Cycle to Work Day is the UK’s biggest cycling commuting event. Choosing to commute by cycling is a great way to improve fitness, reduce stress, and take positive action for our planet. You can find out all about the impacts of cycling at Love to Ride.
How to get involved
It’s easy: sign up at Love to Ride and log your ride on Thursday August 4th – it’s free and it only takes a minute. Here you can also set goals, upload photos or share your reasons for riding. To record your ride, you can do it manually or connect a smartphone app (such as Strava). It doesn’t matter how often, far or fast you cycle – every ride enters the draw for a chance to win one of the amazing prizes: from £1,800 to spend at Freewheel, a bike up to value of £1,500 from Freewheel, to bike hire membership, books, bike locks and more.
Love to Ride in numbers
Since its launch in 2019, the community has counted:
– 38,353,055 miles ridden
– 3,034,936 rides logged
– 6,276,400 lb CO2 saved
Cycling at Salford
On our Sustainable Travel webpage you can find information about the cycling facilities on campus, including parking and showers, as well as security, routes and training.
All students and staff interested in cycling can also join the Cycle User Group on Teams. The group is open to all and it’s a great place to stay up to date with all cycling-related news from around the University.
There are also two schemes available to staff members:
Cycle2Work Scheme
The scheme is part of the University’s commitment to encouraging sustainable methods of travel. In the scheme the University purchases cycles for employees to use for their commute to work. In exchange for the provision of the cycle, participating employees agree to a reduction in salary to cover the hire charge each month, repaying part of the initial cost to the University and benefiting from tax and National Insurance savings via the salary sacrifice arrangement. You can spend up to £2,000 and then pay for it over 12 months. The scheme is available to most staff and it’s an opportunity to save at least 32% on bikes and accessories from retailers such as Halford, Tredz, and a large network of independent bike shops.
The scheme was launched earlier this year, in partnership with Manchester Bikes. It gives participants an opportunity to try out an electric bike for free for up to 4 weeks. It’s a great option especially for longer commutes. The package deal includes locks, lights, helmet (if requested) plus full support & maintenance. After the trial, the e-bike can be returned, rented or purchased.
Here you can find all the details and register your interest.
Bee Network Cycle Hire Scheme
Bee Network Cycle Hire is Greater Manchester’s first publicly operated, self-service, 24/7 cycle hire scheme, and plays a key part of Greater Manchester’s plan to provide a fully-integrated, London-style public transport system and become carbon neutral by 2038. Since November last year, the University of Salford has had exclusive access to the scheme as part of the limited trial; the scheme will be rolled out across Greater Manchester this summer.
This year, Go Green Salford ran between February 28th – March 27th and explored four themes: Our Planet, Our Food, Our Resources and Our Nature.
Throughout the month, we saw lots of engagement and support from our students, staff and local community. A massive thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s events!
In this post, you will find a summary of all of the events, including links to recordings and resources.
The first week opened with Instagram live streams, where we spoke with four inspirational guests:
Godiya Olinze – MSc Environmental Assessment & Management student at the University of Salford and a passionate sustainability advocate. We talk about her studies, sustainability journey and everyday actions we can all take to help the planet.
Godiya’s Litter Picking Journal: read blog post here
Fay Watts – owner of The Dispensary, Salford’s first zero-waste shop based in Walkden Town Centre. We talked about zero-waste shopping habits, running a sustainable business, and the importance of education in the fight against the climate crisis.
Jenny Bennion – Peatlands Communications Officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust. We talked about the #PeatFree campaign, the importance of peatlands for the planet and our wildlife, and the ways in which we can all help restore and protect it.
Holly Broadhurst – PhD student in Molecular Ecology at the University of Salford. He talked about her research, what to consider when applying for a PhD, and her sustainability journey.
We also celebrated World Wildlife Day, and ran our first Hedgehog Friendly Workshop, as part of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign which aims to make our campus as safe and welcoming for wildlife as possible. The purpose of this workshop was to learn about the basics of wildlife surveying, including methods and tools. As a result of these workshops, we’ve now got footprint tunnels and camera traps installed on campus. To stay up to date with news about hedgehogs on campus, you can learn more about the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign here, and join us on Teams!
During the second week, we supported the second Food Waste Action Week which aimed to create lasting change that helps to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goal of halving global food waste by 2030. To read about the Food Waste Action week, and to find lots of useful tips and recipes to help you reduce food waste on a daily basis, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website here.
We also hosted two Instagram live streams with:
Emma Lawton – geography student at the University of Salford and creator of the Salford Swap Shop. We talked about Emma’s studies at Salford, avoiding food waste & eating sustainably on a student budget, and sustainable fashion.
