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Support DayUniversity of Greenwich20.05.14
Welcome
Emily Thompson-BellStudents’ Green Fund Programme Manager, NUS
Gordon FranksHigher Education Policy Adviser, HEFCE
Welcome
11am: Welcome 11.15am:Partnerships within the local community 11.45am: Groupings by region 12.30pm: Lunch 1.15pm: Social Enterprise 1.45pm: Energy in private-rented housing 2.15pm: Shaping Education2.45pm: Driving student engagement 3.15pm: Examples of good practice 3.45pm: Closing Q&A session
Partnerships within the local communityGreenwich, Southampton, Roehampton, Newcastle and Sheffield (Uni, Hallam and College)
Introduction to your project
Sheffield on a Plate - Sheffield Hallam, Sheffield College & University of Sheffield Students’ Union
• city-wide partnership project • 3 institutions (2 universities, College)• 2 local “umbrella” charities • Inspiring students about food sustainability• Growing food, buying local, cooking good food, minimising
waste, engaging with food poverty, embedding sustainability in campus food outlets
Introduction to your project
Growhampton – Roehampton University Students’ Union
• The Growhampton project has a big focus on food growing. We are creating an edible campus with a main growing site, four smaller growing gardens for each college and an edible trail linking everything together. Central to our project is the café, a social space and outlet for local, organic and ethical food.
• We are working with a social enterprise based in the heart of the local community. Their aim is to support unemployed youth to find jobs and have set up ‘The Feel Good’ bakery which supplies fresh, healthy sandwiches to local businesses. We are growing spinach and lettuce for their sandwiches and providing a retail outlet through the café.
Introduction to your project
Greenwich Sustainability Hub - University of Greenwich Students’ Union
• Outreach to schools (ESD)– Hadlow College; Greenwich Winter Garden; local schools
• Outreach to businesses (GI) - World Heritage Greenwich; Royal Museums Greenwich; Old Royal Naval College; Widehorizons; Baxter Storey
• Colleges Network; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; Hadlow College; Bromley, Goldsmiths, North West Kent, Canterbury
Introduction to your project
Doing: Project Manager; Project Assistant; Sabbatical Officer; University Project Support; Interns
Deciding: SUSU Chief Executive; Chair of UoS Sustainability Action; NUS SGF Programme Manager; Southampton City Council
Consulting: Student volunteers; organisations being audited; UoS academics; business representatives
Informing: University of Southampton; SUSU; wider community; HEIs
Business Audits
Students audit Southampton organisations and implement solutions to improve ethical and environmental practices
Introduction to your project
Newcastle has 7 strands to its Green Fund projects, each with various partnerships – from Newcastle Beekeepers' Association to University departments, and from youth projects & schools to allotment holders and park rangers.
The Dere Street Orchard is one of these strands, led by students and with 2 main partnerships : the landowner, and the Rupert's Wood project.
Key project targets
• Our first targets were to establish the growing spaces and design, build and open our café. • We aim to engage students, staff and the community through activities in the growing spaces
and through providing them with an alternative sustainable café option.• The partnership agreement mutually supports two social enterprises to be better and to be more
financially viable. Both of the enterprises benefit the community by providing healthy, local, fresh food choices.
• We aim to continue to provide the Feel Good Bakery with high quality produce grown by students from Roehampton.
• We aim to continue to provide the Feel Good Bakery with a retail outlet to support their business model.
Sheffield on a Plate • 14,600 students engaged over 2 years• 400 student volunteers involved• 500 staff involved• 10,000 web hits• 1,500 social media followers
Growhampton
Key project targets Greenwich Sustainability Hub Reach12 Students employed as Green Ambassadors120 Volunteer hours registered5,000 students engaged in Hub projects and eventsImpactSUUG achieves Green Impact Bronze by 201511 FE institutions engaged and 3 Hub Colleges achieving Green Impact Bronze10 SMEs achieving Green ImpactOutcomesIncrease in student-led sustainability activities, opportunities & campaignsIncrease in pro-environmental actions and behavioursInvolved students are more employable
BEES100 students as accomplished BEESInvolve 250 students in Southampton BlackoutEngage 100 Union and University staff through the BEES programmeAuditing of 24 local organisations240 employees engaged with the BEES programme
Key project targets
Newcastle Green Guerrilla Gardeners
Reach Targets include : 1000 new students engaged in volunteering, 680 into training & learning opportunities, 220 university staff engaged and 750 children & adults from wider community supported to adopt sustainable behavioursOutcome Targets include : 20% increase in student participation in pro-environmental actions, 680Impact Targets include : 240 CO2 saved through direct impact of the project, an increase in Newcastle University's ranking in the Green League, and sustainability integrated into curriculum.
