Environment-focussed festival to encourage greener living
STUDENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL Officers from Glasgow’s four universities are joining forces on 16 February to bring a packed day of activities, exhibitions and celebration to the Glasgow Art School, aimed at encouraging people to be conscious consumers.
The Glasgow Goes Green festival centres round the theme ‘Love Local Life’, and will bring together eco-friendly groups and enterprises to share knowledge on how people can change their consumption patterns.
Diana Rennerova, Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team (GUEST) promoter told CommonSpace why she feels the event is so important: “I believe that us humans have become a huge force in damaging the natural environment through our love for consumption and a comfortable life.
“It’s so easy to go into a shop and buy bananas wrapped in a plastic wrapper. But many don’t know who or where these bananas come from, how their transportation adds to global emissions and where the plastic wrapper ends up after its use.
“At the festival, people will be able to find out about how to live a more local life with zero waste left behind, and create a lifestyle that is beneficial to both us, and the environment. People often think that on an individual scale they cannot achieve anything, but that’s not true.
“If more and more people become conscious consumers, reach out for a locally grown produce or a reusable product, we’ll be able to get on the right track to a sustainable future.”
The day will offer a range of workshops, allowing people to meet and learn from local people who are making the kinds of conscious choices which Rennerova argues are so vital – from gardeners and beekeepers, bike mechanics and crafty artists, to dumpster divers and food rescuers.
Local and eco-friendly food will also be on offer, and the festival will close with an after-party in the Art School. Rennerova added: “Don’t be alarmed when you receive a green drink from the bartender – that’s definitely a part of going green.”
You can follow Go Green Week Glasgow for updates on environmentally conscious events throughout the year.
Picture courtesty of Go Green Week Glasgow
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