Kia ora koutou. 

I'm a youthworker, a filmmaker with a science background, born and raised in Otago, and standing for election as part of the Greater Dunedin team.  I’m passionate about working towards a positive, secure and sustainable future for our beautiful city. 

I believe that we need to interpret the challenges posed by rising debt, climate change and resource limits as an opportunity to build stronger and more resilient communities. I'm excited by the idea of a Council that actively promotes community-led initiatives, and supports community groups, local services, local producers and manufacturers.  I'd love to live in a Dunedin with an abundance of fresh food, powered by distributed renewable energy, linked by accessible sustainable transport options and offering its young people exciting job opportunities. 

My priorities on the Council would lie in connecting people with people, and people with this wonderful place we call home.

You can read more about my priorities, and catch up with the latest campaign news on my website at www.jintymactavish.co.nz, or follow the campaign on Facebook or Twitter.

Top 5 Issues

1. Supporting local producers and manufacturers.
   
   The Otago Farmers’ Market is a wonderful example of the way a thriving local economy can feed the heart and soul of our city, and of how the Council can support local businesses to become increasingly sustainable and resilient.
2. Supporting community groups and local services
   
   Community groups and local services keep our city’s social clock ticking. The next Council must find ways to support and build on the efforts and successes of our volunteers.
3. Helping young people connect with Dunedin
   
   Here in Dunedin, I’m a demographic abnormality: a qualified 20-something who chose to stay in Dunedin after graduating. I'm keen to work towards a stronger partnership between the Council and our city's educational institutions, and a commitment to hearing youth voice during decision-making processes.
4. Promoting sustainable transport options
   
   Although the Otago Regional Council is the authority currently in charge of Dunedin’s bus services, there are other ways the Council can promote safe, healthy, sustainable transport options, particularly in regards to developing pedestrian- and cycling-safe corridors within the city.
5. Preparing for the impacts of climate change
   
   The direct and indirect effects of climate change on the city within the next 50 years will be significant, even if we stop burning fossil fuels tomorrow. It's time for the Council to start seriously facing these challenges, and working with communities to find solutions.

Personal Profile

Born in Dunedin and raised in Moeraki, I moved back to the city to study in 2003 and have been based here ever since.

Youth Work

I’m currently working as a Regional Coordinator for the Enviroschools programme here in Otago. I’m super lucky – my role includes facilitating at seven great schools around Dunedin, and coordinating a secondary youth crew called ReGeneration Otago. ReGeneration is a nationwide project that helps secondary students engage proactively with their communities and their place, to design and create a positive future.

The creative bit -

I’m also a filmmaker, and have just completed a Masters in Science Communication at the University of Otago. I’ve made two films. Lessons from a Melting Icecap follows the journey of three Otago Girls’ High students from Dunedin to Greenland, where they come face to face with the harsh realities of climate change. It’s now being used by schools around the country to help young people understand the issue of climate change. Geckos Rock was used by the Fiordland Conservation Trust to help secure commercial sponsorship for the Sinbad Sanctuary Project, deep in Fiordland. I feel very lucky to have worked on two such meaningful film projects!

Other stuff I love doing -

I sit on the board of Volunteering Otago, and I’m a founding member of Sustainable Dunedin City (SDC).  As part of my work with SDC I organised and ran the first Dunedin Secondary Students’ Climate Forum, which supported 4000 young Dunedinites to have their vision for a sustainable, secure future heard by Dunedin’s leaders.  Their communiqué is, I feel, still a very relevant and powerful document.

I also volunteer with a global organisation called 350.org. In 2009 I coordinated the 350 Aotearoa schools’ event, which saw hundreds of schools around the country take action for a safe climate future.  I also helped organise Dunedin’s 350 Spring Food Festival.  This year we’ve merged the work that SDC does with 350’s Global Working Bee campaign, and launched Dunedin’s Big Green Challenge!

In the past I’ve also worked for Dunedin-based film production house NHNZ Ltd. and volunteered with an Oxfam-supported charity in India. I occasionally write (when I feel passionately about something and manage to convince someone it’s publishable!), including for New Zealand’s sustainable living magazine Good, and for the ODT’s World Focus.