The Dere Street Orchard element of the project aimed to create a ¾ acre orchard, created by student volunteers, at the edge of Rupert's Wood (a woodland in Redesdale used by SCAN for summer camps and environmental experiences).
Greatest achievements and impactsNewcastle: • Gained permission from landowner to develop a student led orchard. Southampton:• Currently building relationships with partners - levels of engagement and
excitement are indicating that the project will be successful in the long term. Roehampton:• Found a growing site after successfully negotiating with the University.• Produced first harvest of spinach for Good Bakery.• Constructing café from 2 shipping containers – opening on 12th May with Partners. Sheffield:• Student Masterchef competition across the 3 institutions. • 12 students took part. • 5 week catering course plus academic/student mentoring.• Local, sustainable ingredients and Professional standard for 50 people.Greenwich:• Winter Garden Project – University of Greenwich development project & Heritage
Lottery Fund - workshops delivered to 100 primary school students on food growing and sustainability pre industrialisation to now (16th May).
• Other local schools and academics - potential for partnerships.
Challenges
• Developing strong partnerships takes time –something we have been short of.
• Clearly defining the roles in the partnership is essential for them to work effectively.
• Students may need encouragement and/or support to take the lead on projects and partnerships.
• Students can find it difficult to commit to a long term project. • Practical issues e.g. transport can be an issue. • Miscommunication of each partners objectives can happen. • The academic calendar can be challenging as most projects are starting
just as students leave. • Not tailoring communication to the audience or institution can cause
issues - what works in one institution doesn’t always work everywhere.• Most challenges have been of a practical nature : a learning curve for
the students• How to fit a long-term project into the timescale of student volunteers'
courses
•
What would we do differently?
• Getting involved earlier. • Understanding peoples visions earlier. • Make project a bit simpler and avoid over-complications. • Improve existing projects and scale up:
• Video the Masterchef course & promote online- not just 12, audience of 100s
• Train the trainer - students on the course will teach local youth club in deprived area
• GSH to train trainee teachers on ESD and they deliver workshops
No negative lessons from this strand :• Partnership with landowner benefited from pre-existing relationship
Natural linkages to other projects were all positive but could not all be reproduced at another site
• Much more work on finding a suitable site/permissions would be needed if we sought to replicate the project
in a new location
Final reflections
• Closer working with University – projects give a reason to talk to one another.
• Able to reach out into community better through more established partners e.g. a deprived estate responded better to existing partner charity.
• Benefits for the partners e.g. Sandwich business would find it hard to connect to students without the on campus retail outlet and Greenwich Winter Garden needs more visitors to the site.
• Need to appreciate there are different levels of engagement, from giving information to decision making to direct involvement - we need to give partners what they needs
• Engaging volunteers in projects can lead to them getting involved in other projects in the local community.
• Project events have helped us reach out to new partners- including the local Council
• Scale of this strand allowed it to progress at a satisfying pace for students.• Other strands will take longer and face more complex challenges.• The leading students on this strand mostly disperse this summer, while the
other strands retain their momentum.
Contact details
Newcastle - [email protected] http://www.nusu.co.uk/scan/And for informal updates on Facebook, search for Student Community Action Newcastle and Rupert's Wood
Sheffield – [email protected]
Roehampton – [email protected]
Greenwich – [email protected]
BEES – [email protected]
Regional Groups
In a moment we will group you according to rough geographical region. Give a 5 minute overview of your project: • Highlights so far • Challenges • Media engagement to date
Aim to find activity on which you can collaborate regionally.
