We’re delighted to announce the winning entries in our College-wide competition inviting students to submit a creative response to climate change and related issues of sustainability.
We asked students to consider climate change and the impact that it is having and will have, both in terms of the global context and at a more local level. They were encouraged to respond to the 2021 IPCC report, which was unequivocal in placing responsibility for climate change with human action. We suggested reflecting on how the COP26 global conference in Glasgow, which has been described as a “pivotal moment” for change, could also be seen as a point from which to reflect on our agency as individuals, our relationships, and responsibilities to the broader communities, including that of the university, to which we belong.
Entries took many forms: creative writing, visual arts, film, digital projects and essays. The judges were delighted and surprised by the entries from across the College, and each winner will receive a £100 cash prize from their school.
Many congratulations to all of the winners who are listed below and thank you to everyone who entered.
The winning entries
- Thomas Baynes (School of Performance and Digital Arts) for ‘Changing our Sound’ (sound-world formed from real-world sound clips)
- Oliver Bock-Brown (School of Engineering, Physical Mathematical Sciences) for ‘Hunt for Blue Gold’ (creative writing)
- Gemma Culley (School of Engineering, Physical Mathematical Sciences) for ‘Reaching net zero by 2050: The limit of personal responsibility’ (essay)
- Julie Fitzpatrick (School of Humanities) for ‘Landscape Triptych’ (watercolours)
- Jessie Hancock (School of Humanities) for ‘Seeing the Wood for the Trees’ (essay)
- Ashling Hammerton (School of Life Sciences and the Environment) for ‘Tide Walkway’ (poster presentation)
- Rebecca Hartley (School of Engineering, Physical Mathematical Sciences) for ‘The Persistence of Time’ (painting)
- Elisha Heslop (School of Life Sciences and the Environment) for ‘Celestial Eulogy’ (poem)
- Lucy Houliston (School of Life Sciences and the Environment) for ‘A Youth-Led Solution to Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss’ (video)
- Cherry Jackson (School of Engineering, Physical Mathematical Sciences) for ‘Why another summit in a northern country?’ (essay)
- Boglarka Kurucz (School of Law and Social Sciences) for ‘Analysis of European Social Survey’ (data analysis and presentation)
- Susanne Lansman (School of Humanities) for ‘Land Survey’ (poem series)
- Elena Monreale (School of Life Sciences and the Environment) for ‘What action can Royal Holloway University of London take to help mitigate the threat of climate change?’ (StoryMap presentation)
- Magdalena Stanilova (School of Humanities) for ‘Dialogue with Mother Earth’ (poem)