Fairtrade – University of Salford Sustainability Team

Go Green Salford 2021: summary and resources

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.

Week 1: Food

1 – 7 March 

During the first week, we focused on food – sharing planet-friendly recipes, and tips on how not to waste it. We also supported the first ever Food Waste Action Week organized by WRAP, and the Fairtrade Fortnight online festival. We were joined by the Salfood team, who shared tips on reusing coffee grounds, and offered fresh herbs to our staff and students on campus, and by one of our students, Abbie Storan, who shared her recipe for veggie enchiladas.

Resources

Environmental Sustainability at Salfood

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.

Resources

How we reduce our waste at University of Salford

A to Z of Waste and Recycling at University of Salford

Abbie Storan’s sustainable swaps

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:

Websites: Climate Action Tracker, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Climate Action, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Committee on Climate Change, Carbon Brief

Instagram: @unep @futureearth @goclimate @earthbyhelena @earthrise.studio @shado.mag @theclimatecoalition @ssustainably_ @ashden_org @climatecrisishub @guardian

Twitter: @GretaThunberg @SDGsCoLabm@theCCCuk @CarbonBrief @TyndallCentre @unredd @FAOclimate @FAO @GCAdaptation

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.

During that week, we also posted on our blog about the wasteful side of technology, and encouraged our community to get involved in this year’s Earth Hour.

Resources

How we manage our carbon, water and energy at University of Salford

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:

Photo credit: Katie Smith, Mike Benna, Gary Chan and Thomas Park on Unsplash.

Go Green Salford sum-up

During Go Green Salford 2020, we encouraged you to Think Green, Live Green, Work Green and Eat Green. Over 150 of you gave us some of your time and it was great to meet you all. We hope you’ve learnt something new and had fun along the way!

Think Green

To kick things off, we explored our connection with the physical world and our impact on current ecological issues with the FIMS Arts & Media exhibition. The exhibition encouraged us to question the norm and to think about how industries such as fashion and textiles can have a huge impact on the environment.

On the Tuesday we launched the 2020 Green Impact programme and held ‘FrED talks’. We heard from speakers Professor Sheila Pankhurst, Dr Nick Davies, Dr Romas Malevicius and Dr Luke Blazejewski, who gave up their time to speak to us about local initiatives and ecological issues. Topics included the university’s current targets and goals, our perception of local wildlife, sustainable transport options and education for sustainability.

Following this, on the Wednesday we got the opportunity to explore over 20 different species of beautiful trees on our Winter Tree ID walk, with loads of interesting facts being provided by Peel Park Keeper, Jess Britch. We were rewarded for getting outside in the rain by a view of a rainbow over the River Irwell and a sighting of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker!

We promoted our car share scheme on the Thursday, with Faxi sharing information about how you can Car Share with US.

Live Green

Putting thoughts into action on ‘Live Green’ week, there was a vintage clothing fair which gave staff and students the opportunity to shop sustainable fashion by purchasing second-hand clothing at a reasonable price. There were loads of colourful garments to choose from and it was great to see students really engaging with this event.

On Tuesday, Salford Litter Heroes came to help out with an hour-long lunchtime litter pick. We were battling against the elements during storm Dennis, but it was great to see 6 students turn up and help nonetheless, thanks so much to you all!

The stormy weather didn’t deter people from coming along at our tree planting events either! With 55 volunteers coming across the two sessions on Wednesday and 7 of you coming to help at the smaller session on Thursday. Alongside City of Trees we managed to plant 662 trees! Getting muddy definitely paid off, we can’t wait to see the new trees grow over the years in both David Lewis Playing Fields and Crescent Meadows.

Work Green

Recycling was the main focal point of ‘Work Green’ week. We took our Recycling Roadshow to Media City, Maxwell and Allerton with our Rubbish Quiz and recycling game, with a chance to win one of our reusable mugs. Thanks to everyone that got involved and congratulations to our winners! We hope you all took something away from these events.

