Holistic Climate Action | John-Paul Pochin | TEDxNelson

There is a time to protest and to raise awareness, but right now as a society we all need to play our part in addressing the climate crisis. John-Paul suggests as a society we need to take a holistic approach and it is essential we look at every aspect of our lives; everything we do, how we do it and what we value in order to help rectify the climate crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a glimpse of a future where we’re more connected, more empathetic and more in tune with our values. Our response to the climate crisis needs to be similar; As educators, artists, architects, farmers, engineers, politicians, medical practitioners we all need to combine our skills if we’re going to reduce the impact of climate change and support each other through it. John-Paul is a digital artist and photographer based in Nelson with a background in physics, electronics and computers. His work attempts to blur the lines between science and art. John-Paul founded Light Nelson in 2012 to bring people together to freely share ideas, skills and resources and with a focus of a new event that now attracts over 50,000 people. John-Paul also co-founded The Arcade Project aimed at encouraging children to be creators, rather than consumers. The project uses old computer games as inspiration, with a heavy focus on recycling/repurposing. John-Paul has been a long time environmentalist, originally with a focus on active transport, but increasingly more directly on the climate crisis through Extinction Rebellion. He is also a member of the leadership group of the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum. John-Paul was awarded 'Community Hero' at the Eelco Boswijk Civic Awards in 2016 and a 'Local Hero' award by the New Zealander of the Year Awards in 2017. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx