Green Week at TUS Midlands Campus
Green Week is being marked at TUS Midlands Campus Athlone this coming week with a series of events, including an interactive lecture series and repair café
An Taisce Green-Campus Green Week takes place from Monday, March 6 to Friday, March 10. TUS previously acquired a green flag for the Thurles Campus and is now after the same honour for the Athlone Campus.
The newly-formed TUS Athlone Green-Campus Committee, made up of TUS Midlands Campus staff and students has set out to achieve the An Taisce Green Flag by tackling energy use, litter, waste, and other aspects of campus life to make TUS Midlands Campus more environmentally friendly. This campaign starts with the series of Green Week events.
Chair of TUS Athlone Green-Campus Committee, Gary Stack said: "We are all increasingly aware of the challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. However, it can be very difficult to know how to even begin tackling these issues in our own lives. The TUS Athlone Green-Campus Committee is a platform for staff, students and the wider Midlands community to work together to take meaningful collective action toward a more sustainable world. Our diverse programme of Green Week events offers something for everyone in relation to environmental issues, sustainable living and climate action. We’re very excited to engage with everyone across the campus and region during Green Week to raise awareness and discuss solutions to environmental problems.” The TUS Athlone Green-Campus Committee will work with the TUS Midlands Campus and wider community to raise awareness of the power of local action on climate and environment issues, as well as taking practical steps to improve the carbon footprint and ecological impact of the college.
Early in the week, activities include a information stand in the Main Campus on Monday. On Tuesday, Barna Recycling are on campus to answer questions on recycling and waste management. There will also be a demonstration of how to set up and use Bokashi Bins composting systems by Dr Kevin Ward of Hospitality. Tuesday's events also include a movie and pizza night with a climate theme. On Thursday the community will get out for three sessions of litter picking organised by Dr. Maeve O’Reilly and Dr. Sheila Plunkett.
On Friday there will be a public lecture series from 9.30am-1pm, with an opportunity for the audience to test their awareness of environmental matters in an interactive session with Dr. Johanna Archbold. Having found out what you don’t know, you can then learn more about all things climate and circular economy.
The programme of talks will take place in B09 in TUS Midlands Campus on different aspects of climate, sustainability and circular economy includes Jack O’Sullivan from Zero Waste Alliance Ireland who will talk about what students can do about climate change and zero waste. Dr. Andy Fogarty will give a talk entitled “Sex, Drugs and Fertility” which talks about the latest evidence on how hormonal pollution and plastics are affecting human health. Alison Hough BL will talk about the importance of accountability mechanisms in the climate fight and her work leading the Access to Justice Observatory of the Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI). José Fernandes will examine sustainability in the context of tourism. Dr Romina Pezzol will discuss trends in packaging sustainability. Sustainable packaging and plastics use will be considered by Ellie Laurence and Alison Reid, postgrad students at TUS Midlands Campus. Youth climate activists, Youth Environment Europe (YEE) will also give an address remotely on youth climate action.
Friday morning will also see a Pop-Up Repair Workshop delivered by TUS Midlands student Sarah Conneely in room B50 where you’ll learn how to reduce, reuse and repair your clothes.
The programme of Green Week events launches the work of the TUS Athlone Green-Campus Committee who will then begin the work of measuring the baseline environmental performance of TUS Midlands Campus before developing a plan for improvement in the areas of energy use, litter, waste and circular economy, together with An Taisce Green-Campus.