As part of the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctorial Training Partnership (SSCP DTP), PhD students Alexandra Beikert, Chen Ly and Olivia Crowe share their reflections on being part of the DTP’s Expedition Team with Elsy Milan, Amelia Newman, Julian Smart, Laurene Ville, Mario Luis Quijada Rodriguez, Nell Pates, Olivia Atkins and Climate Friendly Kitchen team member, Sultan Alsalimi, where they travelled to the Peak District to explore the region’s quarries, demonstrate what is possible through sustainable travel, and observe the effects of rewilding.
What happens when you ask a group of Imperial PhD students to organise an environmentally friendly expedition?
You get a trip that is equal parts science, sustainability, and shared experience, with a bit of logistical learning along the way.
Recently, 11 of us, all either funded by or aligned with the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Partnership at Imperial, took on the challenge to design an expedition that promoted and practised an environmentally friendly lifestyle. We decided to head up to the Peak District to explore the region’s quarries, both active and abandoned, and to see how nature reclaims and transforms industrial landscapes over time.
Step one: food with a lighter footprint
Food was our first sustainability focus. Committing to a fully vegan menu, we sourced our ingredients from a plastic-free store and prepped everything in advance to minimise waste.
Some of our highlights included:
- Home-made protein bars and nut mix.
- Fresh pesto, which taught us that you need far more basil than you think to feed seven hungry hikers, leading to mild pre-trip “hangry” fears.
- Lebanese specialities, mujadara and za’atar flatbread, courtesy of Elsy, adding rich flavours to our meals.
- Dates and tea brought by Sultan, the perfect complement to our slightly smoky camping-stove porridge.
Every dish was a delightful reminder that sustainable food choices can be varied, nutritious and rooted in community effort.
Step two: quarries and citizen science
Our main field activity was to visit several quarries: from those still in operation to long-abandoned ones that have evolved into thriving ecosystems, including the Hadley Quarry Nature Reserve, Chee Dale, and Waterswallows Quarry.
The biodiversity surprised us. Using a “bioblitz” approach, we set up a rope transect (see above!) and photographed plants along it with our smartphones.
These images were uploaded to platforms such as iNaturalist, where experts and enthusiasts from around the world help identify and classify species.
This kind of citizen science is accessible to anyone on a hike and contributes valuable data for biodiversity monitoring and conservation research.
Step three: living lightly outdoors
For some of us, camping and hiking with all our gear, food, water, and waste was second nature. For others, it was a first-time challenge, including borrowing gear from friends and dealing with breaking backpacks. But we all came away with the same realisation:
You don’t need much to have an environmentally conscious, affordable, and restorative trip. With a bit of planning, it’s possible to reduce environmental impact without reducing enjoyment.
The Peak District’s reclaimed quarries reminded us that even landscapes shaped by heavy industry can recover, host biodiversity, and inspire. And our shared journey showed that sustainability is as much about community and intention as it is about individual actions.
We left not just with field data and photos, but with stronger connections: to each other, to the landscape, and to the idea that small, collective choices can make a tangible difference.
