News Collyer’s Give Conservation The Green Light 01.05.2025

To celebrate National Green Week, Collyer’s hosted an array of thrilling events for the students to interact with. These included a talk from environmental experts as well as a presentation from past Collyer’s students, discussing their careers in conservation, and encouraging students to consider the effects of their actions on the planet.

“Collyer’s Green Week was kicked off by two leading experts in the circular economy”, explained Dr Ian Carr, Collyer’s Sustainability Coordinator and Deputy Director of the Faculty for Science. The first to speak, and returning to the college for the fourth year, was Elle Runton, a trustee of Sussex Green Living. Her previous occupations included working for Coca Cola and the World Wildlife Fund in the Middle East, and she has since become a leading expert on the circular economy. Dr Carr said: “She shared her knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to inspire the next generation to adopt the circular economy in their future work.”

For the second year running, Elle shared the stage with Dr Claire Potter from the University of Brighton. Claire provided the audience with many practical examples of where design had been important in ensuring new products were part of the circular economy. In her speech, she encouraged students to be proactive in working towards a more sustainable future by designing products that have a use past their initial, perceived lifespan.

Students and staff both thoroughly enjoyed the event and gained deeper insight into current environmental issues. Dr Carr added: “This was an amazing opportunity to get the viewpoints from two leading experts and was the taught part of the course on this topic and the students rated the input highly.”

On the same day, Collyers were treated to a visit from former students Ned New, Tanya Forbes and Becca Bowie, who are currently involved with the rewilding project at Knepp Estate. Accompanying them was a striking, life-size model of a white stork, as well as fascinating live webcam footage from the estate, of two storks on their nest. In addition, they brought a large log showing evidence of recent beaver activity, and a discarded deer antler to inspire students to come and discuss career opportunities in conservation.

Student Reporter, Zoe Neal