From 4th-22nd of March 2024, The Sustainability Team at the University of Salford ran its annual Go Green Salford 2024 campaign, to encourage students and staff across its three campuses to take part in its various activities, pop-up displays and events.
Monday 4th March:
In partnership with Salford Rangers, a hedgerow made up of Dog Rose, Field Maple, Blackthorn, Hawthorne and Rose Hip was planted alongside our community garden on campus. Hopefully this hedgerow will create some valuable new habitats for wildlife such as hedgehogs. Feel free to go and check them out to see how they grow!
Wednesday 6th March:
Today our ‘How Bad Are Bananas?’ pop-up arrived in Media City, we spoke to staff and students about the carbon footprint of their everyday foods and activities and gave out some free bananas! Manchester City of Trees also joined with their own stand to try and encourage volunteers to get involved with urban forestry. In the afternoon alongside Salford Rangers, we did a community litter pick to keep the waterside environment tidy and litter free.
Thursday 7th March:
Today, The University of Salford hosted the EAUC North West meeting with representatives of sustainability teams from universities across the North West, to discuss the challenges and successes that Higher Education Institutes are experiencing as they strive to make universities more sustainable. The group then went on a tour around campus where they got to see the state-of-the-art facilities our campuses have to offer such as Energy House 2.0, Smart House Salford, and the green roof of the Lady Hale building.
Friday 8th March:
Today Salford Rangers hosted a gardening taster session in Peel Park. The task of the day was to construct a tree nursery on the embankment to protect newly planted Hawthorne and Field Maple from the wind. The nursery was made by weaving Dog Weed branches between sticks that had been put into the ground to create a natural defence.
Monday 11th March:
A Go Green Salford 2024 display was set up in the library today. The display included infographics about the different green activities and initiatives across the university such as letting students know about the sustainability newsletter and the presence of the community growing space behind Clifford Whitworth. The library also set out a range of books relating to sustainability, covering topics from veganism to sustainable fashion to highlight how diverse the topic of sustainability is.
We ran our second ‘How Bad Are Bananas?’ pop-up in Maxwell and got to opportunity to speak to lots more staff and students. We even got new record of right answers, with one player scoring 4/4!
Tuesday 12th March:
As the University of Salford consults on its decarbonisation strategy it aims to engage with stakeholders across the university. Today the consultation opened to the wider staff and student body, with attendees expressing their visions for what a decarbonised campus will look like by 2038- the year which Salford and the GMCA aim to reach net zero by.
A litter pick took place today in Peel Park, volunteers helped to remove lots of rubbish from around the park and alongside the River Irwell.
In the afternoon a walk guided by a Salford Ranger took a group around the blue tree trail on campus and in Peel Park. The tree trail took participants past lots of trees including, Oak, Lime, Black poplar, Eucalyptus, Willow, Scots pine and Hawthrone. This trail aims to show participants trees from around the world that aren’t necessarily native to England.
Wednesday 13th March:
Today we hosted our third ‘How Bad Are Bananas?’ Pop-Up, but this time in University House. As it was an applicant day, we got the opportunity to speak to some prospective students and discuss their thoughts on the carbon footprints of everyday items.
Thursday 14th March:
Our final ‘How Bad Are Bananas?’ stand was in Allerton today, across the four stalls we managed to speak to over 100 people! We hope that this has helped to spread awareness about carbon footprints of everyday items and activities.
Friday 14th and Saturday 15th March:
Our two-day BioBlitz around Peel Park and The Meadows aimed to collect data on the number and frequency of the plants and animals in the areas. The data was collected of a period of just of over 24 hours to gain a snapshot of what animals you would typically find there. For a more in depth look at what over 100 people got up to in our BioBlitz, check out our blog post here.
Monday 18th March:
Today was World Recycling Day, which coincided with the beginning of our Recycling Pop-Ups. The aim of our recycling pop-ups is to help educate the student and staff population on what they can and can’t recycle on campus, which often varies from what can be recycled at home. The item that catches most people out if coffee cups! These unfortunately have to go in general waste bins as they are a combination of materials which we can’t recycle on campus.
Tuesday 19th March:
Another day of our recycling pop-ups, today the item that caught people out was the tetra pack oat milk carton, due to its cardboard feel. However, on campus they must go in general waste, but if you live in the Greater Manchester area they can be recycled at home.
Wednesday 20th March:
Today participants did a 6 mile walk around Kersal Wetlands, Kersal Dale and Kersal Moor, the walk lasted a total of 2.5 hours and saw, sunshine, rain, and lots of mud! Kersal Wetlands, is a designated flood protection area, designed to be able to hold flood water, with the aim being that it would protect Manchester and Salford from flooding.
Thursday 21st March:
This evening saw the launch of the Hybrid Futures Exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition focuses on sustainability and the climate crisis, and this was expressed through a variety of artforms including, oil paintings, ceramics, a documentary episode and neon light installations. The launch was well attended by staff, students, local community and even the Mayor of Salford! The exhibition is here until the 22nd of September so feel free to check it out!
Friday 22nd March:
To end our Go Green Salford events we hosted a community gardening session in our garden to the rear of the Clifford Whitworth Library. During this session we de-weeded the beds, to get rid of the weeds which had grown over the winter months. We then planted some new seeds including, wildflowers, poppies, forget-me-nots, radishes, beetroot and lettuce!
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in Go Green Salford 2024! We hope that you now know a bit more about sustainability at the University of Salford, and had fun getting involved with all of the pop-ups, walks, and other activities. To keep up to date with what the Sustainability team are getting up to follow us on:
- Instagram: @uos_sustain
- Twitter: @UoS_Sustain
- Facebook: Environment & Sustainability Team: University of Salford
Written by Elena Fox, Sustainability Campaigns/Communications Intern