Holly and Josh from Impact Score – a free app designed to help us make better shopping decisions by scoring products according to sustainability criteria. We talked about the idea behind the app, how it works, the different aspects of sustainability it considers, and what’s coming next.
The week started off with the first ever Salford Swap Shop. This initiative was created by Emma Lawton, a geography student at the University of Salford, to help promote sustainable fashion. The idea is simple: donate your unwanted clothes and swap them for someone else’s. There was also a sewing station with buttons, zips and ribbons to customise the clothes. Alongside the clothes swap, donations were also collected for the British Hedgehog Preservation Charity (we collected over £130 pounds!) and there was an option to pick up some local herb and plant seeds. The second Salford Swap Shop is coming soon in May! Follow it on Instagram to stay up to date.
We also had two Instagram live streams that week:
Rowan Pritchard – Graduate Associate at the University of Salford Art Collection team. We talked about her journey from studying to working at Salford, her current role, and her approach to sustainability in personal life & work as an artist 🌿🎨
Gideon Marriott – University of Salford graduate (MSc Sustainability) and a green woodworker. We talked about his journey to his current role, his degree, why he decided to study at Salford, and the role and challenges of sustainability in a small business.
We also held a zero waste pop-up with The Dispensary at the Media City campus, and organised an online event exploring the links between nature and wellbeing (watch recording here – internal login required).
The last week of Go Green Salford was full of events dedicated to our local natural environment and wildlife:
Live stream with Caitlin Cross – BSc Wildlife and Practical Conservation student at the University of Salford and Chair of the Wildlife Society. We talked about Caitlin’s interest in wildlife, her studies and placement year at Chester Zoo, and the Wildlife Society – how to join and the benefits for students’ skills & employability.
Nature on Our Doorstep – event exploring the urban nature of Salford with Dr Luke Blazejewski, a Manchester-based photographer and filmmaker, and a researcher at the University of Salford. His creative work focuses on capturing and celebrating the presence of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, nature in urban settings. You can find out more about his work on his website. The event started with a screening of one of Luke’s films – Salford Wetlands, which explores the wildlife of our local wetlands area. This will be followed by his talk on the importance and benefits of the relationship between nature and people in urban environments. There will also be an opportunity to ask Luke questions at the end.
Salford Tree Trail Tour and visit at the “You Belong Here” exhibition – this in-person event included a guided tour of a part of the Salford Tree Trail, followed by a visit to “You Belong Here” exhibition at the Salford Museum & Art Gallery, which celebrates Salford’s green spaces.
Watch live stream from the Salford Tree Trail tour here.
Find out more about the “You Belong Here” exhibition here.
Eyes Peeled for Nature 2022 – a series of events including workshops, online talks, quizzes, blogs, and live feeds which celebrate the wildlife which can be found in and around Peel Park. It ran throughout March and ended with a BioBlitz (24h of wildlife surveys and recording) on 25 & 26/03.
On their Facebook page, Friends of Peel Park shared photos and live streams from the events – you can find them here.
For a quick summary of all the events and even more useful resources, visit the Go Green Salford 2022 webpage! And don’t forget to follow us on social media, to stay up to date about our upcoming events and volunteering opportunities:
Palm oil is the most popular vegetable oil, used around the world in a range of food products including bread, chocolate, and margarine. As well as food, it is also present in some form in most cosmetics and cleaning products. Palm oil is extremely popular for several reasons, such as its long shelf life as well as its lack of taste and smell. Harvested from the fruit of the African Palm tree, palm oil has a very high yield compared to other oil plants, allowing a large volume of oil to be produced from a smaller area of land, making it the cheapest of all plant oils.
Palm oil has become a controversial ingredient, mainly due to the deforestation that has been caused for land clearance for palm oil plantations. The African palm thrives in hot, wet, and humid environments with high levels of sunlight. These conditions are met in a small band along the equator and this niche is also where rainforests thrive. Because of this, countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries produce most of the worlds palm oil, with Indonesia and Malaysia alone producing 84% of all palm oil in 2018. To supply the ever-increasing demand for palm oil, large areas of rainforest are cleared. Along with logging for wood products, palm oil plantations have been identified as the cause of 23% of the deforestation in Indonesia between 2001 and 2016. This deforestation has a major impact on biodiversity in these countries, with rainforests hosting the most diverse range of species of any biome, and has threatened to endanger or extinct many species, the most well-known of which being the Sumatran tiger and Bornean Orangutan. Another effect of this deforestation is the removal of the trees and destruction of peatlands; this removes their ability to function as carbon stores and releases large amounts of the previously stored CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to the climate crisis.
