So this is a little late...but it's Earth Hour tonight at 8.30pm! Earth Hour aims to raise awareness about sustainability and climate change by turning off lights and conserving as much power as possible for the hour - and best of all, it can be fun

!If you're out hut-bagging for the weekend, cheers to you - you're already celebrating it without even knowing it - and you're most probably surrounded by greenness while you're doing it...*mwahaha...win for the greenies*

However, if you're like me and are stuck in Wellington for the weekend due to work/study/other commitments/general laziness, grab some candles, invite some friends over, and drink some wine (or beer if you're too hardy for wine). If you want to be a little more cultured, lots of restaurants around the city (Logan Brown, Sweet Mother's Kitchen, Hummingbird and others) are switching off the lights and serving dinner by candle light.

If you're in a walking mood, a walk up Wright's Hill in Karori or Mt Kaukau give pretty good views at night (or there are plenty of others).

The Uke Stars are playing in Civic Square from 7.00 - 9.30pm (they were pretty good last year), and lots of major buildings around Wellington (such as Parliament and the Railway Station) will be switching their lights off for the hour - which does look pretty impressive!

I know that in practice this event doesn't solve any major issues and often gets quite a lot of criticism, but its purpose is to raise awareness and realise that sustainability can be fun - and it does that well. So get involved! :)

 From your Conservation Officer,

Anita