An eco‑conscious competition

It’s that time of year again — Dal’s yearly environmental competition is officially on!

Dal’s fifth-annual residence-wide Ecolympics takes place from February 6- 19 on the Halifax and Truro campuses. The competition challenges Dalhousie students to cut down their water and power consumption in a fun and interactive way.

Two weeks prior to the start of the competition, energy and water consumption baselines were recorded for all participating residences. Throughout the two-week competition, consumption rates will be closely tracked and points will be allotted for consumption reduction and residence participation at scheduled events.

Residences’ consumption percentages will be tracked through the live Ecolympics Dashboard. This real-time feed will allow all Dalhousie residences to track their progress to the minute and get into the competitive spirit. It also offers helpful suggestions on ways to reduce your eco-footprint from home and on campus.

Ready for saving water/energy

The Halifax campuses had a strong start to the Ecolympics this past Monday, as over 100 residents from Risley attended Cup Cake Monday along with great attendance from the other residences. Cup Cake Monday rewarded residents with a free cupcake when they shared their commitment to lowering their consumption as well as how they planned to achieve that goal.

Other events such as the Watt Meter and Waste sorting have also been crowd pleasers. The full event schedule for Halifax can be found on Facebook; click here for a schedule of Truro events.

Jocelyn Manley, a third-year Engineering student in Gerard Hall and Ecolympics coordinator on Halifax campuses, was asked what she is most looking forward to throughout this two-week competition,

“I cannot wait to see what reusable canvases students bring with them to Paint Night,” she said. Taking place February 16 in the SUB, Paint Night will have students bring recycled canvases to paint on. “Planning this event was an ah-ha moment for me and I am excited to see how it turns out.”

Meanwhile, on the Ag Campus, game and trivia nights are scheduled, and the campus’ residences are working towards the same goal to reduce their water and electrical usage.

 “I'm excited to see the results, knowing that our campus is usually very successful and creative when it comes to reducing our usage,” says Vered Krukovsky, a fourth-year Animal Science student and Ecolympics lead for the Agricultural Campus.

For more information on how to get involved and details regarding the Ecolympics visit its website and join the Dalhousie Residence ECOlympics Facebook event.