While Palm oil is perceived as environmentally unfriendly, in comparison to other oil-producing plants it has much higher yields, allowing for much less land use compared to other oils, such a sunflower or soy. However, these other oil plants aren’t restricted to growing in the same environment as rainforests and so can be grown in areas with lower biodiversity. Because of this, eliminating all use of palm oil is highly debated, with demand for palm oil expected to continually increase up to the year 2050, and with large demand expected to come from major developing countries such as China and India. A reduction in people’s everyday use of palm, as well as ensuring that any palm oil consumed is sustainably sourced, is a step that can have a positive impact and help safeguard the remaining important areas of rainforest.
What can we do?
Reducing the demand for palm oil in products and making sure that, where palm oil is unavoidable, it is sustainable, can help ensure that highly biodiverse primary forests are not cut down for new palm oil plantations. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is the main body certifying palm oil sources as sustainable, with sustainable plantations promising to not clear primary forests, have transparent supply chains, as well as monitor and limit their carbon emissions. Members of RSPO using certified sustainable palm oil can use RSPO’s trademark on their packaging to help consumers identify products and brands using sustainable palm oil.
If you want to avoid palm oil altogether, there are several tips to help. The first one is avoiding processed food and cooking from fresh natural ingredients such as fruit and veg. This will avoid palm oil, as well as having the benefit of being healthier than ready meals and other processed foods.
To avoid palm oil in skincare, use ethical brands that do not contain palm oil or advertise themselves as using palm oil from sustainable sources.
Finding out whether products contain palm oil and whether it is from sustainable sources this can be done quickly and easily in stores by using apps such as Impact Score Shopping; you can use it to scan barcodes and indicate whether a product is palm oil free, or, if it does contain palm oil, whether it comes from a sustainable source. Websites such as Ethical consumer and Products without Palm Oil provide guides and lists of companies and products that do not contain palm oil, or contain palm oil from ethical sources.
Salford Conversations are interactive sessions for University of Salford colleagues, which give participants an opportunity to meet, discuss things that matter to them, create new connections, and learn from each other. They take place 3-4 times a year, with each session focusing on a different topic.
In March we took part in the “Salford Conversations Go Green” event, inspired by the Go Green Salford series. The session focused on the topics of climate science, becoming a low carbon institution, and the role of individuals in driving change. Drawing from the changes and experiences we’ve all gone through in the past year, the participants discussed their newly formed behaviours and habits, and actions they’d like to take to support our university’s efforts to achieve the low carbon aims.
The event opened with presentations from three speakers:
Bec Bennett from our team (Head of Environmental Sustainability) spoke about the University’s low carbon goal, our progress so far, and the next steps.
Dr Rosie Anthony (Lecturer in Climate Change & Sustainability at SEE) explained the science behind climate change and the impact of individual climate action.
Nourhan Heysham (Researcher on the IGNITION Project) told us about the science of Nature Based Solutions and her team’s work on the living walls, rain garden and the sustainable drainage system which have recently been installed on our Peel Park campus.
The presentations were followed by a facilitated discussion, during which the participants had a chance to share ideas and reflections. The conversations focused on how our new ways of working could help reduce carbon footprint, and what challenges we might face in achieving this. The following questions were discussed:
What one word describes how you’re feeling about the climate crisis?
What one main lifestyle change have you already made to reduce your carbon footprint? What might you do next?
What could the university do practically to help you be more sustainable or to support more sustainable behaviours? e.g. travel, procurement, energy use, catering
What behaviours and working practices would you like to keep from this pandemic? How much does low carbon/sustainability factor in your preferences?
If you were to make all of your decisions through the lens of climate change, how would you make a start on that?
In March, we ran a series of events for this year’s Go Green Salford. They followed four themes, one for each week, and aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues related to food, wildlife, waste, and climate. Throughout the month, we saw lots of engagement and involvement from our community, including both staff and students!
Don’t worry if you missed any of it – here’s a summary of everything that’s happened throughout the month, including recordings from all events and useful resources to learn more about each theme.
Fairtrade Foundation – learn about what Fairtrade means, why it matters, and how to find Fairtrade products.
Love Food Hate Waste – find out why we should reduce our food waste, and how to do it with lots of useful resources and easy recipes.
Books: Ruthledge Handbook of Food Waste, Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food
Films & documentaries: Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, Rotten
Week 2: Green spaces
8 – 14 March
This week, we encouraged outdoor activities, such as cycling instead of driving, and completing our very own Tree Trail. We also shared tips for welcoming wildlife into your garden by making it hedgehog friendly, or making bird feeders (easy tutorials here and here). On Wednesday, we held a great event with Dr Luke Blazejewski, a wildlife photographer and filmmaker, where he talked about the importance of urban nature. The event included a screening of one of Luke’s films – Salford Wetland. You can view the recording from the talk and Q&A here, and access more of Luke’s work here.
