Think Tank members and Club Champions may find the tools on this page useful to include in Zonta meetings or when advocating for climate action. If you have an item that you would like to share, please forward it to Zonta Says NOW.
| Title/Link | Description |
| Mindful Chef | This UK company is a B Corp company, that minimises its carbon footprint, and donates a meal to a child living in poverty for every meal it sells. This example shows how more companies are choosing to embed carbon neutrality and social responsibility into their business models. Information provided by Val Sarah member of the ZC Ballarat. |
| How long does it take to decompose? | Did you know that it can take up to 550 years for a disposable nappy to decompose? This useful list covers many everyday items and will make you re-think some of your purchases. it is designed to be read on-screen. Information provided by Vicki Carman-Brown, D23 Area 5 Director and member of the ZC Devonport. |
| Feb 2021 NGO CSW meeting | NGO CSW New York meeting was themed Climate Crisis and Climate Action by and for Women and Girls. Around the 53 minute mark is a presentation by Mara Dolan from the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) that contains some excellent slides. The WEDO website has an extensive resource library of news, reports, fact sheets and multi-media. WEDO also produces a Gender Climate Tracker app. Information provided by Alwyn Friedersdorff, D23 UN Coordinator and member of ZC Albury-Wodonga. |
| Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Statement | Submitted by Zonta International for the sixty-fifth session on 15-26 March 2021. This go-to document summarises Zonta’s position on Covid, climate change and violence against women. Information provided by Alwyn Friedersdorff, D23 UN Coordinator and member of ZC Albury-Wodonga. |
| Climate Change is a women’s issue | The Advocacy Group in District 23 Area 1 has created this useful document that contains a host of ideas on how individuals and clubs can respond to climate change. This information was provided by Jasmine Schuijers from ZC Melbourne-on-Yarra. |
| Climate risk is investment risk | Increasingly the financial world is seriously worried about how climate change impacts investments – and that in turn affects our shares, our Super Fund, our bank accounts and insurance premiums. This easy-to-read overview of the key issues is designed to be read on-screen. Information provided by Suzanne Lees from the ZC Melbourne-on-Yarra. |
| Women’s Earth Alliance | Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) catalyzes women-led, grassroots solutions to protect our environment and strengthen communities from the inside out. WEA’s model provides leadership, strategy, and technical training for women leaders to scale their climate and environmental initiatives while connecting them to a global alliance of peers, mentors, and funders. |
| Climate Action Network | Climate Action Network (CAN) is a powerful global network of more than 1,500 civil society organisations in over 130 countries driving collective and sustainable action to fight the climate crisis and to achieve social and racial justice. |
| Women Deliver | Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women. Our advocacy drives investment — political and financial — in the lives of girls and women worldwide. |
| Dark Emu (Book) | Dark Emu argues for a reconsideration of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia’s past is required. |
| Area Workshops Presentation | The slides and notes from this presentation given at Area workshops in 2021 are shared in pdf format here in a mini-book. |
| Recycling tips | Aluminium foil recycling – must be crushed into a ball the size of a fist – the larger the better. Very small all-foil pieces from seals, etc. can be included inside the larger pieces before making the ball. Council Climate Strategies – Many councils are now finalising their climate strategies, which provides an opportunity for residents/members to highlight their concerns and ideas, via surveys or direct emails. Council websites – have guidance on what recycling they can accept and other options only available in that municipality. Circular economies – We can aid the creation of circular economies by encouraging the purchase of goods made from recycled materials. This supports the sustainability of recycling systems and improves the viability and value of same. Information provided by Pam Sloss |
| Ballarat Activities May 2021 | Download these three pages of information from PIP Val Sarah: ”an odd collection of items for your interest, mainly press cuttings, in no particular order, but mostly generated from the Ballarat area … note the number of women heading up the action!” Information provided by Val Sarah from the ZC Ballarat. |
| Cash for nappies … | This article appeared in the Age newspaper on 25 April 2021: “Michael Jansen, the council’s manager of sustainability and waste, said every baby in cloth nappies prevented about 667 kilograms of disposable nappies from reaching landfill every year.” Information provided by Bronwen Haywood from the ZC Central Goldfields. |
| Seaweed used to reduce methane from cows | A Tasmanian business producing seaweed that can reduce the methane output and subsequent environmental impact of farm animals has raised $34 million in funding as it looks to capitalise on a global opportunity. Launched in 2019 by Aussie environmentalist Sam Elsom, Sea Forest grows asparagopsis, a type of native seaweed, and converts it into animal feed supplements. Those supplements essentially lessen the environmental damage done by the flatulent beasts, reducing the amount of methane they release and curbing some of the negative effects of farming. The seaweed itself also draws a considerable amount of Co2 from the atmosphere, the founder explains. Information provided by Christine Hepburn from the ZC Launceston. |
| Food Plant Solutions | There is often a disconnect between nutrition and agriculture. Contrary to popular belief, there is a wealth of edible food plants in the world, (over 33,000). Each country has hundreds, (some have thousands) of edible plants known to grow there, and yet, worldwide we only eat a small portion of these. Recently, Food Plant Solutions (FPS) completed educational materials for eleven countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger and Somalia. These educational materials identify local food plants for a country that are high in the most beneficial nutrients (Iron, Zinc, Protein, Vit A, Vit C and include starchy staples). The materials explain how to grow these plants, what parts are edible, photos, how to use the parts and nutritional information. Information on sustainable and ecologically sound growing practices is also included. FPS materials are science-based (use Bruce French’s Edible Plants of the World Database), and all materials are written in plain English. There are various levels of materials that are suited to varying degrees of literacy and materials are translated where possible. This approach is proven to achieve a diverse diet, rich in local well-adapted food plants, grown using agroecological methods, which is sustainable, nutritious, ensures food security and helps to mitigate climate change. Check out the FPS resources! Information provided by Vicki Carman-Brown, ZC Devonport |