We also looked at how you can commute to the University sustainably with our Bike Maintenance Workshop alongside Transport for Greater Manchester teaching us how to look out for yourself when cycling to and from the university. We all learnt some new skills and we hope you all left feeling more confident about commuting by cycling! If you’re nervous about cycling on the roads but would love to commute more sustainably- check out TFGM’s confidence training – https://tfgm.com/cycling/training.

Eat Green

Our final week was the most fun-packed of them all with Salfood Plantilicious pop-ups giving us a taste of some delicious plant-based food, and even coffee cake made from re-used coffee grinds!

Wednesday was especially exciting as Allerton opened their very own Zero-waste food shop! This is a joint project between Salfood and the Students’ Union and their hard work has definitely paid off because the shop looks amazing! The shop is a great way for students and staff to easily cut down on the plastic packaging that we so often see in supermarkets.

During Eat Green we also hosted our Fairtrade Fun in Maxwell and the Library which gave you the opportunity to cycle up a free Fairtrade smoothie and gain knowledge about the benefits of shopping Fairtrade. We collectively cycled up 75 smoothies so well done to everyone that came along!

To end Go Green 2020 there was a sustainability special of the DSAS quiz night where our knowledge was put to the test. We had great fun this evening and we hope that everyone that came along did too!

Go Green Salford 2019

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

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

Pledge to include the Sustainable Development Goals in your teaching via https://sustainability.nus.org.uk/sdgteachin/pledge

Travel Survey

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:

Staff: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/UniSalfordStaff
Students: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/UniSalfordStudent

Location: University House Foyer

Energy House Tour

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.

Time: 9:30am – 3pm

Book: Due to limited spaces it essential that you book via https://www.peelparksalford.info/events/taster-task-day-hedge-laying-training/

Energy House Tour

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.

Location: Rosa Parks room, University House

Time: 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Film @ 5: The Inconvenient Truth

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

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

Location: Maxwell

Time: 10am- 4pm

Go Green Salford 2018

From Monday 12^th February – Friday 9^th March we will be running a series of free events and activities around the University for Go Green Salford.

We have planned a whole range 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 12th February

Meat Free Monday 11.30-1.30pm

Having less meat in your diet can improve your health and helps to reduce the negative environmental impacts of eating meat, slowing climate change and preserving natural resources.

Join Salfood for their Meat Free Monday pop up at Maxwell Foyer. They will provide range of tasty veggie dishes to sample for just £1.00 a pot along with some freebie healthy snacks.

The Green Tea 2 – 3.30pm

Come and meet the Environmental Sustainability Team and find out more about their work and how you can make an impact. Share your views on what you think we should be doing in different areas of sustainability, whilst enjoying some hot drinks and cake.

Booking is required, click here to find out more about the event and register your attendance.

Tuesday 13th February

Travel Green Tuesday

Travelling by sustainable modes reduces the impact we have on the global environment but also locally with regards to a reduction in air and noise emissions. We aim to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicle trips to and from the University, and promote sustainable modes of transport such as cycling, walking, public transport or car sharing.

Post your green journey selfie to @UoS_Sustain and be in with a chance to win a prize!

Wednesday 14th February PLEASE NOTE, THIS HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE DUE TO THE BAD WEATHER, WE WILL UPDATE YOU SOON

Wildlife Wednesday 2-3pm

Come and explore the Castle Irwell Urban Wetland, a flood basin created to help reduce flood risk, but also a new habitat for urban wildlife.

Led by the Environment Agency, the Castle Irwell basin is a joint project with Salford City Council, the University of Salford and the local community, and is sited on the old student village, beside the River Irwell.

Join us for a walk around the new site and see what wildlife you can spot. Meet at the Littleton Road entrance at 2pm. Contact us for more information.

Thursday 15th February

Throw-less Thursday 11am-3pm

Here at the University of Salford we aim to get our staff and students to re-think before they throw, by reusing or recycling their waste, or even better reducing it!