Resources
Hedgehog Friendly Campus – this is a campaign which aims to revive hedgehog populations by raising awareness and improving habitats across the UK campuses. At the beginning of this year, our University achieved the Bronze accreditation! You can read more about the campaign here, and join the Teams group here.
Love to Ride – an online platform with lots of useful tips and resources for both new and adept cyclists. You can also log your mileage and enter prize draws.
Books: Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm, RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife
Films & documentaries: A Life on Our Planet, Kiss the Ground
Week 3: Waste
15 – 21 March
During the third week, we had lots of great events and content following the theme of waste.
On Wednesday, we were joined by Jess Janvier, a Fashion Image Making and Styling (FIMS) student from our University, for an online talk about finding balance between being passionate about fashion and caring for the environment. She shared useful tips for sustainable clothes shopping, too. You can watch the recording from the event here. Jess also wrote a post for our blog about her personal perspective on the environmental impacts of fashion. Another FIMS student, Isobel Webster, also wrote a blog post where she shared her favourite sustainable creators and designers.
On Thursday, we launched the Plastic Free University of Salford campaign. Using a framework provided by the charity Surfers Against Sewage, it aims to help the university achieve its commitment to eliminate all avoidable single use plastics. The campaign is led by us, the Environmental Sustainability Team, and Stephanie Bateman, who is a Wildlife Conservation student at our University, and the founder of The Environment Coach, where she offers workshops and courses on sustainability and climate anxiety. You can watch the recording from the launch here, and read more about the University’s commitment here. We’re currently auditing university departments to establish where single use plastics are currently being used, and more information on the campaign will be available soon.
On Friday we had two more events. First, we were joined by Kirsten from Hey Girls, a social enterprise which aims to fight period poverty and help organizations such as our University provide free period products to those in need. Hey Girls products (specifically reusable pads and menstrual cups) will soon be available for pick-up on the Peel Park campus – more information will be available in the next few weeks. You can watch the recording from the event here, and read more about Hey Girls on their website. On Friday evening, we were joined by another FIMS student – Beth Duncan, who led an upcycling workshop, where she showed us how old or unwanted clothes can be remade and given a new life instead of being thrown away. You can watch the recording here. Beth has also shared with us her favourite sustainable creators and sources of inspiration: More or Less Magazine, Collina Strada, Masha Popova, Lou de Betoly, Story mfg., Bode New York, Alexandra Sipa, Kapital Global, Kevin Germanier, Bethany Williams, Ottolinger, Maryam Nassir Zadeh.
Salford Litter Heroes – if you’d like to get involved in litter picking, you can join this community group and help contribute towards cleaner streets in Salford.
Books: How to Break up with Fast Fashion, No more rubbish excuses
Films & documentaries: The True Cost, Riverblue, A Plastic Ocean, Seaspiracy
Week 4: Climate
22 – 28 March
The last week of Go Green Salford was all about the climate and ways in which we can all make a difference and fight climate change.
On Tuesday, we hosted a talk with Josh Simpson from Impact Score. He told us about their app which helps its users become more conscious consumers by revealing businesses’ actual environmental and social impacts. You can find out more about the app here, and watch the recording from the talk here.
On Wednesday we were joined by Dr Rosie Anthony, a lecturer in Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Salford. Rosie gave an incredibly informative talk which aimed to help us get an understanding of the science behind climate change by debunking the technical terms. She also told us how everyone can take responsibility and action to have an impact. You can watch the recording here. In addition, Rosie has provided us with lots of useful resources to learn about climate change:
On Friday we held our last event. Our guest was Jo Hand, a co-founder of Giki, which is a social enterprise aimed at helping us track and reduce our carbon footprint for all kinds of activities – from our grocery shopping habits to the way we travel. You can read all about Giki on their website, and watch the recording from Jo’s talk here.
Books: The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide, How bad are bananas?, The Future We Choose
Films & documentaries: Our Planet, Before the Flood, 2040
A massive thank you to everyone who got involved in this year’s Go Green Salford, and everyone who attended our events and helped us spread the word. Although the events are now over, you can still participate in our challenge and enter the prize draw until April 22! Take a look at the image below to see how you can take part with your friends and family.
And remember to follow us on social media to stay up to date with our events and campaigns:
Earth Hour is just one hour, annually, when the world can
unite in its fight against climate change.
