Students Working for Sustainability and Festive Cheer

This week the Sustainability Team has been finding a little bit of time in between eating mince pies and chocolates to consider the opportunities we have for students working in the Sustainability Office. We met Sarah Sheikh from the Business School, who has been encouraged by Mary McCartney (Business School Sustainability Champion), to find out what we have within the Sustainability Team for students to get involved in.

As usual the Sustainability Team is looking for students to become involved in all sorts of projects relating to a multitude of different subjects. The first position we are offering through the Business School is the position of Fairtrade Intern. With Fairtrade Fortnight coming up in February and March next year there is loads of Fairtrade fun to get involved with and great opportunity for a student to get experience in running events, project management, communications, administration, charity sector work and of course trying out all the latest Fairtrade products - whether it is chocolate, bananas or cotton buds! Sarah will be inviting Business School students to make an application to the role and if you are the lucky chosen student you will get a chance to really get involved and help influence the University's policies and delivery of Fairtrade events.

Naomi Debrah the 2010/11 Fairtrade Intern

The Sustainability Team will not be stopping there though! We have many more opportunities within the team for all sorts of different things, just last week Stuart Ashenden  in the School of Engineering recruited a student to start auditing the University's water usage, following on from previous projects completed by students on the University's energy use and travel. We currently have a couple of students working with Debbie Bartlett in the School of Science on the biodiversity projects going on across the campuses, you may remember Michael Fray providing us with some excellent bee photos while conducting a bee survey at Avery Hill: http://greengreenwich.blogspot.com/2011/04/bees-found-on-campus.html and recently Charmaine Wijemanna presented to the Biodiversity Steering Group on a pioneering new project developing the University's Campus Management Plan: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/news/articles/2011/a2124-landscape-ecology-msc. At the School of Education the students training to be teachers are currently implementing sustainability projects in the schools where they are completeing their placement.

Isabelle Monk collecting for the end-of-term Re-use Project

The Sustainability Team is always keen to make the best use of the amazing resource we have within the student population and we have loads more opportunities whether it is with Fairtrade, biodiversity, waste, communications, event management, water, energy, video making....... anyway you get the picture! Thinking back over the last year the Sustainability Team has been greatly supported by student interns who have all now gone on to graduate and find employment, often with a bit of support from the Sustainability Team as well. Naomi Debrah was our most recent Fairtrade intern, a great personality during Green Week this year and instrumental in gaining the University Fairtrade status. Stefano Maggi has gone onto work for an Australian radio station after being the driving force behind the communications of Green Week, Catherine Brown and Keir Burrows have both found work after helping us with our environmental management system and Isabelle Monk who worked on the end-of-year Re-use scheme went on to get a job in the charity sector and now works at ATD Fourth World.

As well as asking for some new student interns this Christmas we have also noticed that Santa has been starting to consider his environmental impact and the carbon footprint of his work. Ethical Ocean have had a go at measuring Santa's carbon footprint for him: http://ht.ly/843bj

And Santa also got Futerra to compile an end of year sustainability report for him. http://www.futerra.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Santa_CSR_Report1.pdf 
 
If you are considering how you can have a green Christmas you may want to check out how to 'upcycle' a Christmas tree: http://www.upcyclemania.com/ 
 
Whatever you are doing this Christmas the Sustainability Team wish you a very merry holiday season and a happy new year: http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/JprvaFyHoYsE1cee

Greenwich Green Week in the News!

Our Green Week has been recieving nearly as much critical acclain and press coverage as the Oscar winning King's Speech has! Well perhaps not but here is a take on the event from the University's PR department and also through the eyes of the local newspaper Greenwich Time.

Click on the picture for the larger size

Stefano Maggi Guest Post - Green Week 2011

Today I am rescinding my duty of chief blogger and handing over to Stefano Maggi who has been a brilliant addition to the Sustainability Team in the form of a Sustainability Communications Intern. Here's what Stefano has to say on Green Week 2011 at the University of Greenwich:

Stefano the Sustainability Team Communications Intern.

GREENWICH GREEN WEEK 2011

The week from 7 to 14 February has been the UK Green Week for the year 2011. And for the first time, the University Of Greenwich has had its own one.

