The One and Only Ecoteam Letteren Quiz

How many water taps are there on the Faculty of Arts campus?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Answer explanation

Thanks to the TapItUp campaign of KU Leuven's Green Office, we managed to install two taps (one in the Erasmushuis, the other one in MSI).

Which of the following actions has the Ecoteam not undertaken yet?

• A campus clean-up

• A plant exchange

• An animal rescue operation

• A textile repair café

Answer explanation

Although we have put up bird houses in the Erasmus garden of the Faculty, followed by a bird count week, we do not provide an animal shelter (yet) :-).

Which company provides us with the weekly vegetable bags (distributed on Mondays)?

• De Wikke

• Buren & boeren

• Velt

• The vegetable garden of our vice dean of Sustainability

Answer explanation

Since 2002, De Wikke has been growing organic vegetables at the Benedictushoeve in Herent and in the kitchen garden of Park Abbey in Heverlee, behind the Tiendenschuur. These vegetables, guaranteed organic and strictly controlled by an approved inspection body, are then sold in short chains.

Which day is Earth Day?

• April 22

• December 21

• August 15

• July 4

Answer explanation

Earth Day falls on April 22nd. This is a nearly 50 year old tradition, established in 1970, dedicated to bringing the environment to the forefront. Each year, Earth Day Network works to bring together communities around the world in a huge campaign to tackle modern-day environmental problems in effort to continue the Earth Day tradition. KU Leuven typically organizes a Sustainability Week in the second half of April.

Which was the first book to set the stage for society to change in becoming more environmentally aware?

• The Lorax (1971) by Dr. Seuss

• The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) by Michael Pollan

• Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson

• Population Bomb (1968) by Paul Ehrlich

Answer explanation

Published in 1962, Silent Spring was an extraordinary book that opened the public’s eyes to the dangers of DDT, the first broadly-used synthesized pesticide, to wildlife and human health. Due to the public outcry raised by Silent Spring, DDT was banned in 1972, but the impacts of Carson’s book did not end there. For the first time, the environment became a part of the public consciousness, and more than 50 years later, we see the affects of that as people across the world take up Carson’s banner in the modern-day environmental movement.

What is the name of the European program that promotes and supports sustainable student mobility?

• Erasmus Without Carbon

• The Green Way

• Green Erasmus

• Students for Climate

Answer explanation

Green Erasmus not only provides students with concrete information on how to be sustainable before, during and after their Erasmus experience, but also offers financial support to students who travel in a sustainable way to their Erasmus destination. Check out this website:

https://www.kuleuven.be/global/going-abroad/green-erasmus.

What is the greenhouse effect?

• Certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat and warm the Earth.

• Life on Earth produces gas that warms up the atmosphere.

• The tilt of the Earth changes the amount of solar energy the Earth receives.

• The Sun is putting out more radiant energy over time.

Answer explanation

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. Certain gases in the atmosphere have the ability to absorb radiation that would otherwise escape into space. The greenhouse effect is somewhat like a blanket that retains your body heat and keeps you warm. Gases that trap heat are called greenhouse gases and they include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides. These gases can have potent effects even in small quantities. Without this natural greenhouse effect, the Earth's average temperature would be below freezing!

The Erasmushuis and the surrounding garden came into being almost 50 years ago. What was on the Erasmus site before the Faculty of Arts moved here in the mid-1970s?

• a soccer pitch

• a church

• army barracs

• a public swimming pool

Answer explanation

Until the late 1960s, the Erasmus site was home to a local parish church (Saint Joseph’s church, a neo-Gothic building from the 1860s). The increasingly dilapidated state of the church and the few financial means of the parish to restore the church led to the necessity to sell the church. In 1971, the church was assigned to the university, for a total of 22.500.000 franks and 3 million in advantages. Demolition works started in the same year. The Erasmushuis was officially inaugurated in 1975. Check out https://echo.hcommons.org/ or the QR codes in the garden for more information!