Test your knowledge, get top tips on how to recycle right and improve your recycling skills with our game. Visit our stall at Maxwell Foyer and be in with a chance of winning a prize!

Friday 16th February

Feel Good Friday

Look out for the Environmental Sustainability Team on Feel Good 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.

Peel Park Walk 12.30-2pm

The Peel Park Keeper has arranged a stroll through the park and local area, to enjoy the scenery, with refreshments provided. Come and spring into action, stretch your legs and enjoy the fresh air.

Booking required here.

Monday 19th – Friday 23rd February

SDG Teach-In week

Make your pledge for the NUS SDG Teach-In week to raise awareness of why the Sustainable Development Goals should be at the heart of further and higher education. Help catalyse the change needed to make this happen. Click here to make your Teach-In pledge.

Monday 19th February

Meat Free Monday

Tweet @UoS_Sustain a photo of your #meatfreemonday lunch or dinner and you could win a prize!

Tuesday 20th February

Travel Green Tuesday 12-2pm

It is important to get your bike serviced to improve its longevity and ensure it runs effectively to keep you safe on your daily commute. Get your bike serviced free of charge by Dr. Bike, via TfGM. Book in your 15 minute slot by emailing Neva.

Wednesday 21st February

Wildlife Wednesday 12-3.30pm

Join our Environmental Sustainability Team for our Wildlife Wednesday theme and build bug hotels using reused items. You could make a home for solitary bees, lacewings or ladybirds. Join in with the fun, our stall will be located by the SU foyer area.

Thursday 22nd February

Throw-less Thursday 11am-3pm

Take part in our Throw-less Thursday quiz and recycling game to test your knowledge. Drop into our stall at Allerton, take part and you could win a sustainable themed prize!

Friday 23rd February

Feel Good Friday

The Team will be out and about again collecting sustainable pledges from you and giving out a prize at the end of the day!

Monday 26th February

Meat Free Monday 11.30am – 1.30pm

Salfood will be hosting a Meat Free Monday popup at Allerton foyer area. Come and enjoy some veggie treats for just £1.00 a pot, along with some freebie healthy snacks.

Tuesday 27th February

Travel Green Tuesday 12-2pm

We have organised a bike maintenance training session with TfGM. This session will provide a hands on experience led by an expert instructor. Bring your bike along and learn how to do safety checks and maintenance. This session is free of charge and will take place in Peel LG14, booking is required via Eventbrite.

Wednesday 28th February

Fairtrade Film screening 1-3pm

We will be hosting a film screening for Fairtrade as part of Fairtrade Fortnight. There will also be a presentation and an open discussion with refreshments provided. Join us at Newton 234 for the screening, booking required here.

Thursday 1st March

Throw-less Thursday 11-3pm

We will be hosting our Throw-less Thursday at Media City foyer. Join the team and get involved in our recycling quiz and game. You’ll be in with a chance to win a sustainability themed prize!

Friday 2nd March

Feel Good Friday

Keep an eye out for us around campus and come and share your sustainable pledge to be in with a chance of winning a prize!

Monday 5th March

Peel Park Volunteers 12:30-2:30pm

Make a difference by volunteering and join the Park Keeper in Peel Park to obtain a hands on experience with some practical tasks. Enjoy, chat and exchange skills. Equipment and refreshments will be provided. Booking is required here. Be sure to wear suitable clothing and footwear.

Tuesday 6th March

The Big DSAS Tidy Up 10-11.30am / Craft Session 2-3pm

Come and pitch in for the community and the environment by litter picking. DSAS will be hosting a litter pick session in the morning, followed by a craft session in the afternoon where you can see what you can create with waste!

Meet outside New Adelphi café.

Wednesday 7th March

Greenpower Electric Car Challenge Launch 9.30am-1pm

The University of Salford will be participating in the Greenpower Electric Car Challenge, and are holding a launch event in the New Adelphi Theatre. At the launch you will hear from the ICZ Director of Engineering & Environments and top industry professionals from Prodrive, Siemens and Jaguar Land Rover about how the scheme operates and how and why to get involved.

