Climate Future, Climate Fun

Friday ended our first week of classes and we certainly went out with a bang. The students took class on Friday to present their Week One projects where they all presented on a climate change question that was important to them. They worked in groups of two or three and they presented on some awesome ideas ranging from the health effects of climate change on communities to how to make shipping more sustainable. They did an amazing job in such a short amount of time and I am positive that the future of climate change is in good hands with this group of students at the forefront.

After class we headed to Tivoli Gardens, one of the most famous attractions in Copenhagen. Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world—the first oldest, Bakken, is also in Denmark—and many say it was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disneyland. Not only does Tivoli have some very fun rides but the gardens themselves are beautiful and there were so many people there just enjoying the atmosphere (apparently 50 Cent is playing there next week, though after curfew, much to the sadness of of our students). The first few hours in the park we were given a tour about the sustainability initiatives that Tivoli is involved in; everything from offering recyclable cups in exchange for a deposit to switching out all of the light bulbs to LED lights. We also learned that Tivoli attempts to source primarily from local vendors and green energy sources around Denmark. It definitely helped us to appreciate the park more knowing all that they are doing to support the local economy and the environment. In the late afternoon and evening we got to enjoy the park and ride all of the rides. It was a wonderful end to a great week!