As intern at the Sustainability Team of the University, I have been involved in the promotion and the fulfilment of a series of events which took place in all campuses and aimed at raising awareness regarding several different aspects of sustainability such as recycling, cutting energy usage, drinking tap water, buying local and organic food and, last but not least, car sharing.

Greenwich Council Green Travel stand being set-up at Avery Hill

A significant contribution to the project has been made by the Greenwich Council as well as by other companies or organizations which have participated in the events. Thus, it’s worth to mention Tapwater.org and Bywaters - which deals with the University’s waste management and recycling.

Along with the actual organization of these events, a relevant part of the Sustainability Team’s work throughout the latest weeks consisted in running a communication campaign, mostly but not entirely based on the web, in order to spread the word of greenness and foster participation to the Green Week among students and University staff members. Such campaign allowed us not only to make people aware of the Green Week but also to divulge the event plan in details.

One of the Green Week Posters created by Stefano

In doing so, I and my mentor John Bailey have planned some promotional activities to be conducted through social media and the University’s portal as well as the production of some off-line materials.

Precisely, we tried to exploit virtual and physical social networks to reach as many people as we could and make the events visible on and off-line. Through social media like Facebook and Twitter for instance, we have been able to create a partly self-fed flow of information concerning the Green Week and its remarkable purposes. For example, we have created a Facebook event and invited a relevant number of students that invited other students too.


Click here to follow the Sustainability Team on twitter

Furthermore, thanks to the University’s Information Library System department, the Green Week has been allowed to be present both on Students and Staff portal. So, since the portal is accessed daily by most of the people enrolled in or employed by the University, it turned out to be very useful for our target.

Finally, taking advantage of some supporting students’ skills, we also could make use of very nice and engaging posters and fliers that have been stuck around campuses and residence halls.

Heart shaped poster lovingly made by Stefano and his peers

All these activities led to a positive and satisfying response; therefore I can undoubtedly say that the Greenwich Green Week 2011 has been successful. Many students during the three days event have showed their interest in and curiosity about sustainability asking questions, joining competitions and demonstrating their willingness to pledge for a more sustainable life-style.

One of the things that most pleased me has been talking to my peers. That gave me the opportunity to answer their questions, share our thoughts, compare different countries’ life-styles and ask them their opinions about the event and the issues at stake. Moreover, I and all the other members of the team have been able to collect ideas and suggestions on how to enhance the University and its services in order to make them “greener” and more efficient. Then, all these ideas have been handed to the University’s Vice-Chancellor.

Stefano looks over people's ideas to give to the Vice Chancellor

Personally, the Green Week has been an interesting and useful chance for me to learn simple but important things that are too often unheeded. Knowing how much we could save drinking tap water, reading statistics about the dreadful increase of emissions and being aware of the consequences of our non-green behaviours are really essential to comprehend entirely the risks we are heading for.

What we all need to realize is that our life can be lived in a more responsible manner and that a sustainable life-style enriches us and, above all, will benefit the future generations.

So, I have been very glad to take an active part in the promotion of the Green Week and, most importantly, its messages. I have really enjoyed being part of the Sustainability Team and our activities made me feel very proud. I hope that these three days represented only the beginning of a path that will lead to a much more environmentally friendly use of resources and a healthier life.

Photos from the Greenwich Green Week

The final day of Green Week saw the fayre roll into the Greenwich Campus. The day at Greenwich brought together staff and students who work and study on the campus. Along with the popular stands the day also saw Camilla Goddard take a number of staff and students to see the hives at the Mausoleum despite the pouring rain!

Graeme from ABM catering gets in early to prepare the culinary delights offered up by caterers ABM to the participants of Green Week. He has cheeses all local and organic, apples from Kent and cakes and flapjacks baked in house using Fairtrade products.

Dr. Bike gets onto some major bicycle repair, kindly provided by Greenwich Council for staff and students for absolutely nothing. After having his bike fixed one student remarked, 'this is the best event a student could wish for!'

Free food draws in the punters.

Camilla Goddard prepares the smoker before opening up the hives. The smoke helps to calm down the bees and allows beekeepers to tend to their bees without them getting angry.

Twelve staff and students came along on the 'Meet the bees' walk and got a chance to peer into the inner workings of the hive.

And this is what they saw. Bees reduce their numbers considerably in the winter time but come summer time and at the height of the pollen and nectar collecting season this hive could have as many as 70,000 bees inside.

