Last weekend, Trinity celebrated its first Sustainability Day, aiming to bring resident students together to consider issues of sustainability.
Set up on the Bulpadock were tables with organic fruit and muffins for residents to sample. Students also had the opportunity to talk to the Environment Committee about their thoughts on sustainability at College. Tips for energy saving, recycling boxes and shower timers were also available to encourage residential students to think about ways they can be more sustainable while living at Trinity.
The highlight of the day was the Future Spark energy generating bikes. Almost 100 people rode the bikes over the course of the day, including the 10 teams which competed to generate the most energy, all in pursuit of an organic chocolate prize.
From the relaxed pedalling of Team Enviro to the passionate war cries of the Dream Team from Queen's College, St Hilda's College and Trinity (eventual victors), the residents experienced firsthand how difficult it is to generate small amounts of energy. Overall, participants generated 3.7 kW over a period of five hours' intensive cycling. Put into perspective, that would only provide enough energy to power an energy efficient bulb of 13W for about 12 days. It was, however, enough to generate power for a screening of Into the Wild.
The day helped residents from around the crescent to recognise the effort required to generate the energy we use every day, and were motivated to think about the ways they can be more sustainable.
