Student flats get greener for Ecowars

Student flats get greener for Ecowars

Student City’s Ecowars competition finished recently with an awards night at Mitre 10 Mega. Participating teams made their flats more environmentally friendly while saving money and winning prizes.

This is the second year Palmerston North City Council initiative Student City has run the 8-week competition, with $15,000 in prizes donated by local businesses. Organiser Ryley McGougan says Ecowars is a great example of business and student communities working together to achieve sustainability in our city.

“Ecowars is a fun way to give students practical knowledge they can apply at home and in their community”, she says. “The teams really engage with it, the landlords are supportive and Student City, PNCC and all our sponsors have done a fantastic job”.

Teams completed 5 workshops, run by local experts such as Palmerston North City Council’s Environmental Educator Pip Chrystall and Janice Fayen from the Green Hub. Topics included water, recycling, shopping wisely and brewing beer with supplies donated by Mitre 10, Awapuni Nurseries and Simply Brewing. Cairns Bins donated cash for prizes.

All the flats started their own vegetable gardens, compost heaps and worm farms. They also made eco-friendly cleaning products and homebrew beer. Some participants have kept working with organisers after the competition to further develop their skills.

Clark Williams, member of winning flat ‘The Playful Priests’, says Ecowars was “one of the best experiences of our university life”. He encouraged fellow students to take part in future competitions. “It was a perfect blend of student culture and community learning. Our new vegetable garden feeds both us and our neighbors, and compost waste has greatly reduced our weekly rubbish”.

Teams were judged on lifestyle improvement, online votes and points earned during workshop challenges. The winning team received an energy rated appliance package sponsored by Smiths City. Other prizes included a mystery weekend eco retreat, plus a heatpump from Stone Climate Control and an insulation package from The Insulation Company for best landlords.

For more information, visit www.ecowars.co.nz.

ENDS

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