Avery Hill Green Week Fayre

Today the Green Week fayre arrived at Avery Hill. Staff and students came along to the Dome to find out what the University is doing to reduce it's environmental impact, get their bicycles fixed by Dr. Bike, try out the bicycle powered generators and have a go at out rubbish competition!

Joanne  from the School of Architecture explains the rules of her 'Rubbish Competition'

Staff and Students write down their green ideas on what they would do if they were Vice Chancellor for the day.

Vanessa from Greenwich Council and Simon from the Transport Team promote the virtues of green travel to staff and students.

Moira and Ian get ready to attempt Joanne's 'Rubbish Competition'

Mike from tapwater.org explains to Gerrard how the average person spends £25,000 in a lifetime on soft drinks - switch to tap water and imagine what you could spend the money on.

Carol from the Avery Hill Library and John showing off the University's sustainability credentials.

Iain Metters and Tony Dodson race to see who can generate the most electricity

Lots of staff members went to try out cross-campus videoconferencing as a way of cutting down cross-campus travel

Green Week Photos

Photos from the Medway Green Week fayre

Medway Green Week fayre in the Pilkington Building

Graeme from the University's caterers ABM shows off their sustainable food credentials and Fairtrade products.

Two students race each other on the bicycle powered generators supplied by the School of Engineering

Naomi our student Fairtrade representative shows of what the University is doing to reduce its negative environmental impact.

John and Kat from the Sustainability Team race each other on the bicycle generators.

The bicycle generators continue to be a hit with competitive students wanting to race.

Can you pedal for long enough to make a cup of tea?

Green Week is here!

Happy Green Week Everyone!

Today we are in Medway for the first day of our travelling Green Week Fayre make sure you come along and check out all the different stands. Look to the next blog post if you can't remember what they all are.

Also remember tomorrow we have a Medway Campus exclusive tour of the School of Engineering renewable energy projects and a chance to look at the brand new solar wall. If you want to come make sure you get to the fayre before 1pm as the tour will be leaving the Pilkington building at 1pm.

In the meantime make sure you download your Green Challenge Sheet for the chance to win the title of the University's Greenest Student/Staff Member/Department http://bit.ly/eR6QiJ and of course the opportunity to be interviewed on this very blog!

Greenwich Green Week is Coming

Plans are in full swing for the first University of Greenwich Green Week. Throughout Green Week there will be a travelling fayre making it's way across the University starting at the Medway Campus, moving onto Avery Hill and eventually ending up at Greenwich. At each campus you will be able to come along to the fayre and find out all about what is going on across the University from cutting carbon to increasing recycling, reducing waste to future technologies designed to save us all time, money and energy. We have displays from various departments, local groups, charities and contractors all with advice on what you can do to 'go green'.

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=141920192497242#!/event.php?eid=193870603963444

Medway - Tuesday 8^th Feb – Pilkington Atrium 12-2:30pm

Avery Hill - Wednesday 9^th Feb – The Dome 12-2:30pm

Greenwich - Thursday 10^th Feb – Queen Mary Undercroft 12-2:30pm

The concept of Green Week comes from a national group known as People & Planet who are infamous in the Higher Education sector for producing the Green League. People & Planet have student groups dotted all around the country at various different Universities and colleges and it would normally be the People & Planet society that would organise Green Week. At the University we do not have such a society yet so the Sustainability Team have taken it upon themselves to organise a Green Week for everyone who works or studies at the University. Hoorah!

As well as the fayre coming round to each campus we will be launching a Green Credits competition, poster competition and a logo competition and I will post details of those on here, there and elsewhere closer to Green Week.

For a summary of what is going on at each campus look below, most importantly though come along and find us!

Medway 8th February – Pilkington Atrium 12-2:30pm

The Pilkington building has the highest lunchtime footfall on the Medway Campus with a high number of students and staff expected to visit during the lunchtime period.

Stands:

Sustainability Team: The Sustainability Team will be on hand to promote the University’s efforts towards operating in a more sustainable manner. They will provide information on reducing the University’s carbon emissions, the Sustainability Champions Network, Green Impact, green travel, recycling and waste, biodiversity and will be on hand to answer questions you may have on these topics.

