spring » Sift Blog

Source: Twig & Thistle Sárah Goldschadt Garden Flags Reusing egg cartons

SIFT has had a big week this week. I attended the Philanthropy NZ Regional Funders Forum on Tuesday and learnt about how to create a learning organisation from Fiona Ellis, who is the ex-Director of the Northern Rock Foundation in the UK, and what it means to be a social lender from Laura Benedict, a social lending practioner from the US. Laura is in New Zealand at the moment to write a paper on social lending in New Zealand as part of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Public Policy Fellowship and is the head of the commercial lending department of Self Help, the US’s largest non-profit community development financial institution. Lots of great and useful information from both speakers that I am still digesting.

And yesterday we had our yearly SIFT Strategic Planning Afternoon. We reviewed why we are here, what we want SIFT to be and do, the values, vision, mission and critical outcomes for the next year. One of those is to continue to grow SIFT as a learning organisation specifically to find waste minimisation/avoidance solutions.

We are ready for a New Year full of new projects and new ways of operating.

But for today here are the favourite links from around the world and locally:

• Tips from the Christchurch City Council on what to do if your organic wheelie bin freezes!
• The bigger picture – CO2 parts per million in the atmosphere is still rising – more action required.
• Spring idea – use old muffin pans here as mini planter boxes.
• UK recycling week to increase awareness of recycling. Keep NZ Beautiful week is September 17th to 24th. More info here.
• KR Connect talks trash – German artist HA Schult made a beach-side hotel out of rubbish from the beaches & Nike’s use of plastic bottles to make football jerseys.
• The new generation of GE lighting – Flexible Light Sheets.
• Easy way to plant native trees – the Life Box from Paul Stamets.
• Museo Ettore Guatelli’s collection of tools – lovely photos on Flickr.
• Invercargill and the Southland region is coming to terms with the best way to deal with all of its wastes here.
• Cleaning up polluted waterways here.

Have a great waste free weekend.