By Jessica Rowe
A group of student flatters in Christchurch have been recognised for transforming their ordinary living space into an eco-friendly haven.
They have been honoured for having the most "sustainable and inventive" flat at Canterbury University.
The five flatmates come from different corners of the world – Bangladesh, Canada, England, Malaysia and New Zealand – but they've been united by one common passion – environment sustainability.
Their hard work has landed them the Eco My Flat’s most inventive and supreme flat awards at Canterbury University.
“We were really motivated at the start,” says Cassie Welch. “I think we were all quite excited about it. The whole thing has been really nice as a flat bringing us together.”
They have built a DIY glass house out of recycled materials. They have even installed a rainwater tank and greywater system which recycles their washing machine water for the garden.
The university ran a sustainability lecture each week to teach the students new ways of making eco-improvements to their flats.
“We had a lot of fun, we just did so much stuff and it was stuff we wanted to do anyway and the competition has just given us extra motivation to do it,” says Jack Coggins.
Apparently their motivation doesn't stop there – they keep their own vegetable garden, compost heap, and worm farm.
The team spent about three months working on their flat and they were optimistic about winning the competition.
“We were pretty stoked, we were pretty expectant and we sort of made a plan at the start, “Ok, we want to win this, what do we have to do?” So we worked hard and paid off,” says Tim Searle.
Around 100 students got involved in the competition but the group came out on top.
And in times of celebration they don't need to fork out for celebratory drinks because, guess what, they brew their own cider.
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