The WWF have been running Earth Hour since its first lights-out event in Sydney, 2007. Since then, it has become the largest event of its kind, with millions of people taking part in over 180 countries and territories. All that you need to do to take part is simply switch off your non-essential lights for one hour between 8:30-9:30pm on Saturday 28 March, it’s a small action that has a much larger impact when so many people combine their efforts. Not only does it have the obvious environmental benefits that come with reduced energy usage, it is also used as a tool to spark conversation; the more individuals take part, the more it will be taken seriously.
Of course, this year we will be celebrating Earth Hour from
the comfort of our own homes, and it is a great opportunity to take some time
away from social media and technology. You could use it as an opportunity for a
candlelit dinner, play some board games or even have a dance!
If you think of any more fun and
interactive activities to do during this hour then please let us know, we’d
love to hear from you!
Message us on-
Facebook Messenger:
@SustainabilityUoS
Instagram: @Uos_Sustain
Twitter: @Uos_Sustain
In keeping with the theme of saving energy, check out some
energy savings tips below:
Don’t leave appliances on standby
Think about using timers so that appliances aren’t left on standby for
too long.
Do fewer loads of laundry
Only wash full loads of dishes or laundry.
Tea for one
Only fill up the kettle with as much water as you need to reduce
energy consumption
Put your system boiler on a timer
Leaving the central heating on all day means that your boiler has to
constantly burn gas to keep the temperature of your house at the required level
that you have set.
Wear a jumper
Every degree that you reduce your thermostat could save you £80-£85 a
year
Make the most out of the heating
Make sure that your radiators aren’t blocked by curtains or furniture-
Leave enough defrosting time
Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight or while you’re at work.
Defrosting food in advance typically halves the cooking time and means that you
don’t need to use the energy of a microwave to defrost more quickly.
Use the right size pan
Always use a pan which is the right size for the amount of food you
are cooking – this means you won’t waste energy while heating a bigger surface
area than you need.
Set your washing machine to 30-40°C
90% of a washing machine’s energy expenditure is spent heating the
water, so if you wash your clothes at 30-40°C you’re saving a significant
amount of money.
Listen to music in the shower
Try and time your showers for 5 minutes- this can be done by setting a
timer on your phone or finding a combination of songs that last for 5 minutes.
This will reduce the amount of hot water you use!
Replace old lightbulbs with LEDs
They use up to 25% less energy and can last 12 times longer
Look for products that have an A+++ or A++ rating
These are the most energy efficient products. Under this system each +
sign is taken to be equivalent to an energy efficiency of 10%.
Get a draught excluder
Getting a draught excluder for your front door or internal doors can
reduce the amount of heat escaping to the outside or from one room to the next,
Buy a more efficient shower head
You can save you as much as £18 per person a year on energy bills, plus an additional amount if you have a water meter.
Guest blog by Emily Shipley, Environmental Communications and Engagement Assistant Graduate Intern.
Using The Seventh Resource (recycled materials) saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions annually saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions annually, which is almost as much carbon that the aviation industry produces in passenger transport every year.
Making aluminium cans from recycled materials uses 1/12th of the energy needed to make them from raw materials. This is particularly notable because aluminium can be recycled countless times and it is estimated that around two-thirds of all aluminium that has ever been produced is still in circulation today- don’t break the cycle by throwing yours away!
Although carbon is the punch-word that most media sources use when discussing climate change, it isn’t the only emission that we should be aiming to reduce. Sulphur oxides (SOx) are toxic gases which are known to be harmful to human health, causing respiratory problems and lowered resistance to heart and lung diseases. On top of this, SOx gases in the atmosphere can lead to acid rain which is harmful to crops, forests and also contributes to the acidification of the oceans, which in turn will have consequences for marine organisms that we cannot accurately predict. Making bags from recycled polythene uses only one third of the amount of Sulphur Dioxide than making them from scratch.
Every little thing that you recycle helps us to take steps to becoming a cleaner, greener society.
In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than ever previously before and it is time to take action now to reduce our consumption and help to build a greener planet.
In 2018, the Bureau of International Recycling and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation recognised Global Recycling Day as an official United Nations day. This year’s Global Recycling Day theme is #RecyclingHeroes and it takes place on 18 March.
It is important that not all messages that we see from environmental initiatives are negative and by recognising the people and places that showcase how recycling can make a positive impact, we are encouraging repeat and copied behaviour.
Today, the Global Recycling Foundation will recognise the top 100 #RecyclingHeroes as nominated by members of the public, a chance for unsung heroes to have their moment. Ten winners chosen from around the world will jointly represent the following regions: North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Australasia and all of these will win a $1,000 prize to contribute to their recycling initiative and have their work showcases to the world.
