2021 - Green Programs Update & Seminars

The Seminar in Semester 1 was on Microplastics. This was open to all UQ students and staff and was run in collaboration with UQ Marine Society.

This event had a great turnout, with 80+ attendees in the zoom, and some great questions from the audience.

The speakers consisted of: Professor Kevin Thomas, the Director of the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences; Stephen Burrows, a marine scientist working towards his PhD in “Exploring the nanoscale surface interactions of microplastics in natural waters”; Francisca Ribiero, a PhD student studying the risks of contaminants to the marine environment; and Heidi Tait, The Co-founder and CEO of the Tangaroa Blue foundation.

The speakers presented, followed by an engaging Q and A session which was facilitated by Dr Derya Guerer of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

For our second seminar of the year, the Green Office, Green Labs, and Green Ambassadors heard from Energy Management Program Officer Dr Carlos Fujita-Dimas about the ‘Environmental Impacts of Transport’.

Dr Fujita-Dimas discussed the varying transport initiatives that UQ has on offer for staff and students.

An engaging Q & A followed the presentation, with questions spanning from the introduction of infrastructure for charging electric bikes, to where UQ obtains the power that is used for electric vehicle charging stations.

This was run in a mixed- delivery format, with some Green representatives from the Gatton campus joining via zoom! Those who joined in person in the Global Change Institute were then able to enjoy networking with some morning tea.

Seminars held in 2021 differed greatly from semester 1 to semester 2 in terms of delivery and topic, but both allowed staff and students an opportunity to expand on their knowledge of sustainability, and to take the information back to share with their peers.

Both of the Seminars run this year can be found on the Sustainability Office youtube channel.