Kerikeri climate change exhibition opened by British High Commissioner

One of the stunning images from the Trouble in Paradise – Climate Change in the Pacific photography exhibition that opens at the Turner Centre, in Kerikeri, on November 2.

Climate change is a serious issue and in a sign of just how important it is, the British High Commissioner will open a photographic exhibition on the subject in Kerikeri next month.

Iona Thomas, the British High Commissioner to NZ, will open Trouble in Paradise — Climate Change in the Pacific at the Turner Centre on November 2.

The exhibition is a partnership with the British High Commission and British Council New Zealand and the Pacific, and made possible by the Bay of Islands’ Whangaroa Community Board.

Trouble in Paradise — Climate Change in the Pacific features the winning entries from the UK’s Pacific Climate Photography Competition, which received more than 300 submissions documenting the effects of the climate crisis. The 60 winning photos on display were entered under the categories of Marine, Land, People, Youth and Junior. Photographers as young as 8 paint a stark picture of the rising sea levels, tropical cyclones and frequent floods experienced by those living in the Pacific. The imagery is arresting.

Images of bleached corals in Fiji and houses submerged in water in Samoa will be among those on display, giving visitors a first-hand look at the impacts climate change has on communities and livelihoods.

Trouble in Paradise will be opened by British High Commissioner Iona Thomas, who will speak at the opening, which will include a mihi whakatau by Ngāti Rēhia.

British High Commissioner Iona Thomas will be in Kerikeri next month to open a climate change photography exhibition.

“We are pleased to be bringing this exhibition to Northland, from its current presentation at Tūhura Otago Museum. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges the world faces, and our neighbours in the Pacific are on the front line. Despite being some of the lowest-emitting countries, they are often the hardest hit. We hope these powerful images will help to raise awareness of why urgent action is needed,” Thomas said.

Turner Centre general manager Gerry Paul said the exhibition had been in Parliament and the National Library in Wellington, Tūhura Otago Museum and Auckland City Central Library.

“We are very excited to be bringing it to Te Tai Tōkerau and giving our community the chance to reflect on this stunning collection of moving images,” Paul said.

To mark the opening of Trouble in Paradise, one of Aotearoa’s leading climate change scientists, Professor Richard Levy, of GNS Science and Victoria University, will deliver a presentation on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in Te Tai Tōkerau. The presentation will be facilitated by Mariao Hohaia, of Ngāti Rēhia. Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in Te Tai Tokerau – with Professor Richard Levy, is on November 2 from 7pm at the Turner Centre.

The vast majority of the world’s scientists agree that, because of global warming, the oceans are rising and will continue to do so for centuries to come. But there is uncertainty over how much the sea will rise, how rapidly it will rise, and how it will affect New Zealand’s coastal areas.

Wellington environment and climate scientist Levy is travelling to Kerikeri to give a presentation on climate change, its impact on Antarctica, and consequences for sea level rise. He will discuss local factors that will affect sea level along our coastline and will explore some of the actions and activities that are occurring around the world and in New Zealand as we begin to adapt to unavoidable impacts of climate change and work to avoid the worst.

For more information, contact, Gerry Paul at gerry.paul@turnercentre.co.nz.