community groups, business, consultants, and informed individuals. We hope to involve you in this great online community in the months ahead.
Thanks to everyone who made it out to last night’s terrific event. We had around 15 people from all backgrounds show up for a few hours-- and a lot of meaningful conversation. People stayed on well past 6:30, with the last minglers clearing out at 8:30. We hope to see you for a glass of wine next time and hear what you’re up to. The next event will take place at the end of June: What: Forward Thinking Thursdays
When: Thursday 25th of June, 5:30-6:30 ish (not fussed about being on time or leaving early/staying late), and every last Thursday of the month
Where: Hosted at Mezze Bar + Tapas Restaurant, 1st Floor, Durham Lane in Auckland’s CBD – Meet us at the back of the space overlooking Queen St. and grab a drink/nibbles at the bar on the way!
Why: Have meaningful conversation about issues that matter, get new ideas and constructive feedback, meet more switched on people in a small, manageable group, chilled out group setting We have a column on Results Only Work Environment out in Issue 21 of the award-winning Idealog Magazine this month. Check it out!  Finally! Some images from an earth building workshop I attended a short while ago, facilitated by the renowned New Zealand architect, Graeme North. Check out the process here in images as we built an experimental structure using cob, mud brick, bamboo, and lightweight concrete.
It was a fantastic workshop and really inspiring to get hands-on with readily available, natural, local materials. The building project (complete to the final picture you see at the end) took two teams working over 16 days. I was involved in the first group that got the foundation layers put in, as well as a good portion of the walls and roof. The second group took over with the structure and improved on the rest. Not bad for a bunch of novices.
The final structure will likely be used as a storage shed on the property, and be monitored over time to see how the combinations of materials have weathered the NZ elements. We encountered a few difficulties due to rain and wind, but it was amazing to see what a beating the materials took, and how well they cured in spite of the conditions. In better weather and with a bit of practice, it would seem likely that a larger structure could go up much faster than what we experienced. Thanks Graeme for your expertise and showing us which end was up!
In recent chats with our colleagues Jill Caldwell, Nick Jones, and Maggie Buxton, we realised a need: talented professionals working in the “sustainability space” could use the occasional chance to connect and share ideas. If you’ve been yearning for feedback on a project, find yourself needing inspiration, want to collaborate, or just want to stay on the pulse of what others are up to, feel free to join us.
When: Beginning Thursday 28th of May from 5:30-6:30, and every last Thursday of the month
What: We are kicking off Forward Thinking Thursdays Where: Hosted at Mezze Bar + Tapas Restaurant, 1st Floor, Durham Lane in Auckland’s CBD Why: Have meaningful conversation about issues that matter, get new ideas and constructive feedback, meet more switched on people in a small, manageable group We envision keeping the group an intimate size of around 10-15 people (or so) to keep things manageable. More small-talk with interesting people, less getting lost in the crowd. Think of it as Green Drinks meets Pecha Kucha in a smaller room without fuss or formality. Keen? RSVP – chris@forward.net.nz Bill McKibben's first book The End of Nature was highly influential in putting climate change firmly at the top of the agenda for world leaders like Al Gore. More recently, McKibben founded 350.org. This rapidly growing global movement is working to raise awareness about, and action on, climate change issues. During his New Zealand visit, McKibben will be spreading the word about what it means to genuinely deal with climate change. We need to go beyond being more efficient or carbon neutral, and we need to start absorbing more carbon than we release.
Monday 4th May
Waitakere City: 9am – 11:30am, Central Auckland: 1pm – 3pm
for more info about the tour contact Aaron 027 351 9994
for more info see www.350.org.nz alsowww.350.organdwww.billmckibben.com | 350 parts per million (ppm) is the safe concentration of carbon doxide in the atmosphere for the planet. The current global concentration is 387ppm and increasing at 2ppm per year. Let’s turn it around! |
As of 1 December 2008, Forward's lead strategist Chris Tobias will also be handling the role of Editor at Celsias.com. The site specialises in climate change issues and taking action. Visit the site and check out their blog: www.celsias.com This month kept us busy with a wide range of client work. We put the finishing touches on two modules for BRANZ's Level website that should be live later this year. The launch of Organic Explorer's Second Edition at The Grange in Ponsonby also went off without a hitch. Some great times were had by all who attended the event. We are now hard at work on a Sustainable Development Reporting toolkit for the NZICA which should also be completed around early 2009. In other news, Good Magazine is syncing with the Forward Events Diary in their Dec/Jan edition. Join us in supporting this fantastic publication, and keep a lookout for Forward. We have a big announcement coming up in early November, so stay tuned! 
~Drinks and Nibbles at the Organic Explorer Launch, hosted by The Grange Ponsonby. Thanks Saskia and Blair!  | |