Success in Seoul for UNSW students
Two UNSW student teams mentored by the UNSW Cities Institute last week won the top prizes at the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Seoul.
Two UNSW student teams mentored by the UNSW Cities Institute last week won the top prizes at the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Seoul.
The UNSW Bush Tucker Trail Project, presented by UNSW Master of Environmental Management students , and won first prize in the Global Youth Health Forum: Healthy City Policy Contest for its proposal to address rampant biodiversity decline in urban centres, by implementing 'green corridors in university campuses as a means for biodiversity regeneration. Their proposal cited the Green Trail at UNSW as its positive example.
And the team of UNSW Bachelor of City Planning students Timothy Hutton, Tim Atkinson, and Jack Vella, won the second prize for their 'Utilising University Campuses and Promoting Sustainable Living' project, which looks at the potential of university campuses to enhance the experience of students living on and near campus, with particular regard to UNSW鈥檚 community gardens at the Kensington campus.
The UNSW Cities Institute, which is an associate member of the Alliance for Healthy Cities, encouraged the students to apply and they were mentored by UNSW Cities Institute Scientia Fellow Dr Jinhee Kim, who was also a key speaker at the Conference.
Anil Babu said the support of UNSW, particularly the UNSW Division of Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement鈥檚 Verity Firth and Alison Avery, meant the idea gained traction as an impactful example of change rather than just as a concept.
鈥淭he idea seems to have resonated with many because delegates from other universities approached me with interest in having green trails at their campus,鈥 he said. They included World Health Organization delegates who want to collaborate on a training program to be launched next year as part of their own healthy city initiative.
He added the Bush Tucker Trail also aligned with Seoul鈥檚 plan to add 鈥1000 Gardens by 2026鈥.
鈥淚 believe this shows great potential for cities across Australia to have more bush trails within the city perimeter,鈥 Babu said.
The four UNSW students in Seoul (, , Hutton, and Atkinson) also led the launch of the Young Leaders Network of the Alliance for Healthy Cities at the Global Conference, which was held in collaboration with聽the Seoul Metropolitan Government and World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Conference proved to be a major success for UNSW, with a number of its leaders, including UNSW Cities Institute鈥檚 Peter Poulet and Dr Kim, UNSW Climate-Resilient Cities Research Lab鈥檚聽Negin Nazarian, and UNSW Health Equity Research and Development Unit鈥檚 Fiona Haigh, facilitating sessions with government, research and policy leaders from across the Asia-Pacific.
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