We Did It! People Power - No Mining in NZ :)

Last week on July 20 the NZ government announced that there would be no mining in in Schedule 4 land or any national parks now or in the future. We did it! The various methods applied by non profit organisations using social media worked :)

The picture on the left was taken by Alex at the top of Mt Ngauruhoe (that's Mt Doom for Lord of the Rings fans ;) showing the view of Lake Taupo. From when did the Tongariro Crossing, an incredible walk through the National Park that took us several hours. We were exceptionally lucky with the weather, which is why you can see for miles!

Greenpeace wrote:

This is a huge victory for the environment, for you and for future generations. We saw the biggest protest in a generation and an avalanche of submissions. It goes to show that people power works, that when enough of us act together - we are unstoppable.

This is a hugely significant victory and shows the Government in no uncertain terms that New Zealanders want a better vision for the future. We value our environment and its importance to our economy. We don't want it sacrificed for short-term corporate profit.


When I tweeted "We did it" one of my followers Peter S Lopez suggested I blog about it, so here is a brief look from my perspective at what contributed to this success as a casual observer! I'm fairly sure that there was a lot more activity going on but this is all I can remember and highlights what stood out for me from their social media strategy!

TV News role: I remember the news on tv reporting the Government's proposal to mine in an area called Schedule 4, that had previously been protected like national parks, the Coromandel and Great Barrier island. We were staying with Will and Kirsten in Auckland at the time and it got us talking about the topic. Kirsten, Alex and I, visited the Coromandel (see next pic) and it just doesn't make sense to spoil somewhere so beautiful and such a tourist destination. Although we talked about it, no action was taken by any of us and I forgot about it until ...

Facebook: I started to see status updates about the topic from green groups and kiwi friends like Michael Q Todd (even though he's in Japan!) with links to sign petitions or competitions to design T-shirts slogans against the mining! I went to website signed the petition, it posted a message to my facebook status and I then used the other social media sharing button for ...

Twitter: I tweeted about the petition and others re-tweeted it. The conversation was going on and was useful for letting people know about upcoming deadlines for the petition. Initially the NZ government had set a deadline of end April/early May? Then it got extended and this gave even more people an oppotunity to participate. I saw that demonstration marches were organised in places like Auckland and Wellington. Alex and I, were unable to make any because we were on the South island. Still they seemed to be well attended and got media attention!

Email: As I'd given my email address for the petition, I then received updates by email from Greenpeace NZ and finally that was how I found out that we did it! People power succeeded.

I sometimes hear from people either in face to face conversations, or on social media, who think that they don't have the power to change the way things are. I disagree. I think we all have the power to make choices that support change or not.

I chose to pay attention to what was happening in this beautiful country I am visiting.

I noticed some messages online (less offline because I don't watch tv or listen to radio that often).

I followed them up - this usually only involved a simple click of my mouse on a link!

I added my name to a petition and a comment.

I shared the message on facebook and twitter - again as easy as clicking on a button and adding a brief personal message - sometimes there was even a draft one I could use (Greenpeace are great at providing these :) That's it!!

Anyone can do this if I can and many did. Thank you to everyone who helped put a stop to mining in NZ schedule 4 and national park areas. There are talks of others sorts of mining - Greenpeace describe it as dangerous deep-water oil drilling, and new coal and lignite mines. So there is already another petition under way to stop that! Click here to sign.

Hope this was interesting and helpful, please feel free to leave a comment and have your say.

Best wishes,

Peace

Emily

My Magical Birthday Dreams & Wishes

I celebrated my first winter birthday yesterday in Queenstown, New Zealand with Alex. The picture on the left is from on top of the mountain, in brilliant sunshine after lunch. He completely spoilt me and made my birthday truly special and magical. Starting with breakfast in bed, then opening my cards and presents from him, my family and friends. Thanks Mum & Dad, Sandra, Great Aunty Helen and Yung for birthday wishes and lovely messages. I know more are on the way and I am looking forward to the extension this gives me in celebrating my birthday! ;-)


I set the cards up today on our bookshelf in the living room :) I really loved the poem by Emily Matthews "Your Birthday is a Special Time for Dreaming" on the card from Alex all about the importance of dreams and wishes! Today there is a new moon and my fabulous friend Geraldine sent me a message saying how you can make many wishes on this day - here is how you can do it! I'll be making my list later today :)
I am also very grateful for all the email cards, messages on facebook and Twitter wishing me a wonderful birthday from all my awesome friends around the world. I managed to read some in the morning, more in the evening and all of them today! Anthony from Motivational Radio sang me happy birthday thanks to Tetka Rhu. I feel very blessed and honoured to receive them all. This blog is my way of saying thanks and sharing with you the joyous time I had celebrating it.

