Life in the Sustainability Neighbourhood
By Imogen Lewis, University of Otago, New Zealand
Growing up in the English countryside, gardening with my family was a big part of my childhood. But since moving to Fallowfield, the lack of a garden, abundance of concrete, and proximity to Sainsbury’s yellow stickers meant that the thought of gardening never really crossed my mind. I’ve always cared about sustainability and the environment, and I think eating locally is one of those little changes that people often forget about. So, when I was applying for flats in Dunedin and saw there was an option to live in the sustainability neighbourhood, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The sustainability neighbourhood is a group of student flats (what we would call houses in the UK) run by the university, where everyone has access to a shared garden full of veggie beds. Each Friday the gardening club gets together to plant, weed and harvest, and anyone who turns up gets to take home whatever is ready. It’s honestly such a blessing considering the price of fresh fruit and veg in NZ! A few of my favourites include kale, lettuce and herbs like coriander and rosemary. It’s also great when you’re too lazy to walk to the shops but feel like you need a bit of green on your plate. So, win-win, free fresh food with a low carbon footprint!
One of the other great things about uni life at Otago is that they have an on-campus thrift shop where you can buy second hand clothes that other students have donated. It’s called Te Ōraka which translates to the place of wellbeing, health or sustenance in the southern Māori dialect. The clothes they sell are often actually very good and very cheap, so you’re bound to get a bargain. They also sell a few things from student-run businesses and even honey from hives around the campus which is delish. The best thing that I’ve bought there this year was definitely at their outdoor galore sale where I bought a brand new 4-person tent for $15 which is like £6 and a pretty good quality sleeping bag for $20 (£8.50). They even have bike sales and if you have a bike that breaks or has any issues you can bring it in for free about once a month to get it looked at and fixed. So, the focus is not just on food and fast fashion but transport too!
I think that being involved in the sustainability initiatives here at the University of Otago is extremely inspiring and I’m excited to see what I can bring back to life in Manchester next year.
