#213: Tiny but mighty

On celebrating the small

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!

It’s easier than ever to feel small and insignificant in the face of climate change, with bruising news such as our Ministry for the Environment being scrapped and cuts to environmental funding coming hard and fast (more on this in our five minute action section). But today I’d like to flip the script and celebrate the tiny, the often unseen, but incredibly powerful elements that help make up our world - starting with moss, the subject of the wonderful (and very small) book Gathering Moss.

Reading this collection of beautifully reflective essays, a whole other world of these miniature rainforests opened up to me. Did you know mosses can hold up to 20 times their own weight in water? They are vital to rainforests and carbon sequestration, and gosh are they resilient - some can be left for years to dry out, only to be revived by water! You could go your whole life not noticing the tiny mats of green covering hard-to-notice places like cracks in the footpath or logs. Towering trees and ferns often take centre stage in our native forests. But take another look and so much of our world is covered with soft green mosses, all slightly different and all performing their own functions. Once I started looking for it, moss was everywhere.

I see moss as a metaphor for the climate action ecosystem, for the things that go unnoticed but are integral to holding us together. The conversations, the mahi, the purpose that keeps us going. And once you start looking, really paying attention and moving through the world with more care, this once-invisible network of life is everywhere. As author Robin Wall Kimmerer says, “They’re the most overlooked plants on the planet. But they’re gifts, too. They provide us with another model of how we might live.

What can we do today?

The most-clicked link last week was our one-click link (make sure to fill in the brackets with your own information at the beginning and the end!) or our email template to demand the end to proposed legislative changes to the Climate Change Response Act 2002. We’ve been wowed by the huge amount of emails flooding our inbox - keep them coming!

🐝 5 minutes: We’re not buying the sell-out

• This Government is systematically removing protections and safeguards to our environment in Aotearoa, including scrapping the Ministry for the Environment. Now, the Government also wants to open the door to selling off public conservation land.
  Action: Add your name to this petition demanding the Government stop all plans for sale, exchange, and commercial exploitation of conservation lands.

• Over $1 million in political donations linked to fast-tracked projects have been made since 2022. These include projects linked to mining, sand extraction, and quarry construction. Climate Liberation Aotearoa is calling on the Labour Party to commit to repealing the Fast-Track Legislation as well as protecting people’s rights to hold polluters accountable in court (see our 19 May newsletter for more information on this

  Action: Add your name to Climate Liberation Aotearoa’s petition here

🐇 15 minutes: Volun-tear down those walls

• Take part in the Climate Club resolution for June and join a climate organisation! Choose one of the 50+ climate organisations in NZ that aligns with your interests whether that’s food, fashion, finance, law, art, sports, or humanitarian rights.

  • Make it (even more) social: Sometimes it’s hard to go to an event on your own - bring a friend with you, or if you’d like, email us and we can see if we can connect you to someone in the group!

• Waitaki District/Marlborough District: Live in Waitaki or Marlborough? Residents are being asked for feedback on topics such as cycleways, public transport (non-existent in Waitaki District and limited in Marlborough), and waste management. Take this opportunity to get resilient climate infrastructure on the agenda.
  Action: Fill out the survey for Marlborough District Council and for Waitaki District Council

💃🏽 30+ minutes: Promote the vote

• Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland & Poneke Wellington: Speaking of joining climate organisations, 350 Aotearoa are looking for keen folk to help them prepare for the election in November! If you’re interested in getting involved, join their annual volunteer hui in June.
  Action: Find out more and RSVP here.

  • Bonus Action (Nationwide): Forest & Bird are also looking for volunteers to support their election campaigns. Sign up here.

• The Climate Club team is part of a big group of organisations working to get out the youth vote this election year.
  Action: Volunteer for the group, get in touch with the team here

Events

• Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, 10 June: Rewiring Aotearoa is running a series of hui to help people electrify their homes, save money, and reduce their emissions. Find out more about the hui here.

• Otautahi Christchurch, 11 June: Christchurch Envirohub is running a hui to support community groups in applying for funding, as well as their engagement in funding processes. RSVP here.

Wins!

• We’re watching the fossil fuel era ending, in real time: All energy demand increases last year were met by clean energy, and global energy generation produced by fossil fuels fell 0.2%. (This might not seem like much, but if the trend continues fossil fuels have likely peaked when it comes to energy production.)

• At the recent France-Africa Summit, the French government alongside French companies announced over $11 billion in clean energy investments across Africa. These range from solar farms to clean cooking initiatives and sustainable aviation fuel production, with the goal of helping Africa develop their own green infrastructure.

• In the last Climate Club poll, the majority of people who selected an option said they’d talked to over 5 people about voting climate this election!

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That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action! If you haven’t heard enough about moss already, enjoy these interesting facts (and gorgeous pictures) about moss from Kew Gardens.

One of the gorgeous mosses from the Kew Gardens moss blog.

See you next week,

Jen & the Climate Club team

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