Sustainability Students’ Stellar Semester

Posted 11:33pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

Bikes, bagels, and bargains. The team behind Toitū te Taiao Sustainability Office is continuing a stellar line up of events this year. Toitū te Taiao are the team that runs sustainability initiatives around campus such as Te Oraka, the sustainability neighborhood, and diversion days. Read more...

The Great Cup Snatch: Takeaway Cups Gone from Campus Cafés

Posted 5:23pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Jonathan McCabe

Uni-owned cafés were rocked by a surprise email on the 7th of May, being served with the ice-cold news that iced drinks could no longer be served in biodegradable plastic takeaway cups. In a huge loss for people who actually go to class, students will no longer be able to carry around their Read more...

Spilling The (Bubble) Tea: Why Was Chatime Closed?

Posted 9:58pm Sunday 4th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs

The campus branch of iconic bubble tea vendor ‘Chatime’ is rumoured to have been closed due to the Uni’s disposable cup policy, sparked by a UoO ‘Meaningful Confessions’ Facebook post that alleges the “stupid university sustainability people” won’t Read more...

Local Produce: Te Oraka – The Good Space

Posted 10:51pm Sunday 13th April 2025 by Jonathan McCabe

Run by the University’s Sustainability Office, Te Oraka is so much more than a thrift shop. Their kaupapa is to make sustainability accessible to everyone through a series of events and initiatives. Jesikah Triscott, their Kaitakawaenga (Engagement Team Lead) told Critic Te Ārohi about Te Read more...

Sustainability Office: Tetra Pak Recycling and Prizes for Sticking Around for the Mid-Sem

Posted 11:56pm Sunday 13th April 2025 by Hanna Varrs

The nature-loving students at the helm of the University of Otago’s Sustainability Office have announced a range of projects to keep campus clean and green. Critic Te Ārohi sat down with tētēkura (student leads) for a fantastic yap about waste management (subverting the rubbish Read more...

University Targets Students in Push for ‘Net Carbon Zero’ Goal

Posted 7:55pm Sunday 5th May 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Otago University’s Sustainability Office is extending an invite to students for support and feedback as it drives towards ‘Net Carbon Zero’ by 2030. The office is looking to expand its efforts through several engagement sessions with students that aim to reflexively inform and Read more...

Live Laugh Lettuce

Posted 2:11pm Sunday 19th March 2023 by Nina Brown

Dunedin students have long copped a bad rep when it comes to sustainability. Google “Otago Uni student culture” and you’ll see images of crappy $2 store costume-clad Hyde Street Party goers, couch burnings, and streets littered with broken glass. These depictions don’t Read more...

Pollinator Workshop at Te Oraka

Posted 1:41pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last Saturday, Animal Aquatic Plant Ecological Society (AAPES) and Slow Food Youth Otago (SFYO) joined forces to host a pollinator workshop at Te Oraka. The workshop had it all: “pollinator activities, groovy tunes and yummy snacks”. What even are “pollinator activities,” Read more...

Local Produce | Te Oraka: Student-run Thrift Store

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 8th May 2022 by Nina Brown

The old Unipol weights room on Anzac Ave has been transformed into a sustainability hub for students by the Sustainability Office and their team of tetekura (student leaders), including Maddy, Lizzy, Gerry, Annabelle, John and Jesikah (office team lead). Already open Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-1pm, Read more...

Food Sci 4th Years Fight Food Waste

Posted 2:16pm Sunday 24th April 2022 by Fox Meyer

A group of Food Science 4th year students have designed a food box - like Hello Fresh - based entirely around NZ’s most commonly-tossed consumables. They plan to use local foodie social media accounts to promote their sustainable selection of goodies. “One of our main messages is that Read more...