School of Engineering: The School of Engineering will be displaying bicycle powered generators and give people an opportunity to hop onto a bicycle and see how much effort it takes them to generate enough electricity to power everyday household items. Challenge a friend and see who can get closest to generating enough electricity to power a toaster!
Medway Exclusive: Green Energy Tour – Meet at the Green Week Fayre at 1pm to be taken round to see the green energy projects at the School of Engineering including the brand new solar wall!

Bywaters: Meet the University’s waste contractors and find out what and where you can recycle and what happens to your recycling when it leaves the University.

UMSA: The Universities at Medway Student Association have won awards for their environmental performance and they will be at Green Week to tell you how they have achieved them. They will also be getting recycling message across to the students on campus. Detailing the Part Time Carnivore campaign & how students/staff can get involved. Detailing the Degrees Cooler campaign & how students/staff can get involved. Highlighting local GREEN volunteering opportunities.

ABM: The Universities caterers are here to promote Fairtrade and Sustainable food and will have some delicious samples of locally grown apples, cheeses from local daries and cakes baked with fairtrade products. Here you can find out about the University's Fairtrade steering group and find out all about what has been done with Sustainable food as well.

Tapwater.org: The University of Greenwich has highly rated tap water supplies at every campus. Tapwater.org are here to tell us about the virtues of tap water, where you can re-fill your water bottle and how to get your hands on a lovely reusable bottle.

Information Library Systems: ILS are here to tell us about how we can use the University’s hi-tech videoconferencing facilities. Imagine if you didn’t have to spend hours driving up and down motorways, queuing for buses, cycling until you drop just to get to a meeting on another campus – well you don’t – come and find out why.

Avery Hill 9th February – The Dome 12-2:30pm

The Dome area is perfectly positioned to attract staff and students during lunchtime with the canteen, SU Shop and gym facilities converging on the space we will occupy.

Stands:

Sustainability Team: The Sustainability Team will be on hand to promote the University’s efforts towards operating in a more sustainable manner. They will provide information on reducing the University’s carbon emissions, the Sustainability Champions Network, Green Impact, recycling and waste, biodiversity and will be on hand to answer questions you may have on these topics.

School of Engineering: The School of Engineering will be displaying bicycle powered generators and give people an opportunity to hop onto a bicycle and see how much effort it takes them to generate enough electricity to power everyday household items. Challenge a friend and see who can get closest to generating enough electricity to power a toaster!

Bywaters: Meet the University’s waste contractors and find out what and where you can recycle and what happens to your recycling when it leaves the University.
Avery Hill Exclusive: WIN! Joanna Powell from the School of Architecture is running a rubbish competition to help you understand what recycling goes where!

Tapwater.org: The University of Greenwich has highly rated tap water supplies at every campus. Tapwater.org are here to tell us about the virtues of tap water, where you can re-fill your water bottle and how to get your hands on a lovely reusable bottle.

Information Library Systems: ILS are here to tell us about how we can use the University’s hi-tech videoconferencing facilities. Imagine if you didn’t have to spend hours driving up and down motorways, queuing for buses, cycling until you drop just to get to a meeting on another campus – well you don’t – come and find out why.

Green Travel & Transport: The transport team have a great idea to help all you drivers reduce your environmental impact, beat the petrol price hike, lower your parking costs all while making new friends and meeting people – car drivers can all 5hare benefits between them.

Greenwich Council: The local council are giving all cyclists a chance to get your bicycle a health check in the presence of Dr. Bike. The Doctor will be on hand to pump your tyres, adjust your brakes and get your riding position checked and adjusted all for FREE. They will be promoting green travel across the borough and be pushing the importance of the 2011 census.

Greenwich Campus 10th February – Queen Mary Undercroft 12-2:30pm

The Queen Mary Undercroft is a hive of activity during the lunchtime period with staff and students coming to enjoy the award winning food with a backdrop of Sir Christopher Wren’s Baroque masterpiece.

Stands:

Sustainability Team: The Sustainability Team will be on hand to promote the University’s efforts towards operating in a more sustainable manner. They will provide information on reducing the University’s carbon emissions, the Sustainability Champions Network, Green Impact, green travel, recycling and waste, biodiversity and will be on hand to answer questions you may have on these topics.
Greenwich Exclusive: Meet the Bees! Camilla Goddard will be taking staff and students to see the five new bee hives at the mausoleum. Come to the Undercroft for 1pm when Camilla will take the tour.