For further information and registration see Eventbrite.

Thursday 8th March

Fairtrade Fun 11am-3pm

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 fruits. Join us at Maxwell foyer.

Friday 9th March

Feel Good Friday

Find us around the university campus, get your picture taken with your sustainable pledges for our Twitter campaign. Make your sustainable pledge for the rest of the year and a winner will be selected for a prize!

For more information about any of the events, please contact Neva Mowl.

Go Green Salford

From Monday 13th February – Friday 10th March we will be running a series of free events and activities to raise awareness of sustainability issues and engage with the University community.

You can find details below of the activities planned so far and there will be further events announced soon. If you would like any more information please contact Neva Mowl or Bec Bennett.

Monday 13^th February

Meat-free Monday – Tweet UoS_Sustain a photo of your #meatfreemonday lunch or dinner and you could win a prize!

Tuesday 14^th February

Travel Tuesday – Tweet UoS_Sustain a photo of your green journey to or from work and you could win a prize!

8-10 am, Clifford Whitworth Bike shelter – Free Dr Bike maintenance by TfGM and bike security marking by the police.

11am-1pm, Peel Building- Bike maintenance workshop with TfGM – booking required here

Wednesday 15^th February

Waste-not Wednesday – Clothes and accessories Swap-Shop, SU activities space (downstairs)

Bring along your unwanted but good quality clothing and accessories and swap them for other people’s old gems.

11-12:30 Drop off your clean, useable, good quality clothes and accessories at the SU Activities Space (downstairs). We will give you a token for each item you bring.

1-3pm Bring your tokens back to the Activities Space and browse the rails. One token = one new item.

No electronics, books, DVDs etc. please.

Thursday 16^th February

Throwback Thursday – we will be looking back at our previous sustainability work, keep an eye on twitter for videos and photos.

Friday 17^th February

Feel good Friday – Tweet UoS_Sustain a photo of your sustainable #Randomactofkindness and you could win a prize!

2-3pm, New Adelphi – Green Impact Afternoon Tea – registration has now closed but do get in touch if you would like to know more about Green Impact.

Tuesday 28^th February

11am-1pm, Peel Building- Bike maintenance workshop with TfGM – booking required here

Wednesday 1^st March

11:30am, meet outside New Adelphi café – DSAS litter pick

Thursday 2^nd March:

1pm, Maxwell Foyer – Lunchtime Walk, drop-in.

TfGM have organised a free walking event with a Lunchtime Led Walk, to encourage us to spring into action and stretch our legs.

The 30 minute circular led walk will be led by a local walking guide and will have a nature theme. Travel advisors will also be present, providing information and free goodies for those interested in walking.

Meet at Maxwell Foyer at 1pm; they will also be handing out travel plans from 12:30.

Friday 10^th March

5-9pm, Atmosphere café – Blackout – Join the campus ‘Blackout’ and help us see how much energy we can save, and get free dinner and a drink!

We will be running a major audit and switch-off event across the University as part of the National Union of Students’ Blackout campaign – and you can be involved!

Students and staff will gather at Atmosphere Café in University House at 5pm on Friday 10^th March before splitting into teams and heading to their allocated buildings. Teams will audit all non-essential equipment that has been left on before the weekend, turn off selected equipment and leave reminders for equipment left on. We will then compare energy usage during the ‘Blackout’ with energy usage on a comparable weekend.

The primary goal of Blackout is to highlight and reduce our energy usage and it is also an opportunity to bring together students and staff – from across departments and disciplines – to deliver something positive for the University.

After the audit all volunteers will receive a free dinner and drink. If you are interested in volunteering then sign-up by Tuesday 28^th February, or email Neva Mowl if you have any questions.

Find out more and sign-up here

We Sat Down to Stand Up for Farmers and #Fairtrade!

