Emily Downs is a member of the College of Medicine’s Student Council.  She writes:

Sustainability has become a buzz-word for health pioneers and eco-warriors alike, yet seldom have forces joined in a two-pronged approach for a healthier, greener future. This was the aim of the College of Medicine’s first ever satellite event hosted in none other than Europe’s Green Capital 2015, Bristol.

Many delegates keen enough to battle the wind and rain, arrived on foot in true green fashion. Even our award-winning speaker, Trevor Thompson, arrived on his bicycle. Fortunately, Trevor got us started and quickly warmed up with a vibrant talk on the health system’s impact on climate change and enlightening ice-breaker tasks.

Other brilliant speakers included Jo Wright and Elizabeth Thompson who spoke with passion and pride about Green Health Projects that they had already set-up and were a part of, Organic Blooms and Portland Centre for Integrative Care respectively.

To add reason to passion, Senior Lecturer Jon Fieldhouse, presented the compelling evidence for Green Health along with even more ideas of how widely and effectively the concepts can be implemented.

The day was supplemented with friendly service and tasty refreshments provided by the University of the West of England, their infamous packed lunches once again doing students proud.

To round off the day and ensure that delegates left with tools to bring their own dreams to reality, London-based entrepreneur Charlotte Downs, delivered a stimulating framework for idea development. The successful use of which was demonstrated as our delegates wowed the judging panel with Green-themed Dragon’s Den pitches.

Despite the weather delegates left with smiles on their faces, possibly because of the goody bags and free mugs offered but also as a result of the positive inspiration gained from the day. Now we hope that we have paved the way for the next satellite event and look forward to seeing more of you there.