Dark Greens base their understanding of environmental and social challenges on the limits to growth. Their responses seek to build community resilience through deep adaptation and to upskill themselves in preparation for the discontinuities we can expect from changes to our energy supply, the economy, our society and the environment. Issues such as peak oil, population growth, industrial agriculture, the myth of progress, a loss of meaning and purpose, and a perpetual-growth economy underpin Dark Green theory and practice.
Dark Greens believe that we must start to build structures, institutions and patterns of living for a world that will have less complexity, energy and resources than today.
We know that this message can be confronting and challenging so we thought we would start talking about it with like-minded folks (like you?) who are ready for this conversation.
Dark Green Aotearoa is… A loose collection of people sharing knowledge, ideas, skills and support for each other in our journey into Dark Green theory and practice. We currently meet monthly, have a website, host social events and have ambitions to significantly increase our production of blog content, host workshops and podcasts, express ourselves through creative work, and produce printed material to share more widely. Ultimately it is also about getting this conversation out into the mainstream, to effect positive change for Aotearoa New Zealand, suggesting alternative ways to face the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
We are self-organising, inclusive, self-(re)generating…
There is a Meta Project, which is about applying existing limits to growth approaches, research, literature and practical ideas to Aotearoa and its cultural context. This requires in-depth quantitative analysis of available data and qualitative reflection and exploration of trends of energy consumption, climate change, population growth, biodiversity loss etc and creating future scenarios and narratives for Aotearoa New Zealand that suggest alternative ways forward.
We have identified 7 key themes to help focus and structure this research: environment, energy, economics, equity, age of limits, the human condition and adaptations and responses.
And there will be regular Publishing of Dark Green Aotearoa ideas and enthusiasm. This includes but is not limited to:
Blog (articles, interviews, podcasts, resource/reading lists)
Printed Matter (books, magazines, posters + ebooks)
Events (social, exhibitions, performance, workshops, direct action)
It is through publishing that we inspire and learn from each other and it is also the way we communicate Dark Green ideas to a wider audience. The new knowledge and future adaptations suggested by the Meta Project research, will also be published on the blog, and hopefully in print as well. Combined, we hope to better understand the issues that will affect Aotearoa in the future and effect change to create a more resilient bioregion.
If you are interested in being part of this community of Dark Green practitioners, we meet monthly to talk about stuff, share ideas and work on our various individual and collaborative projects for Dark Green Aotearoa.
If you are Dark Green curious, you can go to our blog and read a growing collection of articles, interviews, opinion pieces and podcasts to find out all about it.
