• Little Dutch Boy full project report (PDF, 180KB)
• Water Usage Update

‘Little Dutch Boy’ wins social change prize

 Thursday 14 August 2008

The promotion of five simple water-saving tips to resident students has significantly reduced average daily water consumption at Trinity College – and earned the inaugural Louise Gourlay Prize for Social Change for Shivaan Bardolia (2nd year Arts/Commerce) and Eamon Byrne (2nd year Arts/Science).

The pair was one of three student groups who gave formal presentations of projects – all conceived and implemented with the aim of achieving social change – to the judging panel, staff and other students at a breakfast in the Junior Common Room on 13 August.

The prize, made possible by the generosity of the Gourlay family, was introduced this year to encourage students to learn first-hand ‘the extraordinary impact that can be effected by relatively minimal efforts’. The winners were announced at Dinner in Hall on 14 August and presented with their $2,000 prize by Mrs Louise Gourlay.

The other project finalists included ‘Blessings in a Bag’ – which involved the collection of books, toys, clothes and stationery to be sent to orphanages in Asia – and the ‘Fairplay Initiative’, which worked to raised awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases among University students in order to modify their behaviour and reduce risk of infection. Each of these groups received a runners-up award of $500.

Intriguingly titled ‘Little Dutch Boy’ – in reference to the young Hans Brinker who, according to Dutch legend, used his finger to stem a small leak in a dyke wall, thereby preventing a potentially disastrous flood – Shivaan and Eamon’s winning project focussed on the moral of that tale: that a single individual can make a huge difference.

They equipped every shower in the College with a digital timer (generously donated by Melbourne-based water and energy conservation company, Ripple Products Pty Ltd), set up a facebook group and created highly visible posters for every bathroom, encouraging their fellow students to:

1. Limit showers to 5 minutes
2. Not let water run continuously while brushing teeth, shaving or washing hands
3. Report dripping taps or leaking pipes
4. Avoid unnecessary flushing of toilets by disposing of sanitary waste in the bins provided
5. Only wash laundry when there is a full load – share when possible.

The student body responded enthusiastically, willingly modifying their behaviour and reducing the College’s average daily water consumption from 60.5 kL to 53.31kL (a drop of 12%) over the week in which the project was introduced.

‘Having the shower timers changed behaviour patterns and made students more aware of the water they use,’ Eamon and Shivaan said. ‘It may be a simple idea but it certainly was effective in changing the habits of Trinity’s residents without making a major change to their lifestyle.’

The criteria on which the Louise Gourlay Prize was judged included the quality of the project, its sustainability beyond the group’s efforts, its measurability, and the feedback from stakeholders. However, the strongest weighting was given to demonstration of the project’s impact.

The judging panel was chaired by the 2007–08 Gourlay Visiting Professor of Ethics in Business, Professor Laura Hartman, Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs at DePaul University, Chicago, and comprised:

• Mr Frank Zipfinger, Chairman of prominent Australian legal firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques
• Ms Jane Gronow, Principal Advisor, Community Relations for mining giant Rio Tinto
• Mr Andrew Gourlay (TC 1988), Commercial Manager, Corcom (a not for profit recruitment service, which facilitates the transition of Australian Defence Force Members into other employment. Corcom is operated by the Corps of Commissionaires whose motto is ‘Loyalty, Integrity, Service’.)
• Mrs Louise Gourlay, OAM, President of the Warden’s Circle at Trinity College, who, together with her family, initiated the competition.