The thin months, the months of the big stomach, the times of silence – these are just some of the ways the farmers behind our breakfast describe the times of the year when they struggle to feed themselves and their families.

Millions of farmers and workers in developing countries are going hungry, missing meals or, worse, facing a year-round struggle to get enough food to eat, despite working long hours to provide for our breakfasts. This is why this year the Fairtrade Foundation had the theme for Fairtrade Fortnight of Sit Down for Breakfast, Stand Up for Farmers.
Seasonal hunger is common to coffee and cocoa farmers who harvest once or twice a year and have to make the money last until the next harvest. That’s to keep a family fed, clothed, housed, educated and healthy. On banana and tea plantations, poor pay leaves them with hunger throughout the year. Malnourishment, stunting, illness and infant mortality can be brutal realities when there isn’t enough food.

But by choosing Fairtrade, we can support a better deal for farmers and workers. This means they can have more control over their lives when times are hard and do something we take for granted ̶ put enough food on the table for the people they care about, all year round.

We were very pleased to be contacted by the Fairtrade Foundation to host their north west breakfast event to help highlight these issues. We worked with our partners at Salfood and were joined by a particular supporter of Fairtrade, Tony Rodd. You may recognise Tony as he was a finalist on Masterchef last year and was best known for his amazing desserts and chocolate work! Tony told us that he supports Fairtrade as it’s a great way to enrich farmers’ lives and fantastic quality products and it’s as simple as choosing the product with the Fairtrade logo when you do your weekly shop. A big thank you for Tony for coming up from London to help with our event.

Salfood’s Head Chef Simon Spencer created some fantastic breakfast goodies with Fairtrade products including pancakes and waffles with jams, honey, syrup or chocolate sauce toppings as well as beetroot and chocolate muffins! Also Salfood’s Student Engagement Manager Misbah Haque did a fantastic job organising and creating a beautiful setting for us at our MediaCity campus. We were joined by University and Salford City College students as well as staff, I think everyone had a good time! Thanks also to our photographers Richard Meftah and Stefanos Pallebo and Laura Bailey who filmed the event for Salford Online who really captured the morning!

Check out more pictures of the event here and the film here.

The University is proud to be certified by the Fairtrade Foundation as a Fairtrade University. Part of this includes raising awareness of Fairtrade through events such as this but also, with the support of partners including Salfood, ensuring that we offer Fairtrade products on campus. If you would like to get involved in promoting Fairtrade or would like some more information/resources please just get in touch.

Wishing you all a great Easter break!

Bec @ r.a.bennett@salford.ac.uk

Green Impact 2014/15 !

Welcome back staff and students to another big year at the University of Salford! The sustainability team have a number of exciting initiatives planned for this year including the university’s involvement in Green Impact for a second year.

The team want to firstly say a big thank you to Charlie Spring for all the hard work she put in during 2013/14. Charlie spearheaded the inaugural year of Green Impact which was a huge success and a real tribute to Charlie’s work. She got eleven staff teams on board and supported them throughout the year. She also recruited and trained a number of students as Project Assistants and Auditors providing them with valuable transferrable skills and sustainability knowledge to assist them in their employment. We are lucky to be keeping Charlie within the university where she will be undertaking a PhD in food waste so we look forward to seeing her around. Thanks Charlie!

Shaun Wykes – Sustainable Behaviours Assistant 2014/15

Our new Sustainable Behaviours Assistant for 2014/15 is Shaun Wykes. Shaun studied law and environmental science at the Australian National University and during his university years he was involved with sustainability on campus including organising events, working with other students on campaigns and writing case studies about the sustainable initiatives that departments were undertaking.

Shaun said, “I’m very excited to be working with the team at the University of Salford to continue the great work of Green Impact into its second year here. This programme is a unique opportunity for staff to follow defined steps to make real sustainable change within their department and for students to access invaluable work experience and knowledge.”

