Forty-five people attended today’s climate change workshop in Pukerua Bay, a good turnout for a sunny Sunday afternoon and which included three of the local ward city councillors and the mayor.

Also present were members of Porirua City Council’s sustainability and climate change team, who gave attendees a rundown on the risks climate change and extreme weather events present to Pukeru Bay.

The workshop used the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as the framework for discussion, and groups identified the ones relevant to our community, and came up with examples of things we are either doing, could do more of, or could start. People took a broad view, with a resilient community focus and climate change as a major force impacting the community. Some of the ideas were for more information, such as workshops on solar household power, or taking a ‘circular economy’ view of household or business purchases, while others involved sharing of resources. Planned housing developments and infrastructure were also identified as things that need a strong climate change response built in.

The ideas collected are being collated and will be shared with the participants and the rest of the community.

Porirua City Council will soon start consulting the community on its climate change action plan, and today’s workshop puts the Pukerua Bay community in a good position to get into more detailed discussions with the council on our needs, and how we can contribute to the community response.