This Friday will see the launch of the Students’ Green Unit, an initiative aimed at developing student-led sustainability projects on campus and in the local community. Part of a wider scheme run by the National Union of Students, the unit was recently awarded £300,000 backing from the NUS Green Fund, with the aim of being able to provide “impactful solutions to sustainability issues.”
Led by a team of five Behaviour Change Interns, the unit will allow students to bid for funding to start projects aligned with one of five themes: operations, education, research, community and student activity and employability.
Linking academic research on environmental issues with real time practical experience for students, the project will initially run for two years. In that time, the unit hopes to fund 40 projects and work with up to 200 students. Nationally, the NUS Green Fund will engage with 50’000 students.
Speaking to people around campus this week, the unit said they have had positive reactions from students, having spoken to over 300 people by Tuesday.
The university has recently been praised by the NUS, having become the first higher education institutions in the UK to achieve compliance with management systems to reduce the impact on the environment caused by their operations.
Norrie Blackeby, who is leading the unit, said: “Sustainability issues are a high priority for the Students’ Guild and I am delighted that the project is now underway. The Students’ Green Unit will bridge the gaps that exist between academic excellence, community engagement and student action for the benefit of the communities we live in.”
Tegan Hedley, News Team
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