Grouping by Region
Group 1 Liverpool Guild, Wigan & Leigh College SU, Cumbria SU, UCLan SU, Lancaster SU
Grouping by Region
Group 2 Leeds SU, Sheffield (Uni, Hallam and College SUs), Bradford SU, Newcastle SU
Grouping by Region
Group 3 Birmingham City SU, Northampton SU, Worcester SU, Staffordshire SU, Leicester SU
Grouping by Region
Group 4 City University London SU, Roehampton SU, Greenwich SU, Bedfordshire SU, Brighton SU
Grouping by Region
Group 5 Exeter Guild, FXU SU, Bristol SU, Gloucestershire SU, Southampton SU
Lunch
Social enterprise and student-led projectsLancaster, Leicester, Bedfordshire, Leeds, City and Gloucestershire
Introduction to your project
Edible Campus – Lancaster University Students’ Union
Project Overview:• Scale up participation in food growing projects.• Grow food in new and exciting locations.• Inspire students with a passion for sustainable food through seasonal cooking demonstrations.• Encourage & support sustainable enterprise.
Student Led Projects/ Social Enterprise:• ‘Broadbean’ Food Cooperative• Pedal a Smoothie• Eco Café
Approach:• Facilitation of student ideas• Support from idea to project delivery• Give it a go approach• Business support advisor
Introduction to your project
Hungry for Change – Leicester Students’ Union
• Food project aiming to get students thinking about the implications of the food they eat and why they have chosen to eat it
• Using food as a tool to open conversation and create dialogue on sustainability
• Practical approach from production, consumption and waste
• Facilitate innovation, knowledge sharing and diversity in approach and opinion
• Foster student leadership skills through development of mini-projects
Introduction to your project
Bedfordshire Green Hub – Bedfordshire Students’ Union
• The Bedfordshire Green Hub aims to empower students to lead sustainability action within the University of Bedfordshire and beyond.
• Ambitious project has many initiatives from Student Eats Garden to Greening the Curriculum
• One initiative is the Student Led Green Project Fund – Originally starting life as Dragons ‘eco’ Den – learned from this process which was intense and too formal
• Now SLGPF is much more informal – students send in applications that are reviewed. Project Planning Workshops have been run with interested students
Introduction to your project
Leeds Green Exchange – Leeds University Union
The Student Fund
£60,000 available over two years
Average suggested amount from to £200 to £1000.
Judged by a partnership panel of UoL, LUU staff and students.
Available to any student in Leeds.- Leeds Met, Leeds College of Art, Leeds College of Music, City College, Leeds Trinity
Greener Gloucestershire
• Strand in Greener Gloucestershire• Purpose built/Student ideas – All Student Led• Intern Nucleus• Web Presence
Introduction to your project
Green Dragons, City University London Students’ Union
Introduction to your project
Key project targets
Edible CampusReach & Outcomes:• 3000 students engaging with practical volunteering
opportunities & mass-participation events.• Social media and web hits.• Engaging staff – target of 500 staff engaging with
practical sessions and events. Building a community around sustainable food projects on campus.
• Planting, nursing and maintaining installations of Edible Plants across campus.
• Providing a space for student enterprise to trial food production & self-sufficiency.
• Involvement of academic departments in practical work and research & evaluation.
Impacts:• Changing student perceptions of food and
sustainability.• Empowering students to champion food
sustainability beyond their time at University.• Transform areas of public space on campus to
valuable resources for food production and education.
Key project targets
Hungry for Change - Leicester Students’ Union
• Empowerment 300 portaplots for home growing
• Branding Opportunity Use of herbs throughout SU Restaurant
• Changing behaviours through issues of access & availability
1. Spice packs & fruit teas to be available in SU Shop2. Farmers Market 3 times/year – Producers Market
Recipes for Change Social Enterprise• Access to affordable, fresh and sustainable food; teach students
how to cook; recipe card collection• 40 meals/day of vegetarian cuisine with seasonal ingredients• Profits to be donated to A Place to Grow Community Garden • To source seasonal ingredients from AP2G
Key project targets
Bedfordshire Green Hub
• Targets for Bedfordshire Green Hub extensive and wide reaching (taking into account different initiatives)
• Specific targets for Student Led Green Project Fund include (Numbers to be decided at end of first year):• Number of applications• Number of students involved• Number of projects ongoing• Amount of money allocated• Skills acquired by taking part
Key project targets
60 student led projects across the two years
Mass engagement with students and community members in Leeds.