Green Impact is an NUS scheme which began in 2006, and has grown rapidly to now work with over 50 Universities and Colleges, over 100 Students’ Unions, and ever increasing numbers of community organisations, reaching over 44,000 employees across the country – all coming together to lessen their environmental impact.

The central team at NUS and the Environment & Sustainability Team at University will help support teams through the process, as well as providing a wealth of online resources to help make changes across the University.

Over thirty volunteer Student Project Assistants are being trained this week to provide extra support to teams and then next Thursday November 13^th from 12-2pm Green Impact will be launched for 2014/15. The launch event will be held in the Students’ Union Activities Space in University House. This event is open to anyone interested in participating or wanting to find out more about the scheme. Please register your attendance by clicking here.

Bec Bennett, Environment & Sustainability Officer said, “We are very excited to be participating in Green Impact again this year. Last year saw some fantastic efforts by staff and student volunteers. We’re hoping to build on that with the development of a new workbook, more resources and we have a great team of student volunteers all ready to be trained to support the staff teams! We have even introduced a new Platinum level which we know some of last year’s teams will be striving for!”

If you have any further queries email Shaun Wykes; s.wykes@salford.ac.uk or click here for more information and stay tuned to hear about more initiatives happening throughout the year.

Team Green Crescent: what Green Impact means to me

Green Crescent are ready to hit ‘submit’ on their Green Impact Bronze workbook. Progress dragged at first, but with the movement of the Governance Service Unit team into Estates H/Q came a new flush of enthusiasm and a well-stocked team. With regular meetings and the help of our trusty Green Impact noticeboard, we’ve finally got our twenty criteria completed. Pesterings, complaints of wonky Switch-Off stickers, cycling/recycling, composted (Fairtrade) banana skins and a personal heater amnesty later, and we’re ready to be audited.

It’s all about inclusion (and not taking up too much time!), so at our last Green Impact meeting it was decided to ask everyone for their thoughts….

1) What does Green Impact mean to you?

Karen Kelly: I am “making a difference”

Martin Toner: There’s an old Scottish saying: “many a mickle maks a muckle”. This translates as “a lot of little things can make one big thing”, and for me Green Impact is about making a lot of small differences in the hope that in the end they add up to a big difference. The more people who get involved the bigger impact we can make.

Stephen Talboys: Green Impact is for me the embodiment of the often used “Think globally act locally” or in our case think corporately but act locally. I am pleased that we have shown that we can take lots of small, local, important green steps within people’s areas of direct control and influence and that these really do add up to begin to change attitudes and culture…

Tony Blendall: Saving money; saving jobs; serving students

Annette Cooke: Having recently moved to a new office, one unanticipated benefit is that I have met more colleagues in the new office through green impact discussions.

Graeme Holland: Just basic common sense: you would not leave things running for no reason at home so why would you do it here? Please switch off when not in use or leaving.

Matteo Littera: Other people taking an interest in what I do!

Matt Stephenson: Green impact is all to do with those little things which collectively make a difference. Since I signed up I’ve found myself sorting rubbish, reusing paper, switching off lights and even buying fairtrade bananas. We all notice that each other is doing their bit, be it marking the locations of the lights on the switches or turning off lights in unused meeting rooms: each action making a difference … it may be a small difference but a difference nevertheless and when multiplied across the 20,000 members of the University community it all adds up to a big change.

2) Have you noticed any positive (or negative) changes around the office?

Karen Kelly: How much food we used to throw away!

Martin Toner: I think most if not all staff have embraced the ideas behind Green Impact and hopefully we will soon see the results in terms of reduced energy and resource usage. The chocolate fairy was also very welcome!

Tony Blendall: Yes ! ! Energy awareness

Annette Cooke: I have noticed that many of my colleagues are very enthusiastic about their green impact. My suggestion to start composting our food waste in the kitchen has also been put into practice!

Matteo Littera: The nicest thing I noticed is how many people actually care about the subject who are generally “lone-warriors” – it promoted a lot of talk on various subjects and I also believe it helped quicken the integration of GSU

3) Has Green Impact changed your behaviour at work/home and if so, how?

