Frances Mountier
Frances Mountier was the media contact for the Save Happy Valley Coalition in New Zealand.[1]
She is a writer (amongst other things) living in Wellington, and has been involved in climate justice work for a number of years.
Mountier was active in the Save Happy Valley campaign to protect the Waimangaroa valley - which is just up from Denniston - from Solid Energy's proposed opencast mine. More recently, she have been involved in Coal Action Network Aotearoa which is working to phase out all coal mining in NZ within twenty years.[2]
Environmental studies
A passion for the environment and social issues has drawn former Hillmorton High School student Frances Mountier into early studies for a Bachelor of Environmental Management degree at Lincoln University. At the start of 2004 Frances, aged just 16, was a Year 13 student but then she discovered Lincoln University's Regional Education programme.
Through regional Education Francs enrolled in the paper perspectives on the Environment 101R for semester one and did so well that she achieved and A-plus pass in the final exam.
In April she attended Lincoln University's inspirational and award-winning Environschool and that settled it, she decided to quit school and start work on an environmental management degree straight away.
The decision was also helped by a family familiarity with Lincoln University. Frances' father in a Lincoln alumus with an engineering degree and her grandfather, Neil Mountier, had been a staff member for over 20 years.
Although her life has taken a rapid and dramatic turn - from high school classroom to university studies - from NCEA to BEM - she knows she is now on the pathway to a career qualification in the area of her passionate interests.
Save Happy Valley
2005 - Frances Mountier, Daniel Rae, Johnathan Oosterman involved in protest at Solid Energy Building in Christchurch to stop proposed new West Coast mine.[3]
2006 - Teall Crossen, a lawyer from Forest and Bird, described Happy Valley as a unique alpine wetland at a public meeting in Christchurch and pointed out that only 10% of the original wetland ecosystems in Aotearoa remain, a sentiment echoed by Save Happy Valley Coalition spokesperson Frances Mountier.
Kotare
According to Kotare’s Spring 2006 newsletter Kotare Trust has a Youth Advisory group of people under 25 who have volunteered to give us feedback on how we are working generally and also specifically with younger people. We are meeting with them on November 11 and 12 to discuss our work. The advisory group members are Tali Williams from Wellington, Frances Mountier from Christchurch, John Darroch from South Auckland and Tui Armstrong from Whangarei. These young people have all participated in Kotare activities since the age of 15 and have active networks and great ideas!
Defending City Mall
On 17th August 2007 The young people who are working to protect City Mall, including those over 17 who are appearing in Court on Friday, are calling for more funding and more spaces for youth. Three people, T'Nealle Worsley, (17), Frances Mountier (19) and Steve Luke are appearing in the Christchurch District Court at 9am and 10am on Friday. One person, James Abbot (18) appeared at 10am this morning and entered a plea of Not Guilty.
"We are the young people of Christchurch and we are citizens of this city," said Harikoa Bronsdaughter-George, 15 years, a spokesperson for the group. "We call for greater recognition for youth in this city, greater value placed on public space, and a complete stop to plans to destroy the pedestrian City Mall and replace it with a road."[4]
October 15th Solidarity
July 2008 - Francis Mountier & Mark Rawnsley October 15th Solidarity. [5]
Coal Action Network spokesman
On May 10, 2011, the Coal Action Network Aotearoa and the Green Party, condemned the Gore District Council's decision not to allow public submissions on Solid Energy's resource consent application to build a briquette manufacturing plant near Mataura.Coal Action Network spokeswoman
Frances Mountier and Green Party lignite coal spokesman Gareth Hughes both said the district council had made the wrong decision. Mr Hughes said he would call on the Government to "step in and stop this lignite madness".
Both referred to the irony of the decision being made the same week as a visit to New Zealand by leading climate change scientist and strong coal-mining opponent Dr Jim Hansen.
Dr Hansen, who is speaking in Dunedin and Gore next week, has called coal "the single greatest threat to civilisation and all life on our planet".[6]
External links
References
- ↑ Save Happy Valley Campaign website
- ↑ F&B bio, accessed dec. 25, 2013
- ↑ Press 7.3.05
- ↑ Indymedia
- ↑ Aocafe website
- ↑ [http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/160434/coal-action-critical-decision ODT, Coal Action critical of decision Sat, 14 May 2011]