Climate Catalyst Competition Winner Announcement
At CCAN, we love to see climate action being championed, we love to see solutions being shared, and we love to see communities being engaged and empowered. There are many amazing people out there wanting to do just those things and sometimes, it just takes a little seed funding to catalyse these ambitions and turn them into impact.
In October 2024 we launched the Climate Catalyst Competition, in an effort to find and fund local climate champions with innovative ideas and the great energy to get those ideas off the ground. We are proud to announce our Climate Catalyst Competition Winners of 2024/25!
Dr. Janani Mohankrishnan
As the founder of EcoPlay Challenge (www.ecoplaychallenge.com) Janani is dedicated to empowering communities and businesses with practical, engaging, and impactful sustainability solutions. With expertise in water, technology, and sustainability, Janani’s work brings together education, action, and community-driven change. With CCAN Climate Catalyst funding, she is delivering five Food Stars workshops across Auckland - an opportunity for communities to come together, build awareness, and take action on food waste reduction.
Janani (left) hosting a Food Stars workshop with Rangatahi.
The Food Stars workshops are designed for adults and children (ages 7+), providing hands-on strategies for reducing food waste on a daily basis. The sessions incorporate games, storytelling, interactive activities, and real-world solutions that encourage long-term behavior change. To deepen engagement, workshops may include a post-session activity where participants use surplus produce to make soups, smoothies, or fruit chaat - demonstrating immediate (and delicious) practical applications. Janani also follows up with participants after four weeks to gather impact stories, amplifying local success and inspiring further action.
As of early February 2025, Janani has already delivered at Otahuhu Library and Mangere Bridge Library and will be delivering next at Botany Library later this month. These events are fun, informative and whanau friendly. So if you see any popping up in your area, we encourage you to give them a go!
For collaboration opportunities or to learn about Janani’s other offerings, visit the EcoPlay Challenge website or reach out to CCAN for her contact details.
Janani says, “Together, let’s reduce waste, support local food security, and create lasting change in Auckland!”
Mark Russell and Edina Kuki
Mark and Edina are both experienced tech professionals who help people in their industry address the impacts that climate change will have on their lives, their careers and their employers—through Agile for Climate NZ.
This year they have decided to run a series of public workshops on Waiheke Island called Climate Fresk - something over 2 million people have participated in around the world. The intention is to provide climate change education to anyone on the island who wants it, and help fund people who’d like to train as Climate Fresk facilitators.
Image taken from one of the events scheduled during EcoFest 2025.
The format is fun and very interactive, all based around a deck of 42 cards. There are no slideshows or lectures. Each workshop is run as a series of conversations, where people with all levels of knowledge discuss and contribute to the way the cards are placed and linked together. This allows them to form an overall picture and understanding of our changing climate, and decide what they want to do about it.
To launch the project, as of February 2025, their first three events are being promoted as part of EcoFest 2025 with more planned for after the festival running through March and April.