From Monday 11th February – Friday 8th March a whole range of activities and events are planned for Go Green Salford.
Week one: Live Green
Week two: Work Green
Week three: Think Green
Week four: Eat Green
Working in collaboration with the Students’ Union, DSAS Events and Peel Park Rangers we will be running a series of activities to raise awareness of sustainability issues and provide opportunities for you to get involved and take action. Activities are open to all staff and students at the University and you can find all the details below.
Monday 11th February
Wildlife Conference
To kick start Go Green Salford, the Wildlife Society will be hosting an evening of wildlife. The conference will include guest speakers including Dr Paul Rees (senior lecture in wildlife), Brian Ashworth (Lancashire Wildlife Trust), Jess Britch (Salford Rangers), Harry Handford and Thomas Gascoine (Blackpool Zoo).
Along with free tea/coffee and biscuits, we are raising money by selling vegan cupcakes and there will also be donation buckets.
Location: Chapman 2
Time: 6.30pm – 10pm
Price: £2.50 for society members | £5.00 for general public
Wednesday 13th February
Green House Green Home: registration required
Paying
too much for your energy bills? Nervous about your energy costs next year?
Whether you’re currently living in rented accommodation or moving into rented accommodation next year, this training is for you! The training covers practical advice on ways to minimise your energy bills and the rights you have as a tenant. It will be a fun, interactive session with the opportunity to meet new people and share experiences and ideas.
Location: Lewis Latimer Room, University House
Time: 1-hour sessions at 12pm, 1:30pm, 3pm and 4:30pm
Register your FREE place online now on Advantage: bit.ly/2Rxk7cp
Housing Fair
Looking for accomodation for 2019/2020? The SU’s first housing fair will include accomodation and housing agencies from accross Salford to advertise their accomodation.
You can find out more at https://www.salfordstudents.com/articles/housing-fair-be6d
Location: North Side, University House
Time: 12pm – 4pm
Thursday 14th February
Dr Bike Services
TfGM are offering a FREE bike maintenance check to University of Salford students and staff. Each booking will be allocated a 15 minute session, however, spaces are limited so contact Neva to book in advance!
Location: University house
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Book your space by emailing N.Mowl@salford.ac.uk
Friday 15th February
We Strike for Climate change
Millions of young people are waking up to the fact that we have to act now to avert the worst effects of climate breakdown, from the school strikers in Australia to Greta Thunberg, they are joining their voices in protest. We will be joining up with other strikers of all ages around the UK on the 15th February in Manchester. We will stand in solidarity with young people around the world asking for climate justice.
Location: St Peters Square
Time: 12pm
Feel Good Friday
Every friday we will be out and about on campus, talking to staff and students and snapping pictures of you with your sustainable pledges for our Twitter campaign. Come and tell us your sustainable New Year’s Resolution or send us a Tweet and a lucky winner will be chosen from our Twitter uploads, winning a chocolate treat or a reusable mug. Last year we had some great pledges from both students and staff including cycling more often, reducing plastic use and eating more organic food.
Sunday 17th February
Uni-Cycle Shop
The Pop-up Shop will be on main campus everyday for 2 weeks.
Uni-Cycle is a social enterprise, non-profit organisation. Set up in 2014 and since then has reclaimed over 30 tonnes of reusable waste from both University of Manchester and University of Salford therefore diverting this all from landfill. Although the items collected are someone’s waste, there is nothing wrong with them and they are perfectly suitable for reuse. The reclaimed waste are high quality items ranging from brand new shoes and clothes, unused saucepans to larger electrical items including printers and hair straighteners. They have also donated over 0.5 tonnes of quality goods to British Heart Foundation and The Salvation Army to sell in their shops. Any items in the shop are sold to new and returning students at low and reasonable prices.
For more information, you can find Uni-Cycle on: Facebook: unicyclemcr Twitter: @uni_cycl Instagram: unicyclemcr
Monday 18th February
Pop-up Guilt Free Groceries shop
Visit the Zero Waste Shop and buy your groceries completely package free.
Location: Atmosphere Cafe, University House.
Time: 10am – 4pm
SDG Teach in
The Teach in calls upon educators across all stages of education to pledge to include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within their teaching, learning, and assessment of their course(s)/ in their classrooms during the week of the 18-22 February 2019.
