Zero-Waste Campus: The Green Revolution
Cambridge is arguably a ‘prettier city’ than Oxford, although both are known for their ancient universities. Cambridge is situated on the River Cam, and home to an ancient university, beautiful bridges and many independent shops (despite in danger a few years back of being a clone town).
Cambridge University (home to students and wildlife!)
Cambridge University has 31 university colleges (a few hidden behind old walls). The 33 acres of land at Jesus College alone, is home to muntjac deer, sparrowhawks and endangered water voles.
Some of the best known university colleges are King’s College (known for its beautiful chapel and choir who perform Christmas carols on TV each year) and Trinity College (this is like a small town with huge courtyards, and holds the personal notebooks of Isaac Newton, a studied who discovered the laws of gravitation).
Cycling capital of Europe
Like Amsterdam, nearly everyone rides a bicycle in Cambridge. Around a third of residents cycle to school or work, due to the flat landscape and in-built culture from university days. The city has many cycle routes and dedicated cycle bridges and parking. Local group Camcycle promote for better safer bicycle town planning.
Cambridge is one of England’s most beautiful cities, and is also home to some of its most lovely ancient bridges.
The Bridge of Sighs (no need to go to Venice!)
The Bridge of Sighs is a covered stone bridge in the city of Cambridge, with a Gothic style, believed to be the favourite spot of Queen Victoria. Located at St John’s College (the only one in the university to have two bridges)
Many people walk or cycle along the city’s bridges (half of all Cambridge residents ride a bicycle at least once a week!)
Now Grade-II listed, it was built back in 1831, designed by Henry Hutchinson. It was indeed inspired by the famous Venetian bridge, although architecturally it is quite different.
Built to connect older and newer parts of the college, access is restricted to college students, or those having walking or punting tours.
The legend of its name is that poet Lord Byron named it, to translate from the Italian phrase ‘ponte dei sospiri’, after prisoners would sign at their final view of Venice through the window, before being taken down to their cells. Same with Cambridge, some were even seeing the city for the last time before death.
The curved mathematical bridge (built with straight wood!)
The Mathematical Bridge at Queen’s College (Cambridge) is an amazing piece of engineering. In that although it’s curved, it’s built from straight planks of wood!
Most of Cambridge’s bridges sit on the River Cam, which is over 120,000 years old, shaped into its present form by a flood 14,000 years ago. It’s home to unusual wildlife like elaborately coloured mandarin ducks and sea shags (like small green versions of cormorants).
The wooden timbers act under compression (so the bridge is strong, without bending). The unique design also means that the bridge is easily repaired and maintained. Individual parts are easy to replace, without having to take the entire bridge apart.
Having said that, the bridge has been rebuilt twice (in 1866 and 1905) but both to the original design. There was actually a twin bridge designed by the same architecture, though it no longer stands.
Other bridges in or near Cambridge
There are over 20 more bridges on the River Cam, including:
- Clare Bridge is the oldest (built from 1639 to 1640) and has 14 stone balls, with a wedge missing from one.
- Magdalene Bridge (1823) is made from cast iron, on the site of a Roman crossing. It is now Grade II listed, and was historically vital for trade routes.
- Garret Hostel Bridge (1832) was originally built to walk over, and connects Trinity and Garret Hostel Lane.
Being a student is hard enough, but if you’re on a tiny budget and living in a bedsit with a tiny cooker and fridge, then these books can help you eat right and save money. So you can spend more time partying and drinking beer!
Store cooked leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months (write date it was cooked, on the lid). Defrost thoroughly overnight in the fridge, and don’t refreeze or reheat.
The Little Book of Vegan Student Food is not just for students, but for anyone on a budget, and those of us who prefer simple affordable recipes over big coffee-table books of recipes that often are too complicated or time-consuming or expensive to make.
You won’t find pictures of authors in their luxury kitchens in this book, just simple recipes made with simple ingredients (beans!) that you could start making this evening.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).
Before recycling cans, rinse then remove lids (pop ring-pulls over holes). Then use your fingers/thumb to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
This pocket-size guide is handy to take with you to university or on holiday and is packed with nutritionally-sound plant-based meal that are tasty and easy-to-make. Spice up your student suppers with recipes easy enough to make on a hot-plate.
For example, the recipe for nachos just needs a can of beans and tortilla wraps, a tomato and onion, olive oil, a little vegan yoghurt and grated ‘cheese’, along with paprika, salt and pepper. And a squeeze of lemon. The recipe is simple to fit on one page.
Mid-Week Mac. While pasta cooks, make a roux with Flora plant-based butter (no palm oil), mustard, onion/garlic powder and cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast. Add flour to make a thick sauce, cook and add tomatoes and sweetcorn.
