Let's do it !

Well, I'm back on the job after a brief 2 week holiday; that included : loadza kayaking, an encounter with a dead sperm whale (see pic below), hanging out with my son and plenty of time doing just nothing at all.

Said whale was seen at Discovery Bay in Nelson last Friday/Saturday and turned out to be a Sperm Whale that I measured at 19.3 m (63 ft). My first thoughts were that it was a female Sperm Whale (due to the genitalia that were flapping around - no big doodles here) and that it had been hit by the oil rig that could be seen on the horizon. Peter Gill (of Blue Whale Study) says that it was a male and that it probably died of natural causes. It was sad to see such a beutifull creature dead but a privaledge to see it none the less.

Today Brenton, Tim and myself went to Hamilton to hear more about Caring for Our Country (CFOC) and the Victorian Investment Framework (VIF). Although we were originally considering a medium sized bid ($2.5 m), I doubt that we will now pursue this path. Although we have not made any final decisions, it's likely that we will be throwing our hat into the CMA ring, to see if there are any other potential applicants for a medium sized CFOC application and also to determine where an application for VIF funds might fit in. As part of Basalt to Bay's suite of funding options, over the next few months I will be :

• Exploring the possibility of developing corporate partnerships with Origin Energy, Acciona Energia, Pacific Hydro, Santos, Hot Rock Limited geothermal group and Glaxo Smith Kline
• Compiling a list of relevant social, community and environmental funding for local Landcare Groups and developing projects with LCG's to target specific funds
• Exploring several community based fund raising ideas.

Be sure to keep up to date with what happens.