Karen Kelly: I already did a lot at home but I am much more focused when out and about now

Martin Toner: Yes I am much more conscious of how much paper, electricity, water etc I use and I try to minimise use as much as possible.

Tony Blendall: No ! ! I already operated to the highest standards – my money or University money

Annette Cooke: I now turn lights off in rooms when not in use and turn off the office printer at the end of the day.

Matteo Littera: Not really, I like to believe I was pretty hot on these things before!

Thank you everyone!

Fairtrade Fortnight: it started with a bang(ana)

salf FT fortnight — Salford students: mixed feelings about the fairness of banana trade

Fairtrade Fortnight was marked by events all over Manchester. Unfair football matches were rigged for players to experience the un-level playing field, Ghanaian cocoa growers met audiences around the city and Manchester Art Gallery hosted a banana grower from Colombia. Indeed the banana took centre stage this year: you may have spotted some dotted around the campus, suspiciously human-sized. The Sustainability team handed out Fairtrade bananas around the university and snapped students, staff and visitors sporting ‘banana smiles’.

Bananas are the fourth most important agricultural crop after wheat, rice and maize, constituting the staple food of 400 million people. The average UK resident purchases 100 bananas a year, a trade worth £700 million at shop tills. So why should we look for the Fairtrade logo when buying bananas?

The price per kilo of bananas has dropped by 40% since 2002, resulting in part from supermarket price wars (FT Foundation report). When banana farmers typically receive just 5-10% of the till cost of a banana, our 11p price-tag means that small-scale farmers are increasingly trapped in a cycle of poverty and (those who can) abandoning their farms. The same applies to other commodity crops suited to small-scale farming such as coffee and cocoa (listen again to Evan Davies’ fascinating discussion with chocolate producers). Rising living costs and inflation combine with unrelenting pressure on farmers to compete to meet supermarkets’ demands for ever-cheaper foods, leaving many people unable to feed and educate their families. Long-term environmental damage also results from increased water and agrochemicals used in attempt to raise yields. You can read the story of banana grower Foncho here.

Did you know that the University of Salford has held Fairtrade status since 2011? The Fairtrade Foundation stipulates that five criteria be met for the status to be upheld:

A Fairtrade policy in place
Fairtrade products in campus shops (including cotton for staff uniforms)
Fairtrade products provided at all events and meetings hosted by the university
Fairtrade campaigns around campus
A Fairtrade steering group

All of these require enthusiastic individuals willing to carry on the momentum and push for Fairtrade and other sustainability criteria to be considered by those procuring food and other products. If you are interested in sitting on our Fairtrade steering group and devising ways to expand the Fairtrade offer, please email Bec Bennett (r.a.bennett@salford.ac.uk). Green Impact teams must also include considerations of Fairtrade in pursuing their awards- for example, the Silver award procurement criteria encourages teams to purchase Fairtrade products for consumption through brew clubs and private consumption as well as departmental purchasing. These can be ordered through Aramark as per current food sourcing arrangements.

Greening SURF

Guest post by Dr Vicky Simpson, SURF

The Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures (SURF) has always regarded sustainability as a key focus of its work. The SURF Centre is committed to reducing its environmental impact and helping to make the planet more sustainable and responsible.

In November SURF signed up to participate in the University supported Green Impact Scheme. Green Impact is an environmental accreditation and awards scheme run by the National Union of Students that gets staff and students working together to bring about positive change in their workplaces.

The SURF Centre has assessed its working practices and has introduced a number of new initiatives to improve and enhance SURF‘s influence on the environment in addition to those already in place. New practices include the use of Fairtrade refreshment products at events and electronic pack information sent out to participants prior to attending the event with the aim of reducing the need to print thus reducing waste and saving ink and paper.

For more info about SURF, see http://www.salford.ac.uk/built-environment/research/research-centres/sustainable-urban-and-regional-futures