Below is a guest post from Aaron Packard, co-organizer of 350 Aotearoa in New Zealand
They call Niue the "Rock of Polynesia"and with a population of just 1400 and three 350 events, the tiny Pacific nation gets the award for the most 350 actions per capita!As the 4th least populous nation on the planet, and appears to be doing more than its fair share for the 350 movement.
350 Niue was launched earlier this week, with Miss South Pacific, Vanessa Marsh leading the ‘Grab that Jandal’ (which is Niuean/Kiwi for thong or sandal) clean-up of Togo, an iconic Niue site. Togo, which is a chasm leading down to the beach has been littered with old jandals and other rubbish, so this event helped to ensure that Niue stays beautiful.
The action drew attention from the locals, as event organiser Ira Merrifield said "Asi a little six year old boy came with his mum Meshu had not been to Togo before so was his first time there. He couldnt get down the long step ladder into the chasm but he watched with his mum from the top. I thought that was fantastic that Asi’s first time to Togo was coming with the 350Niue team seeing and being involved with what we were doing. We hope he remembers forever and maybe one day it will be Asi and 350Niue Team."
On October 24th, 350 Niue is hosting a morning of tree planting, aptly named ‘Treemendus Niue’–quite impressive for an island of only 1400 people.