Uncategorized

Here are some pics for the electric vehicle (EV) and e-Bike test drive sessions we held at Ōtaki College on 7 April and Kāpiti Community Centre 15 April 2018 in co-operation with KCDC’s community garden parties. Thanks to all the people that supported the events including Donald Love, Camille Reffin, Mark Gibbin, Phil Malpas, Liz Mikkelsen, Jean Fleming, Rick Swan, David Rumsey (Melo Yelo) and Sam and Candice King (Avanti Plus Kapiti). There was strong interest from the public. I had my first e-bike ride and it was awesome!

Here is a mostly complete catalog of all the builders and the models they contributed to the display. For more pictures of it all together, see this earlier blog, or get down to Coastlands Mall, Paraparaumu!

[Read more…] about All the builders!

Well, after months of preparations and a very full-on day and a half assembling the case, posters, models and mechanics, our model of a Lego Low Carbon Kāpiti is complete! There is far too much in there to cover in one blog post, but suffice to say we have created an exciting and fun vision of how the Kāpiti Coast could be in 2025 if we face up to the challenge of climate change and cut our carbon emissions deep and fast. See below for photo graphs and all the builders and their models, or go see it for real down at Coastlands Mall in Paraparaumu before 22 April.

[Read more…] about The display is up!

Back in 2013, I was sitting at my desk at Kāpiti Coast District Council wrestling with this problem – how do I show the difference between LED streetlights and the old-style orange sodium streetlights in the middle of a sports field on a sunny day? The field and day in question was the upcoming 2014 Sustainable Home and Garden Show. Naturally, I would have to put the lights in a black-out marquee – but then what would entice people come in? And what would the lights be illuminating anyway? As I often did, I turned to my right and discussed this problem with my workmate and friend Ben. A consummate ‘ideas-man’, Ben uttered the fateful words “what about a Lego Town?”

That was the eureka moment and everything flowed from there – working with local Lego fans and other contributors, we created a model sustainable settlement and then the following year we did another, a bigger one modelled directly on plans for the future Paraparaumu town centre. You can read all about the details in a conference paper on the topic here, or in a presentation here. We pioneered an award-winning public engagement method that made potentially dry subject material exciting and interesting to a wide range of people. However, the lack of a focal point at Kāpiti Coast District Council for further projects (the last Sustainable Home and Garden Show was in 2015) meant ‘Lego Town’ didn’t come back in 2016 or 2017.

[Read more…] about Building a model ‘low carbon’ community from Lego®: your ideas wanted!