Go Green Week 2011 is well underway and the organised events have been well received by students. I managed to attend Carbon Speed Dating at Kaffeccinos on Monday 7th February and although my friends and I were a tad nervous before hand, we actually ended up having a really good night!

As we arrived at Kaffeccinos the organisers of the event, Green Scene and People and Planet, made everyone feel very welcome and even treated us to some free wine as we entered (always a good way to calm the nerves). After an initial half hour mingling session, everyone was then given a sticker displaying their individual carbon footprint. Mine was a shocking 12.86 tonnes of carbon! Shameful indeed, but as I originate from Northern Ireland it’s a bit of a long walk to Newcastle on foot and unfortunately my large number of flights has bumped my score up. I’ll have to recycle extra hard in the future to make up for it!

Once everyone had a while to settle in, it was then time for the actual speed dating. Every boy I had a speed date with was lovely although there were some eccentric individuals! One boy gave me a pen and asked me to draw on his face so naturally gave him a lovely new pair of glasses. It was the most inventive ice-breaker I’ve ever experienced!

There were eighteen boys and eighteen girls in total and you had approximately 2-3 minutes with each person. After the 2 minutes you then had to rate your date out of 10 and once all the scores were added up at the end your carbon footprint was then subtracted. The top boy and top girl then received a fun golden foot trophy each to signify their charming personality and environmentally friendly ways.

Overall, a great evening was had by all. I didn’t manage to find love but I did get some free wine and new friends and that was good enough for me! Keep an eye out for the next organised event by Green Scene, “Non-Electric Open Mic Night”, it looks set to be another great night out!

Lisa, Student Engagement Intern