ENVIRON Experience ’22

October 10, 2022October 17, 2022
by Adithya Pai

ttending conferences and presenting research is a common part of any Doctoral program. This year, I had the opportunity to present my scientific research work at the Environmental Researchers Colloquium (ENVIRON 2022) with all my colleagues in the REWATERGY project. The conference was scheduled between 20^th – 22^nd June 2022. ENVIRON is a collaboration between the Environmental sciences association of Ireland (ESAI) and Ulster University. This year was titled “Unlocking Sustainability” and had multiple sessions themes involving circular economy and water quality. [1]

After a short travel from Madrid, I reached Belfast in time for the conference start. The event began with registration at Ulster university in Belfast. The conference offered a few events for Day 1 including a field trip to Giants Causeway and Northern Ireland Science Festival. I was accompanied by a few of my colleagues to the field trip to Giant’s Causeway. The journey and place were stunning and filled with some natural marvels that had me speechless from the moment we reached. The Giant’s Causeway is a declared world heritage site made up of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns as a result of volcanic eruptions.[2]

The field trip involved a guided audio tour of the entire area with a story of the legend of the causeway and an enjoyable lunch with fellow participants at the conference. It was a truly unique and beautiful experience. The day ended with a presentation on “Ireland towards the Net Zero Challenge” by Prof. Neill Hewitt. The Net Zero challenge is a way for students and researchers to understand the changes that are required on a national and local scale to reach Net Zero Carbon emissions. It also helps understand what social actions can be taken within their own communities to make a difference in this time of uncertainty. [3]

Day 2 of this event had the official opening of ENVIRON 2022 by some highly distinguished dignitaries followed by a plenary session on Climate action and biodiversity by Prof. Jane Stout. This was an eye-opening presentation with some hard facts about how climate change is impacting the flora and fauna across Ireland.

My work had been accepted for both poster and oral presentation. After the plenary session, we proceeded to refreshments and to the area where the posters had been displayed. The session had fellow participants view and quiz the presenters on their work. It was a really great session to make contacts and know more about the work of fellow participants. Throughout the day, participants could attend multiple sessions being held within the main building. We were lucky enough to be present for some fantastic presentations in each session. The day ended with a Prosecco reception and live music followed by the Conference Dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast.

The following day, we had our oral presentations and gained a lot of insights from our sessions chairs and participants on our work presented which will surely help us with our work moving forward. The event ended with a prize giving ceremony where my fellow colleagues Marina and Adriana won prizes for their presentations at the conference. The conference was truly one to cherish and remember for the next years! The trip ended with a REWATERGY meeting where we provided an update on our scientific progress to the consortium