Simple Soup makes a nice garlic onion stock in broth, then just add a baked peeled pumpkin, cool and freeze into portions, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Around half of all students are now plant-based, and the good news is that on campus, you don’t need much equipment. The must-haves include:
- A set of affordable quality knives (and chopping board)
- A saucepan and frying pan
- A wooden spoon, mixing bowl and baking tray
- A set of cup and spoon measures
- A measuring jug (a 3/4 full standard mug is 250ml)
The student vegan starter kit
- Tinned beans and lentils: Instant protein and fibre for chilli, curry, pasta sauces, and salads.
- Chickpeas: Great for wraps, bowls, and quick curries.
- Tinned tomatoes or passata: Your base for bolognese, chilli, soup, and shakshuka-style beans.
- Frozen veg (mixed veg, peas, spinach): Cheap, no chopping, no waste.
- Oats: Breakfast, snacks, even savoury oat bowls.
- Rice, pasta, noodles: Budget carbs that make meals filling fast.
- Peanut butter: Turns noodles into sauce and oats into dessert.
- Soy sauce, curry powder, stock cubes: Small cost, big flavour.
- Lemon juice or vinegar: Brightens flat food, especially beans and soups.
- Nutritional yeast (optional): “Cheesy” taste for pasta and toast.
- Tahini (optional): Creamy sauces, if you find it on offer.
Quick affordable meal ideas in 10/20 minutes
- Hummus and grated carrot wraps (5 minutes): Tortilla wraps, hummus, grated carrot, spinach or lettuce.
- Baked sweet potato with beans (10 to 12 minutes): Bake a sweet potato, split it, top with baked beans or mixed beans plus salsa.
- Overnight oats (2 minutes prep, eat cold): Oats, plant milk, banana, peanut butter.
- Lentil bolognese (15 to 20 minutes): Fry onion (or use frozen), add garlic granules, pour in passata and tinned lentils, simmer, then toss through pasta. Swap: use chopped tomatoes and a pinch of sugar if passata’s gone.
- Chickpea and spinach curry (15 minutes): Warm curry powder or curry paste in a pan, add chickpeas and tinned tomatoes, stir in frozen spinach at the end. Serve with rice. Swap: use frozen mixed veg if spinach isn’t your thing.
- Smoky bean chilli (15 to 20 minutes): Mixed beans, tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes, smoked paprika (if you have it), and a stock cube. Eat with rice or tortilla chips. Swap: skip the smoky flavour and add extra black pepper and cumin if you’ve got it.
- Pasta salad with chickpeas (15 minutes): Cook pasta, rinse cold, add chickpeas, sweetcorn, diced cucumber, and a simple dressing (oil, vinegar, salt). Swap: use frozen peas instead of cucumber.
- Roasted veg and hummus pitta (20 to 30 minutes, hands-off): Roast whatever veg you’ve got, then stuff into pittas with hummus. Swap: air fryer chips plus salad still counts.
A Charity that helps young vegans
The Vegetarian Charity is a small charity that gives grants to vegans and vegetarians under 26, who need help. You need to provide proof from two people, via signed reference requests.
Typical grants are for educational courses, special needs, and daily living (fridges, bedding, sewing machines etc).
Nourish with Nish (the vegan student handbook)
Nourish with Nish may well be ‘the cookbook’ that you have been looking for all your life, if you’re not a natural chef and get fed up with books that say they are simple, but aren’t. This is a real find (found in a library by accident, as it’s self-published so not on all the ‘main lists’).
The author wrote it while a student, and it’s as simple as it gets. Basically telling you how to make a bowl of pasta with lentils, or a good salad or wrap, or simple pancakes or flapjacks. But all the recipes work and are delicious and affordable, made with real ingredients, and for small servings.
Not just for students, the book includes budgeting tips and how to read food labels, plus 71 recipes including 11 breakfasts, 15 lunches, 20 dinners, 5 soups (one for ‘each colour of the rainbow’), 10 sides, 5 desserts and 5 smoothies. Get these off pat, and you’re set up for a lifetime of good food!
The recipes include:
- Crêpes
- Vegan full English breakfast
- Tofu scramble
- Red pesto pasta
- Fajitas
- Pea and mint soup
- Chickpea soup
- Vegan BLT sandwich
- Spaghetti bolognese
- Pasta e fagioli (beans)
- Shepherd’s pie
- Sweet and sour tofu
- Sweet jacket potato with hummus
- Stuffed peppers
- French toast
- Homemade brownies
Try this recipe from her blog for creamy roasted tomato garlic tomato pasta, to give you an idea of just how tasty and affordable this food is.
