Campus Wildlife Documentary Scoops Top Prize in UL Student Sustainability Challenge
The ɫƵ is proud to announce the winner of the UL Student Sustainability Challenge, a flagship initiative fostering student innovation and action in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Developed and delivered by UL’s Centre for Sustainable Futures & Innovation (CSFI), the Challenge empowers students to develop real-world solutions to pressing environmental and social issues both on campus and off, contributing to the university’s mission of becoming a sustainable university by 2030.
The winning project, UL Wildlife Documentary Film, was created by James Organ, a second-year Physical Education and Geography student. His documentary captures the vibrant native wildlife on UL’s campus including kingfishers, jays, red squirrels and cormorants, while also addressing the impact of invasive species such as Giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and laurel on habitats.
James shared his journey and passion for wildlife: "Growing up I was always fascinated by wildlife and the natural world, but it wasn’t until lockdown when my appreciation of Ireland’s nature began, prompted by being stuck at home on a farm in rural North Clare.
“Since then, my knowledge has grown, and I now love nothing more than being out in the wild exploring and learning more about our native wildlife and the special habitats where they live. As a means of identifying the species I was seeing, I started photographing what I saw, and I also fell in love with this.
“Making this documentary has been a dream come true and hopefully the first of many. I hope that this documentary will open people's eyes to the incredible nature we have all around us, even on the University Campus, but also raise awareness of the problems our natural world faces.”
Andrea Deverell, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Futures & Innovation and Chair of the judging panel, highlighted the quality of student proposals received: "The calibre of applications we received this year was exceptional and the shortlisted projects have achieved so much through this process developing prototypes, carrying out research, engaging with mentors, and opening our eyes to the challenges and opportunities around us. Congratulations to the very worthy winner, whose nature documentary beautifully showcases the incredible plant and animal species that share this campus.”
The second-place project, Sustainable Agriculture IoT Sensors Powered by Hybrid Vibrational Energy Harvester (SAG-IoT-HVEH), was developed by PhD students Ibnu Taufan and Nouman Ghafoor from the School of Engineering. Their innovative prototype aims to power IoT sensors in agriculture using ambient vibrations from farm equipment such as water pumps and air compressors, potentially replacing more costly and environmentally harmful disposable batteries.
The Student Sustainability Challenge is made possible through the generous support of sponsors Kirby Group Engineering and Bidvest Noonan, whose commitment to UL and sustainability is helping to inspire the next generation of innovators.
Jason Doherty, Head of Sustainability at Kirby Group Engineering says: “We are delighted to support the Student Sustainability Challenge as we recognise the importance of supporting and nurturing the next generation’s capacity to address global Sustainability challenges. It’s great to see the variety of projects this year. They are targeting many aspects of sustainability, from renewable technology design to biodiversity awareness to sustainability communications.”
To view James Organs’ wildlife documentary along with project videos from all 5 teams, please visit the Student Sustainability Challenge website: /sustainability/news/student-sustainability-challenge