Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Tue, 2017-04-25 11:51
Hundreds of people queued throughout the day on Saturday 22 April at the David Attenborough Building to get a glimpse of their heroes and to hear them speak. These heroes were not celebrities as you might expect but conservationists and on this day, Earth Day, they delivered the message at the Earth Optimism Summit (#EarthOptimism) that every single person can make a difference and should make every effort to protect our planet and the precious species upon it.
There were many stories of people making a difference from protecting frogs once thought to be extinct in Ghana to the great strides being made to halt the ivory trade. Well-known conservationists such as Dr Jane Goodall, Dame Fiona Reynolds and Sir David Attenborough spoke of people being everyday conservationists who can move our economies and communities towards a sustainable future.
The Environment and Energy team meeting their hero, Sir David Attenborough
The Environment and Energy section held a stall in the Solutions Fair area. The Solutions Fair gave attendees a chance to learn about practical actions they could take in their lives such as: buying smart, lowering their carbon footprint, eating well / sustainable diets, and walking on the wild side. Our stand was located in the eating well area and we spoke to hundreds of people about the University’s Sustainable Food Policy, how it has been successfully incorporated, the difference the policy has made and how attendees could introduce a similar policy where they work.
Congratulations to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative for organising this event which has inspired many people to be the change that they would like to see in the world.
A recording of the event is available and further information on the speakers can be found on the Earth Optimism website.