School of Engineering: The School of Engineering will be displaying bicycle powered generators and give people an opportunity to hop onto a bicycle and see how much effort it takes them to generate enough electricity to power everyday household items. Challenge a friend and see who can get closest to generating enough electricity to power a toaster!

Bywaters: Meet the University’s waste contractors and find out what and where you can recycle and what happens to your recycling when it leaves the University.

ABM: The Universities caterers are here to promote Fairtrade and Sustainable food and will have some delicious samples of locally grown apples, cheeses from local daries and cakes baked with fairtrade products. Here you can find out about the University's Fairtrade steering group and find out all about what has been done with Sustainable food as well.


Tapwater.org: The University of Greenwich has highly rated tap water supplies at every campus. Tapwater.org are here to tell us about the virtues of tap water, where you can re-fill your water bottle and how to get your hands on a lovely reusable bottle.

Information Library Systems: ILS are here to tell us about how we can use the University’s hi-tech videoconferencing facilities. Imagine if you didn’t have to spend hours driving up and down motorways, queuing for buses, cycling until you drop just to get to a meeting on another campus – well you don’t – come and find out why.

Greenwich Council: The local council are giving all cyclists a chance to get your bicycle a health check in the presence of Dr. Bike. The Doctor will be on hand to pump your tyres, adjust your brakes and get your riding position checked and adjusted all for FREE. They will be promoting green travel across the borough and be pushing the importance of the 2011 census.

Greenwich Cooperative and Development Agency: The local cooperative to Greenwich will be coming along to promote local food growing, catering, the food co-op and green business support for any environmentally friendly entrepreneurs.

ieeeGreen Student Society: The ieeeGreen Society will be at Greenwich looking for new recruits and explaining everything that they are doing. They have a very interesting website and blog that you can follow here: http://www.ieeegreen.org/

Christmas Carols, Parties, Meals and Meetings

It has reached that time of year where everything seems to come with a Christmas theme, this evening is full of excitement as Kat will be singing in the Carol Concert at the beautiful Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Old Royal Naval College, Queen Mary building. Also this evening we have the Facilities Management Christmas party, so we can celebrate listening to Kat’s singing with a glass of mulled wine later on.

The Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul at Greenwich

Tuesday was the London Universities Environmental Group (LUEG) Christmas special with workshops on Green IT and Environmental Legal Registers and a big get together with London based People & Planet members to work together on our preparations for Green Week. Green Week is set for February 7th – 14th and has a love theme as a result of coinciding with Valentine’s Day and the strap line ‘Love your Future, Love your Planet’ will be the message spread across the country by the various People & Planet groups.

Without a People & Planet group here at the University of Greenwich the Sustainability Team has decided to take up the reigns and organise some events for Green Week in February. Our Sustainability Champions have been set the task of getting their department to contribute and our champions are currently working away on their ideas for February. If you would like to get involved please email the Sustainability Team and we will help you run an event for it. If you want to find out more about Green Week and People & Planet have a look at their website. http://peopleandplanet.org/gogreenweek/go-green-week-2011

This week has also seen the launch of Walking Works at the University and three lunchtime walks this week, Iain has had great success with his two walks at Avery Hill, marching through the snow and taking in the fresh air. At Greenwich on Wednesday we managed to scale the hill up to the observatory and look at the breathtaking views of London, meet our bees in the Mausoleum and learn some fascinating nuggets of information from our resident expert Alison Lawrence. These walks of course all contributed to our efforts towards the walking challenge, and I can reveal as of 11:30am December 10th I have worked off the equivalent of 2.65 mince pies this week! The University’s partnership with Walking Works is for the following 12 months so expect to see a lot more walking taking place over the campus throughout 2011. To register and work out your mince pies earned through walking go to: http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/fm/transport/walking-works

Sunset and Snow at Avery Hill

Walkers at Greenwich

Yesterday saw a meeting between Sodexo, SUUG, ABM and the Sustainability Team to draw up plans for Fairtrade Fortnight at the University. ABM as usual were full of bright ideas for the fortnight and still enjoying the wave of success from receiving all those awards at the Good Food on the Public Plate awards last week. Keep an ear to the ground and eye out for more Fairtrade promotion during 2011 and the Fairtrade Fortnight from February 28th – March 13th. Fairtrade Fortnight 2011