Call to nominate your local eco-heroes!

For Immediate Release: Monday 17th August

Sustainability Success Stories: Call to nominate your local eco-heroes!

350 Dunedin is putting out the call to Dunedin residents to nominate local sustainability success stories for an award at the Spring Food Festival. If you know an unsung eco-hero, dob them in so that their project and passion can be rewarded and showcased as part of the Festival. Nominees can be an individual or a group, of any age, as long as they as they have a skill, lifestyle or project which is a positive example of sustainability. This could relate to transport, gardening, recycling, building or something completely different – think as broadly as you want! Applications must be in by 4th September, and can be emailed to dunedin350@gmail.com or posted to 'Sustainability Success Stories, 122 Queen St, North Dunedin 9016' - please simply include your nominees name, contact details and an explanation of why they deserve the award. The top 10 local sustainability success story nominees will be invited to attend Dunedin's Spring Food Festival for an awards presentation and to share their ideas with the Dunedin public – prizes to be announced.

On Saturday October 24th Dunedin's very first Spring Food Festival will run at the Dunedin Railway Station from 10am to 4pm. The Spring Food Festival will be a celebration of innovative Dunedin sustainability and of all things green and growing! It will be a dynamic community event bringing together schools, community groups, NGO's and food producers to celebrate the start of the growing season and share knowledge about environmental issues and solutions. The delicious array of local produce available at the regular Saturday Farmer's market will be interspersed with free community workshops on everything from fruit preserves to home-brewing, composting and edible gardens. Over 3,000 seedlings will be given out during the festival, and local bands and community dance groups will provide music entertainment. A local Dunedin filmmaker will also be covering the event for a documentary to be completed later this year.

The Festival will coincide with events organized all around the country as part of the 350 campaign. Dunedin's Spring Food Festival is set to be the biggest 350 event in the country, with the stalls, workshops, entertainment, giveaways and awards. As well as this several churches plan to ring their bells 350 times. The '350 riders' movement pioneered by Dunedin biker Kashi Leuch is also gaining momentum as cyclists nationwide put the 350 number plate on their bikes – they will feature on October 24th with a 10km ride.

The Spring Food Festival is brought to you by Dunedin's 350 volunteer team. 350 is a global movement raising awareness about the current climate issues our planet is facing, and seeking to involve the in influencing world leaders to make the right decisions at December's Copenhagen convention. The name '350' refers to the safe upper limit of CO2 in our atmosphere, where we can live sustainably on earth – making this number the goal for all climate change discussions. The 350 Dunedin team are interested in promoting this message and in building community – they hope to do this by creating an event which is both fun and beneficial for all. The Festival goes ahead with the support of the DCC, Otago Polytechnic, Farmer's Market, and the University Design Department. The recognition of the ongoing effort and innovation of many local individuals and groups is a key part of the Spring Food Festival, with organisers looking forward to gathering and sharing some of the great sustainability success stories around Dunedin. Get in your nomination before 4th September for the everyday eco-heroes in your community.

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