Wadham students' team takes top prize at the Vice Chancellor's Colloquium

Created by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, the eight-week programme brought together 200 undergraduates and academics from across the humanities, social sciences and STEM subjects to tackle the global climate crisis.

Featuring keynote lectures, senior Oxford academics from different disciplines came together to respond to big questions about the causes, impacts and solutions to the climate crisis. There were college-based skills sessions led by postgraduate students, and interdisciplinary student projects that tackled a local problem related to climate.

The winners were announced at a special event held at the Maths Institute on Earth Day (22 April) to celebrate the end of the programme. First prize went to a team of five that included three Wadham students. The Mini-Allotment Initiative from the team comprising Erin Adlard (Hertford, Human Sciences, Y1), Charlotte Lawton (New College, Modern Languages, Y1), Anna Serafeimidou (Wadham, Medicine, Y1), Phillip Siller (Wadham, Chemistry, Y3), and Edward Smith (Wadham, Engineering, Y1) proposes creating communal mini allotments at colleges using Oxford’s green spaces. The project aims to connect students at Oxford with nature and provide a platform for community and wellbeing.

Phillip Siller said:

"The Mini-Allotment Project aims to make the vast green spaces in Oxford colleges more engaging in the hopes of enhancing students' sense of responsibility for the well-being of our natural environment. Through mini-allotments, we hope to encourage routined interaction with nature and promote sustainably grown food for consumption in colleges. Of the 165 students surveyed for the proposal, 85% indicated they would be interested in getting involved. Ideally, these allotments will become forums to discuss broader climate-change-related issues, such as climate anxiety, sustainable farming practices and more."

Many congratulations to the winning team and to the runners up. Find out more about the Vice-Chancellor's Colloquium.