Janet Holm

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Janet Rutherford Holm MBE (née Morse, 12 August 1923 – 14 July 2018) was a New Zealand environmental activist and historian.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Holm was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1923 and grew up on a farm near Waiau in North Canterbury. She attended Rangi Ruru Girls' School in Christchurch and studied English and philosophy at Canterbury University College, and Victoria University College in Wellington.[1]

Environmental work[edit]

In 1966, Holm moved back to Christchurch and decided to take action against the city's ongoing problems with smog in the winters. She joined the Clean Air Society and served as secretary and president. The society was successful in having the city recognise the role of open fires in homes in the production of smog, and as a result the city passed an open-fire ban.[2] She also worked with the Clean Air Council, the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Action on Smoking and Health. In 1972, Holm was a representative to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden.[1]

In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Holm was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the environmental movement.[3] In 2004, she received the Outstanding Contribution Award from Environment Canterbury for her work for clean air and environmental education in the Canterbury Region.[1]

In 1979, in collaboration with Julie Fitness, Jean Shalders and the Canterbury Environmental Centre, she helped publish a 27-page booklet about air pollution, covering such topics as where pollutants come from, what harm pollutants do and why Christchurch was, at that time, the air pollution capital of New Zealand. The booklet was republished in 1989 with assistance from a New Zealand Environmental Grant and Epicentre. The Environment and Peace Centre (Epicentre) was a collective of committed to preservation of the environment and working for peace.[4]

Controversy[edit]

The open fire ban and later phrase out of solid-fuel burners was, and still is, controversial.[5][6][7] Opponents argue that burning wood and coal is less costly and more self-sufficient than cleaner home heating options.[8][9][10]

The city of Christchurch is prone to air pollution in the winter for a combination of reasons.[11] In winter, when a high pressure system settles over the South Island, it brings cold temperatures and light winds. Locally, air flow is restricted by the terrain and a strong temperature inversion forms. The residents feel the cold. Their response is to fire up their home heating. For many, this means a wood or coal burning fire. With little wind to disperse the coarse particles emitted from home fires, smog builds up under the inversion layer.[12] In summer, it's windier and winds tend to blow pollution away.

In 1997, there were approximately 15,500 open fires, 3,500 closed coal burners and 31,000 wood burners in the city.[12] In the 1990s the number of high pollution nights per year averaged 30;[11] in 1999 it peaked at 60;[9] in 2018 there were 3.[13]

Historical work[edit]

In the 1980s, Holm returned to the University of Canterbury to complete a master's degree in history; she wrote her thesis on her grandfather George and his six siblings, and later published the research as a book, Nothing but Grass and Wind. She was also a keen genealogist and travelled the country visiting cemeteries and photographing headstones. The Canterbury History Foundation awarded Holm the 2005 A. C. Rhodes Memorial Award in recognition of this work. In the same year, she published her book on the lives of early surveyors, and became the first woman appointed an honorary member of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors.[1][2][14]

Publications[edit]

  • Air Pollution. Christchurch: Epicentre, 1989.[4]
  • Nothing but Grass and Wind: The Rutherfords of Canterbury. Christchurch: Hazard Press, 1992.[15]
  • De Steiguer, Jacqueline; Holm, Janet (2000). Experience in environmental action. Canterbury Environment Centre.
  • Caught Mapping: The Life and Times of New Zealand's Early Surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press, 2005.[16]
  • On Zealand's Hills, Where Tigers Steal Along. Wellington: Steele Roberts, 2008.[17]

Legacy[edit]

Following Holm's death in 2018, her family established the Janet Holm Prize in History in her memory at the University of Canterbury.[14] The inaugural award of the prize was made in December 2018.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Life story: 'Eccentric' North Canterbury woman Janet Holm was unconventional and proud". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Janet Holm Prize in History honours remarkable Cantabrian". Intercom | Pā mai tō reo. University of Canterbury. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. ^ "No. 51367". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 11 June 1988. p. 34.
  4. ^ a b Holm, Janet (1989). Air Pollution. Christchurch: Epicentre.
  5. ^ "Editorial: Realistic air targets". The Press. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Murky issue of pollution a hot topic". The Press. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  7. ^ McCrone, John (13 July 2019). "Unfinished business: Hitting Canterbury's air quality targets may not be good enough". The Press. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Woodburners might have a role in future". The Press. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Mike Yardley: Axe low-pollution targets". The Press. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Naughty fire-lovers may burn in spartan hell". The Press. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. ^ a b Sproken-Smith, Rachel, Sturman, Andrew and Wilton, E.V. (2002). "The air pollution problem in Christchurch, New Zealand - progress and prospects". University of Canterbury, Geography Department.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b Take a deep breath, a discussion document about the improvement of Christchurch air quality. Canterbury Regional Council, no. 97/14. 1997. ISBN 9781869373207.
  13. ^ "Air quality: Data from past years". Environment Canterbury. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  14. ^ a b c "Holm history prize recognises academic excellence" (PDF). University of Canterbury Foundation Annual Report 2018. p. 9. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  15. ^ Holm, Janet (1992). Nothing but grass and wind: the Rutherfords of Canterbury. Christchurch: Hazard Press. ISBN 9780908790500. OCLC 1083733395.
  16. ^ Holm, Janet (2005). Caught mapping: the life and times of New Zealand's early surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press. ISBN 9781877270864. OCLC 636380050.
  17. ^ Holm, Janet (2008). On Zealand's hills, where tigers steal along. Wellington: Steele Roberts. ISBN 9781877448256. OCLC 213411206.
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