STURISNTIATIYNABLE By Michele Hallahan, Sustainability Advisor at Trinity With 2020 being the hottest year on record, coupled with 28 years of climate change so far (and – spoiler alert! - many more to come), Trinity is undergoing significant changes to embed sustainability within all aspects of the institution. Recognising that life as we know it has to radically change to reverse the biodiversity and climate crises, Trinity is currently penning its first Climate Action Plan, setting targets for reducing our carbon footprint by 51% by 2030, aligned with the national and EU Climate regulations. The past year has shown humanity that we CAN radically change our way of life very quickly, when faced with a daunting foe. The combined climate and biodiversity crises pose far greater risk to human survival than COVID-19, but the good news is throughout this past year we have seen how adaptable the global human population is. We need a similar, if not more aggressive approach to reduce human encroachment on the natural world. In June 2020, Trinity made its own radical change by replacing College Green’s traditional lawn with wildflowers, following a 90% ‘yes’ by public vote on this initiative. The wildflowers are currently blooming and will continue to feed and provide habitat for pollinators until October. This act of restoration awakened the public to what is possible in our cities, here and now – not in some imagined future. In September 2020 we launched nine new subcommittees within the Green Campus Committee, each one focusing on a different sustainability topic. Over 100 students and staff are now involved in driving sustainability initiatives via this platform. Click here for Green Pages Read more. Join the Facebook Group to be part of the conversation
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