SDGs comprise of 17 goals including ‘No Poverty’, ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Climate Action’. You can view all the goals online at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs
Come and speak to the Environmental Sustainability Team about how you travel to the University and complete our survey to be in with a chance to win a £100 shopping voucher. Alternatively, fill in the survey below:
A unique opportunity for a behind the scenes tour around Energy House – the only fully climate controlled research facility in the world. Built in 2011, this full sized two bedroom terraced house is built inside an environmental chamber and can replicate almost any weather conditions. It is fully furnished and packed with a vast array of sensors that can monitor a wide range of variables throughout the house and chamber. Max 12 people – first come first served.
Location: meet outside Cockcroft
Time: 12pm
Tuesday 19th February
Big DSAS Tidy Up
Come along and help improve your community and the environment by helping us to tidy up Peel Park and the University. Litter pickers, gloves and bin bags will be provided.
Location: Meet outside Maxwell Building
Time: 12pm
Wednesday 20th February
DSAS Walks
Part of the regular DSAS walking groups, this event is aimed at staff and students to have a leisurely walk around peel park and surrounding area.
Location: Meet outside University House for 12pm and Maxwell at 1pm.
Hedge Laying Training
Come and learn the skills you need to lay a hedge on this training day. This training is free, to encourage people to join in with volunteering on the park. Refreshments included but please bring a packed lunch.
Location: Peel Park Base at the rear of Maxwell Building down the ramp.
A unique opportunity for a behind the scenes tour around Energy House – the only fully climate controlled research facility in the world. Built in 2011, this full sized two bedroom terraced house is built inside an environmental chamber and can replicate almost any weather conditions. It is fully furnished and packed with a vast array of sensors that can monitor a wide range of variables throughout the house and chamber. Max 12 people – first come first served.
Location: Meet outside Cockcroft
Time: 12pm
Thursday 21st February
Recycling Roadshow – Maxwell
Find us at Maxwell reception for the first leg of our Recycling Roadshow where we will be testing your knowledge on recycling with prizes to be won!
Location: Maxwell reception
Time: 10am – 4pm
Greenpower Society
This Society is taking part in the Greenpower Electric Car Challenge! The Greenpower team design and build single-seat electric cars to race in events across the UK! Come down and find out more!
Location: Front of University House
Time: TBC
Friday 22nd February
AAVT Vehicle demostration
The AAVT ‘Automotive and Autonomous Vehicle Technology’ car with Staff will to be outside the Student Union. Showing off the latest ICZ technology.
Location: Front of University House
Time: TBC
Monday 25th February
Recycling Roadshow – Media City
For our second stop, we will be quizzing the students of Media City on their recycling knowledge!
Location: Media City reception
Time: 10am – 4pm
Film @ 5: Blue Planet 2
David Attenborough returns to the world’s oceans in this sequel to the acclaimed documentary filming rare and unusual creatures of the deep, as well as documenting the problems our oceans face. Two Episodes will be shown: One Ocean and Our Blue Planet.
Location: North Side, University House
Time: 5pm
Atmosphere Quiz – Go Green edition
Test your knowledge at this fun interactive quiz!! Take part using your smart phone or tablet with our fantastic speedquizzing software and be in with a chance to win a bar voucher worth up to £20!! It’s Go Green Month so expect some themed questions! Special offers on the night include buy one get one free on all Burgers! Entry is free so why not join us!
Location: Atmosphere bar
Time: 8pm
Tuesday 26th February
Green Campus Group
We have established a Green Campus Group to share information and engage with the University community about the current and future/potential use of outside spaces at the University of Salford, as well as how they will and could be developed and enhanced.
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
Location: North side, University House
Time: 5pm
Wednesday 27th February
Peel Park Health Walk
‘Break Out’ get away from your desk, get moving and enjoy some time out of the office or lecture theatre. Have a walk and talk, meet new people, get some fresh air and enjoy some greenspace. No need to book on, just turn up! Please wear suitable clothing for the weather and flat grippy shoes or trainers. Bring a bottle of water.
Location: Meet outside the Park Keepers base behind Maxwell
Time: 12:30pm – 1pm
Film @ 5: Planet Earth 2: Islands and Cities
David Attenborough returns in this breathtaking documentary showcasing life on Planet Earth.
Location: North Side, University House
Time: 5pm
Thursday 28th February
Bike Maintenance
TfGM have arranged a maintenance training session with an expert instructor. Bring your bike along and learn how to conduct safety checks and maintenance for free! Limited spaces therefore booking is essential.
Location: University House
Time: 10am – 12pm
Book: Contact Neva on N.Mowl@salford.ac.uk
FrED Talks/Brutally Honest Conversations
‘What is the impact universities have and what can they do about it?’
Join us for four 10min FRED Talks ‘Friendly Earth Discussions’ followed by an open ‘Brutally Honest Conversation’ about current Campus and Environmental Issues. Guest representatives will include senior Univeristy staff, Academic staff, student groups, UoM Representative, MMU Representative and student officers.