Alex arranged a day and night of skiing at Coronet Peak. This meant I was able to explore fully the snow park because I am not yet competent enough on my snowboard to manage the steeper more challenging slopes! We escaped at 1pm to Heidi's Hut at the base of the Rocky Gully T-Bar. The view you can see in this picture was taken from our table inside Heidi's Hut - reserved by Alex (one of the perks of his job)! "Intimate dining, pizza, pasta, coffee and a full bar service." We were right next to the window and fire place. The food was delicious and plentiful - we ordered bread (two loaves freshly baked - one wholemeal with seeds, the other plain) olives and dips as a starter. They'd sold out of the twice cooked pork belly main so we had pizza, which proved to be too much after the bread - dough! ;)

We washed it down with some local Central Otago Lake Hayes Pinot Noir 08 - described as "deeply coloured and packed with sweet ripe fruit aromas with a touch of spice ... a fine, silky texture." It was divine. The kiwis know how to make good wine!

We continued playing on the slopes the rest of the afternoon, meeting up with Toby (our landlord) and his friend Max both snowboarders. I was impressed by their style and tricks jumping/turning mid air as they made their way down the slopes.

Alex is awesome on the board too (considering it's his first season - only a few weeks in) and a real speed devil, travelling at times faster than me on my skis!! And some of you will know how fast I like to travel ... or maybe I'm slowing down a bit now in my old age? ;-)


We stopped for some hot chocolate when it got dark, which allowed me to put away my sunglasses. When Alex came out with the drinks, he also had a a slice of chocolate cake with two candles on it!! So I made a wish as I blew them out and we then ate/drank it all.

The skiing at night was fun and the picture here shows you how pretty the place looks - we also experienced the sun setting making the sky that magical orange, purple, pink glow you see around the edges of the mountains! Coronet Peak stays open late on Friday and Saturday nights until 9pm. We didn't stay that long because Alex had another surprise in store for me at 7pm ...

A private indoors/outdoors hot pool high on the cliffs overlooking the Shotover River canyon thanks to Onsen Hot Pools. It was incredibly romantic because he had asked for the room to be set up like the picture to be lit up with candles! At the press of a button you can retract the picture windows (roof and front-wall) and suddenly you're outdoors. It was completely magical and breath taking to be able to look up and see all the night stars and the milky way! It was fabulous to experience an hour immersed in the views, the pure waters, and the fresh mountain air, allowing our mind and body to surrender to the deep penetrating warmth and gentle massage of the private pool. It was just what we needed to soak and relax our muscles after the days adventures.

We finished celebrating my birthday in Queenstown at the Patagnia Chocolate shop. We had ice cream cones with two scoops (dark chocolate, figs & pistachio for me; Alex had dark chocolate and banana split) and hot chocolate. We loved the ice cream and thought the hot chocolate was not as nice as the one's at Coronet Peak, maybe it was because the dark chocolate ice cream was sooooo rich = spoiling the taste? - or simply because they didn't come with marshmallows and M&Ms!

Today I have missed Alex's company because he's back at work :( However, thanks to his thoughtful birthday present - a wireless mouse as shown with my new laptop here - I've had an easier time navigating online!

Thank you Alex for my magical birthday, I can't wait to return the favour when it is yours and we are in Australia! And thank you everyone for your wishes, I feel totally supporting in pursuing my dreams :)

Big hugs and lots of love Emily xxx

Virtual Assistant Goddess

I've often joked to my friends that I am their Virtual Assisant Goddess when lending them support to their causes and projects! Yesterday I made a decision to use the nickname as a fun and playful way to promote myself on LinkedIn. It's part of my on going plan to get paid for doing what I love.

Ever since the Lifeline project last summer, I've been using my skills to develop my knowledge of social media and to expand my network of people aligned with creating sustainable change. I've discovered how to step into my greatness to create the life I love thanks to Geraldine McMahon. I also learnt about owning my power thanks to Tetka Rhu author of Embrace Your Goddess book and the Goddess of Spirituality on Motivation Radio.

I now feel ready to put it altogether and be of service to others! Here's a description of what I do ...

I connect people using social media to ideas that can change themselves and the world for the better.

I believe in making what YOU do more AWESOME!!

I bring my experience as a project manager and passion for coaching to ensure that those I work with achieve results.

I am excellent at building good working relationships, which is one of the secrets to my success.

I also use my divine feminine consciousness - the goddess quality - to guide you in a fun, intuitive way to check that your heart is aligned to your goals.

If you've ever wanted someone to do the tasks you put off or don't get round to - consider them done with me acting as your Virtual Assistant Goddess!

Other key skills:
• Professional - prioritising work & organisation to meet due dates
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills
• Amazing MS Office skills & understanding of social media
• Can do attitude - very proactive, great motivator & problem solver
• Effective coaching skills & personal development tools

Examples of my voluntary work so far include the Lifeline.tv, UN Millenium Development Goals Youth Film Online Festival Awards and International Peace Day.

If you have any questions or comments please ask and I will answer!

Peace, love and Light, Emily xx