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€10,000 fundraised for Geology field school

November 2016

The Department of Geology at Trinity will lead a world-class field school to the Argentine Precordillera with students and staff from Washington University in St. Louis (USA) and Universidad de Córdoba (Argentina). This South American mountain range abuts the Andes – one of the earth’s youngest, most active ranges – making the region an outstanding natural laboratory to train our undergraduates the essential field skills to succeed as an industry, academia or government-employed geologist. Furthermore, this joint international venture will pair students from around the world to learn and work together, whilst further developing teaching and research links between the institutions. The school will create a capstone to the Trinity undergraduate experience, as well as reinforce future student exchanges, shared learning, and research collaborations between these universities.

The fundraising for this experience was a team effort. Field school leaders Dr. Catherine Rose and Dr. Quentin Crowley organised a Cycles The Andes Challenge in Front Square, which involved the whole department pedalling the length of the mountain chain across Argentina on fixed bikes in shifts over a week. That’s a total of 5000 km! In addition, students organised coffee mornings, bake sales, organised raffles and pub quizzes, and hosted an Argentinian Wine Reception for alumni to help raise funds. Last week, they reached their target of €10,000 thanks to a generous contribution from the TCD Association & Trust – they’ll be heading off to Argentina in March 2017. The money raised ensures that all students can afford the trip, regardless of their financial background, and is being used to subsidise flights and field transport. The staff and students recent cycling and other fundraising efforts represent their team spirit and dedication to making the field school happen.

Cycle Challenge