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During Earth Hour 2009 Hamilton led New Zealand by plunging into darkness ...
Earth Hour 2009 was officially hosted at the Balloons over Waikato Earth Hour Nightglow at the University of Waikato. A crowd of 80,000 helped mark the event, with a musical performance by Pluto and a special Earth Hour hot air balloon.
The 'Earth Hour Solar Lounge' provided the hub of the event, where residents could also sign up to win a hybrid car that was on display.
Over 1000 Hamilton residents also made their enviromental pledge on a specifically designed cube which was hosted in the solar lounge.
This cube was 1.2m x 1.2m x 1.2m and was made of 100% recycled and repulpable fibre board. Over 1000 pledges were made on the cube during Earth Hour, from switching lights off and starting a compost bin, through to being more conscious to what kind of makeup people purchased.
After Earth Hour the cube went on tour around Hamilton Libraries, Waikato Museum and WEL Networks where it recieved a lot of attention, and was then broken up into six separate panels. These panels now permanently reside at Hamilton East School, Hukanui School, Hillcrest Normal School, Peachgrove Intermediate, Melville Intermediate and Rhode Street School as a historical record of the pledges Hamilton made for Earth Hour 2009. In some cases the cube has been composted and gifted back to earth, taking our city's pledges with it.
Whilst in the central city many of Hamilton's restaurants and bars marked Earth Hour in their own unique way, with the Hood Street lights switching off for the hour. During this time a fire dancer provided entertainment for the crowds.
Energy saving figures showed that Hamilton led the way nationally with a 10.3% saving in electricity over Earth Hour - indiciating a very high participation rate in the city. 26.45 Meagwatt Hour was saved in Hamilton, the same amount as powering 260,000 100 watt lightbulbs for an hour, or enough energy to power between 10,000-15,000 homes for one hour.
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