Questions for the Brutally Honest Conversation can be submitted to Evie Adams via: ussu-vpst@salford.ac.uk
Location: North Side, University House
Time: 5:30pm – 8pm
Monday 4th March
Salfood Sustainability Commitment
Meat Free Mondays
Cutting out meat for just one day a week is a great way to improve both your health and the planets health! Find out more about the Meat Free campaign at https://www.meatfreemondays.com/
Recycling Roadshow – Allerton
For the final leg of the tour we will be stopping off at Allerton where we will be testing your knowledge on recycling with prizes to be won!
Location: Allerton
Time: 10am – 4pm
Tuesday 5th March
Eat Green Cakes
As part of Eat Green week, up until Thursday 7th March Salfood are offering ‘Plant Powered Treats’
Fairtrade Fun
Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices for the consumers, decent working conditions and most importantly a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries. Treat yourself and cycle up a delicious free smoothie using Fairtrade bananas. Make your own banana smoothie using only the power of a bike!
Location: Clifford Whitworth
Time: 10am – 4pm
Wednesday 6th March
Peel Park Health Walk
‘Break Out’ get away from your desk, get moving and enjoy some time out of the office or lecture theatre. Have a walk and talk, meet new people, get some fresh air and enjoy some greenspace. No need to book on, just turn up! Please wear suitable clothing for the weather and flat grippy shoes or trainers. Bring a bottle of water.
Location: Meet outside the Park Keepers base behind Maxwell
Time: 12:30pm – 1pm
Thursday 7th March
Veggie Thursday
As part of National Veggie Month! Come down to Atmosphere for 50% off all of our veggie options!
Fairtrade Fun
Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices for the consumers, decent working conditions and most importantly a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries. Treat yourself and cycle up a delicious free smoothie using Fairtrade bananas. Make your own banana smoothie using only the power of a bike!
Nia Prys-Williams joined our team in September as our new Energy Management Officer, so we thought it was time to introduce Nia and ask a few questions. Welcome to the team!
What will you be doing at the University? Energy Management: delivering legislative compliance, managing the energy procurement contract and strategy to ensure it is fit for purpose, monitoring energy consumption and acting on anomalies, implementing physical projects to reduce energy and water consumption e.g. led lighting.
What did you do previously? I was an Energy Projects Manager at Croydon Council managing, amongst other things a £6.5million RE:FIT Programme.
What does sustainability mean to you? Decisions and actions based on economic, environmental and social impact evaluation and evidence.
Tell us a bit about you. I am from north Wales originally and have moved from London for this role. I am a portrait and documentary photographer on the weekend and a keen netball player and coach. I recently got married to a man who looks a lot like Dave Grohl and have a beautiful 18 month daughter whom I only speak in Welsh to.
Also, Neva who worked with the University last year as an Associate to manage the Green Impact programme has now joined the team permanently as the Environmental Management Coordinator. She will still be doing some engagement work but also supporting Nia and Bec (our Environmental Sustainability Officer) with, amongst other things, implementing Energy and Environmental Management Systems.
Building on practices embedded in the 2014-15 Green Impact, colleagues in Joule House are taking further steps to create a big impact. Once home to the Salfordian physicist James Joule Prescott, the Joule House team is committed to preserving its heritage in reducing energy inefficiency. Working within the confinements of the restrictions imposed on the department who are located in a grade listed building, Joule House is quickly turning GREEN. Utilising communal recycling points, switching off radiators, monitors and PCs, reducing printing costs and switching to telephone/video conferences, the team are becoming more sustainable and working towards a common goal and encouraging best practice. Joule House are tacking this issue together with enthusiasm and turning Joule House into a Green House.
In the few months Joule House has been participating in Green Impact this year, staff are already reaping the rewards and as a result attitudes and behaviours are changing. Joule house powered through Power Week narrowly missing out on first place by 5 points. This is a true example of how the Joule House team is becoming a GREEN House. Their efforts don’t stop in the workplace, colleagues’ are integrating sustainability into their personal lives in an effort to support the wider agenda.
A Joule House colleague commented “We should celebrate these achievements, but remind ourselves this is the beginning of the journey and a lot of effort is still needed to become a truly sustainable division with a positive environmental impact.”
The Joule House team are embracing the Green Impact agenda and strengthening the nature of the building. By embedding these practices Joule House is adding real value to the environmental efforts and in turn contributing to the University’s green agenda. Colleagues are making small differences in their working practices, and together the Joule House team is fast becoming a Green House.
Article written by the Joule House Green Impact team.
