Sustainability Week 2020: 12-16 October

We talk about sustainability so often that it sometimes seems like every week is sustainability week. Because of that, you would almost forget how varied and surprising sustainability can be. Not during the Sustainability Week! From 12 until 16 October we go beyond the daily debate on sustainability and we ’ll have a look at innovative solutions.

For example, you can get to know everything about plastic-eating mushrooms, green rooftops or learn how to produce less waste. Most activities are sets of short online lectures: perfect to learn something new without getting exhausted from looking at a screen all day!

Have you spotted a fun activity? Click for more information or to sign-up right away.

• Once you have signed up you can join the events through this link.

Challenge: Share your green meal

It’s Sustainability Week – the perfect time to show everyone how sustainable you are! That’s why we want to challenge you to share a photo or video of your green meal!

So what is a Green Meal? You might wonder. It must be plant-based and contain seasonal vegetables. The person who shares the most delicious, best-looking and original meal wins a plant-based lunch for two! You have until Thursday noon to send your photos/videos to us. We will announce the winner on Friday.

Sulitest

The Green Office needs your help! As always, we're working hard to promote sustainability. To create tailor-made workshops and educational activities, we need to gain more insight in the sustainability knowledge of our target audience! This is why we need as many people as possible to take part in the Sustainable Literacy Test (Sulitest). The Sulitest is used worldwide by higher education institutions, to measure the sustainable literacy of students and staff.

When you do the test, please use one of our session codes. This way, we can identify you as a student or staff member of the University of Groningen, and your answers can help us shape our future programmes.

• Session code students: D1B3-CCFE-415C
• Session code staff members: 26A2-78CE-E762

Good to know: If you take the Sulitest, you can partake in a raffle to win a sustainable price. Our main prize will be a vegan lunch for two! As more people participate, we will add more prizes, so please invite your friends to take it too!

Lecture: Humans' relationship with food & micro algae

Monday 12 October, 5 p.m. // Sign-up

Update: Unfortunately Katahrina Unger (Living Studio) had to cancel her talk for today. Christina Michelini (Living Farm) will talk about micro-algae instead:

The first talk will be given by Cristina Michelini (Living Farm) instead about the use of micro-algae growing and meal-worm composting in sustainability education programs. During this talk Cristina will talk about the importance of algae today and micro-algae growing process. You will also learn how Living Farms committed to improve humans' relationship with food through the use of insect growing technologies. Living Farms' mission is to empower people to change the world by living sustainably, little by little.

This event is organized in collaboration with Pint of Science and Climate Adaptation HUB.

Lunch Walk @ The Noorderplantsoen

Tuesday 13 October, noon // Sign-up

During a nice walk in the Noorderplantsoen, Peter Kruijt (Sesame) will show you how the way we handle our environment makes us and our environment susceptible for diseases and plagues. Sign-up quickly: only 12 spots!

Lecture: Let’s make Groningen Greener - Tiny Forests and Green Roofs

Tuesday 13 October, 3 p.m. // Sign-up

Have you ever dreamt of having a roof garden on the top of your house?. A green roof – among other things– provides a rainwater buffer, purifies the air, reduces the ambient temperature, regulates the indoor temperature, saves energy and encourages biodiversity in the city. During this lecture Samy Hashim, Nol de Jong, Louisa Wetzel and Katharina Doebelt (RUG students) will explain how to implement one in your own household!

The event will continue with a talk about Tiny Forests: small, dense, indigenous forests that can be planted in urban environments. Kees Siderius (IVN) will tell us about the benefits of Tiny Forest on biodiversity and people’s health. He will explain how IVN developed the first Tiny Forest in the Netherlands (and in Europe!) and how we are going to have more Tiny Forests in Groningen.

Lecture: Pesticiden in de natuur door Burgerinitatief Westerveld (NL)

Tuesday 13 October, 4 p.m. // Sign-up

Pesticiden, met name uit de bloementeelt, komen steeds meer in natuurgebieden terecht, met rampzalige gevolgen voor het ecosysteem. Burgerinitiatief Westerveld stelt dit probleem aan de kaak door zelf metingen te verrichten en deze te publiceren onder de noemen ‘Meten=Weten’. Tijdens deze lezing laten ze ons zien wat de gevolgen van deze pesticiden zijn én hoe ze hier als bezorgde burgers wat aan doen.

Litter-Picking Walk @ The Noorderplantsoen

Wednesday 14 October, noon // Sign-up

Unfortunately too much waste still ends up on the street and in nature. So, get into action with the Green Office! We are going to clean up (part of) the Noorderplantsoen together. By joining, you’ll get some movement during your lunch break and do a good deed for the city. We will provide rubbish bags and enough litter pickers.

Lecture+Workshop: Wasting Waste - What We All (Can) Do

Wednesday 14 October, 2 p.m. // Sign-up

Do you want to know more about how waste is handled in Groningen? Are you interested in Zero Waste tips? This event is for you! We will start the afternoon with short 3 lectures: Yonne Klein (University Service Department) will introduce the new sustainable RUG waste policy; Maurie Mutsaers (Gemeente Groningen) will explain how waste is sorted and recycled at the municipality and Rik Klement (RUG student) will present his thesis on reusable mugs vs disposable cups. We will end the event with a small workshop on how to live Zero Waste!

Lecture+Masterclass: Sustainable Mobility by the Energy Academy

Thursday 15 October, 1 p.m. // Sign-up

Our transport system is shifting gears towards a sustainable future. Rail, road, aviation or water transport are making rapid changes. What are the differences and similarities between the different sectors? And can their innovations help each other?

This event consists of two parts. Just want to get inspired? Attend the lecture, during the first 1,5 hour of the event. Really want to sink your teeth into this problem? Join the masterclass afterwards, in which you will discuss some challenges in small groups. Be quick to sign-up though, because only 24 spots are available for the masterclass.

Lunch Walk @ Zernike Campus

Friday 16 October, noon // Sign-up

During this walk with Nathan Brinkman you will learn about the history and the nature of the Zernike area, with special attention to the effects of climate change. Be sure to sign up quickly, because only 12 spots are available!

Lecture+Pub Quiz: Pint of Science: Climate Adaptation and Green Agendas

Friday 16 October, 5 p.m. // Sign-up

We’ll wrap up the week with a mini Pint of Science. Grab a beer (or other beverage of your choice) and tune in to minilectures by Martijn Schuit, Floris Bogaard and Katja Loos.

Martijn Schuit (Gemeente Groningen) will explain how the municipality of Groningen is preparing strategies for adapting to Climate Change. Floris Boogaard (Hanze) will show us projects on Climate Adaptation all around the world. Katja Loos will explain the Green Industry Innovation Agenda, a large-scale project involving RUG researchers and various stakeholders. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Pint of Science night without our famous pub quiz, so be sure to bring your wits (and maybe even some friends)! The winner will get a vegan lunch for two!

This event is organized in collaboration with Pint of Science and Climate Adaptation HUB.