It is a warm and quiet afternoon in summer. Bees are busing themselves in the Ecological Botanical Garden in Bayreuth and an occasional breeze ripples the lush green leaves. But then – more and more people make their way through the Ecological Botanical Garden, around the Mediterranean greenhouses, over the sandy area outside, carrying bowls filled with salads, desserts, cakes. The students, alumni and lecturers of the Masters program Global Change Ecology come together for the GCE Summerfete 2018. While having a delicious barbecue with dishes from all over the world, maybe a cool beer and wonderful music, the students and alumni get the chance to get to know each other, meet old friends or have an informal chat with the professors.
Friends of Global Change Ecology e.V.
One highlight of the evening was the announcement of the foundation of “Friends of Global Change Ecology e.V.”. The association aims to connect alumni and current students more closely, providing internship and job opportunities for students and an overall closeness of the “GCE family”. Another objective is to provide financial help for students, who cannot afford to come to Germany and study GCE. Everyone interested in GCE can become a member, supporting the Friends of Global Change Ecology with a small annual membership fee (10€ for current students, 25€ for everyone else).
Find out more: http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/friends-of-gce/
PowerPoint Karaoke
After the international barbecue, it was time for some games. As giving presentations is second nature to GCE students, the student board decided to play PowerPoint Karaoke. Students, who volunteered to participate got random talks about random topics and had to give a spontaneous presentation. Whether talking about the importance of commas, the breeding of sheep (cuteness is the key!) or the fashion of the 1960s – it was a lot of fun to listen to the presenters struggling with unknown topics. But their struggle was rewarded: All participants had the chance to win carnivorous plants.
When the sun was setting, the band was playing and a lot of people danced into the night. Some were watching a football match of the World Cup, others had another beer and a nice chat, others wandered to the buffet again to sneak another piece of tasty food. Everyone had a good time. This wonderful evening would not have been possible without the incredible organisation of the GCE students board and the GCE students of 2017/2018 – thank you so much for organizing such a great party! And we are all looking forward to another beautiful summer’s day in the Ecological Botanical Garden next year…
I joined the Master's program "Global Change Ecology" in 2016, studying additionally environmental law. My Bachelor's programm was "Integrated Life Sciences" in Erlangen, Germany. My main interests are climate policy, sustainability, environmental ethics and social-ecological systems.