by Mark Feenstra, Robin Allison, and friends
Earthsong is a community experiment in ecological and social sustainability. What are we best at that can be most useful to others?
In 2024 we held our first Sustainable Living Festival. The impulse to pilot such an event was catalyzed by our growing awareness of the interdependence of our resilience with that of our wider neighbourhood. Impacts of climate change are already clear locally and nationally, with many houses having become unlivable during unprecedented floods in 2023, in Auckland where we are located, along with other regions of New Zealand. The festival was an opportunity to clarify how Earthsong might best contribute to the resilience of our wider community in 2024 and beyond.
Take a look at our 5 minute film showcasing our journey:
Feedback from festival goers suggested that the day-to-day neighbourly support they saw at Earthsong is precious and often missing in their own communities.
Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood is a living window into how neighbourly support works in practice and its extraordinary benefits as the cost of living continues to increase at a faster rate than incomes and availability of community services continue to decrease. Perhaps we can build on this initial feedback in coming years to inspire and assist more social entrepreneurs and community leaders to explore practical wasy that neighbouly support can enhance community resilience in and around Aotearoa New Zealand.
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