BU’s Sustainability Screenings outreach events aim to bring together our community to progress the United Nations Sustainable Goals, by using film and other engaging activities as tools to educate, reflect, and inspire meaningful action.
The second event in this series will take place on Wednesday 26 March, 4-7pm, on our Talbot Campus. We will be screening the film Chasing the Sun, a documentary film about the power of the bicycle to improve public health, build community, and help save the planet. One pedal stroke at a time. Watch the trailer here. After the film screening, you will have the opportunity to engage in Q&A panel discussion with our guest speakers, including:
- Philippe Webb – Co-director of Chasing the Sun
- Professor Tom Wainwright – BU Professor Of Orthopaedics, and Deputy Head of the Orthopaedics Research Institute (ORI)
- Joesph McMullen – BU Lecturer in Law, specialising in air quality management and environmental law.
- Amanda Shorey – Travel Planning Officer at BCP Council, Bikeability instructor and Chasing the Sun film contributor
There will be an exhibition available to explore both prior to the film start and after the panel discussion, where you will have the chance to speak to local organisations including Beryl, Cycle Solutions, the Police, BCP Council, PEDALL, and more.
Our first event, the screening of the film Six Inches of Soil, successfully brought together farmers, local food businesses, students, academics, representatives from the NHS and University Health Dorset, as well as members of our local community in the BCP and wider Dorset area, to discuss the challenges and solutions associated with supporting a more sustainable, resilient food system.
Organised and hosted by BU Lecturer in Nutrition and PhD student, Becky Owen and BU Sustainability Support Officer, Izzy Chalk, the event began with a screening of the film, followed by a panel discussion with Claire Mackenzie, the film Producer, local farmers, and Michael French, the founder of the Grounded Community charity in Boscombe. The event concluded with a showcase of BU academic research, and some inspiring work being done by local organisations, businesses, and community groups to promote a more sustainable food system in the Dorset area, including Help and Kindness and Dorset CAN who have recently helped Dorset to achieve Sustainable Food City status.
Dr Sumanto Haldar, BU Lecturer in Nutrition Science said, “The event was a great opportunity for a wide audience and stakeholders to collectively reflect and discuss on sustainable agricultural practices and how they are intricately linked to improved nutrition that is affordable and their associated impact on longer term health and wellbeing”.
Professor Jeffery Bray, Professor in Consumer Behaviour said, “Six Inches of Soil is such a valuable film, being both entertainingly produced but highly thought provoking around the challenges of sustainability and food security. The screening event was a fabulous bringing together such a wide range of interested parties all keen to share their own perspectives and expertise. I was very pleased to be able to discuss some of the research that we are undertaking to support food security; these discussions are already stimulating new directions and possible future collaborations.”
This event marked the first in a series of Sustainability Screenings events that will take place across the academic year. We hope that this initiative continues to be a platform for learning, and bringing our community and collective expertise together to take actions towards fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals both regionally and nationally.
Our Sustainability Screenings exhibitions provide a platform for BU academics to share their research with the wider community. If your research aligns with one of the themes of our upcoming film, Chasing the Sun, and you would like to share it with the community as part of this event, please email [email protected].
These events are open to anybody, so please share this event with your colleagues, students, and any business contacts that you feel would benefit from attending this event. Book your free ticket now!
If you have any questions regarding travel at BU, please email [email protected].