150 tonnes of carbon saved through student funding initiatives.
To enhance employability and provide volunteering opportunities.
To facilitate a network of sustainability across the city.
To create projects with a legacy of sustainability.
Leeds Green Exchange
Key project targets
Greener Gloucestershire
• New Student Led Social Enterprises• Student Involvement/Engagement• Business Plan Funding
Key project targets
Green Dragons, City University London Students’ Union Year 1 targets Progress 3,000 unique page views of the Green Dragons microsite
877unique page views of the Green Dragons microsite
400 Facebook likes 31 Facebook likes 200 Twitter followers 52 Twitter followers 15 projects presented to the Green Dragons panel
0 projects presented to the Green Dragons panel – we haven’t reached this stage yet though we have 16 ideas suggested so far
1,000 students engaged across the challenge: - 50 directly engaged - 950 indirectly engaged
81 students engaged across the challenge: - 29 directly engaged - 52 indirectly engaged
100 staff engaged across the challenge: - 10 directly engaged - 90 indirectly engaged
17 staff engaged across the challenge: - 15 directly engaged - 2 indirectly engaged
Greatest achievements and impacts
• Lancaster: The student-led food cooperative maintains a weekly stand at the ‘farmers market’ on a Thursday. This uses local suppliers including ‘Single Step’ wholefoods & ‘Growing with Grace’ introducing students to products and suppliers that would be otherwise inaccessible.
• Leicester: Has already engaged and brought together a diverse range of students in project planning; from community volunteers to student entrepreneurs, those interested in cooking to fitness fanatics, those wanting project and marketing experience, and of course plenty of environmentalists
• Bedfordshire: Student Led ‘Urban Gardening’ project has gone really well with potential to scale up across the whole University. We now have 6 new mini projects being completed before the end of term.
• Leeds: Our student lead Real Junk Food Project has already diverted 4 tonnes of food from landfill (the weight of a blue whale calf) and last week along fed 196 people over 300 meals. They’ve also been featured in local, national and international press.
Greatest achievements and impacts
• Gloucestershire: Had an incredible interest from students starting up their own businesses. The way of portraying sustainability in a social enterprise format has worked with increasing student knowledge and sympathy towards sustainability. Overwhelming amount of students getting involved in projects with growth, development and new enterprises on the horizons. Products are getting wider acclaim as they are going to retail on a large scale.
• City: Nine student-led projects are in their delivery phase currently launching and/or designing their activities for September. Three leaders have been working with Cass Mentoring Programme to turn their projects into social enterprises. More than 3.000 City students have been directly/indirectly engaged to Green Dragons activities. The qualitative and quantitative data collected in March show that students feel more empowered and confident, while they have developed more sustainable attitudes. Green Dragons have been featured in national and international conferences.
Challenges
• Lancaster: Looking at creating a dedicated ‘Broad bean’ growing space. Our existing sites are a shared community resource so if produce were to be sold it would raise issues over ownership of produce/ products.
• Leicester: SU delegation of project responsibilities to students e.g. liabilities of H&S and insurances and barriers to easy interaction and support of small, local businesses.
• Bedfordshire: Getting students from the interested/ideas stage to actually starting a project and submitting application form.
• Leeds: Getting students to apply or larger sums of money & promoting the project
more generally. Encouraging collaboration Providing the right level of support and challenge for student-led projects
• Gloucestershire: Specialist staff time, namely web design. Our funding aspect has taken so long to launch due to staff constraints. Planning permission for our beehives around listed buildings on campus.
• City: Forging strategic internal partnerships in order to provide the appropriate student support; Using the right communication channels.
What would we do differently?
• Lancaster: The project gives students the opportunity to spark an idea for a social enterprise focused the food/ sustainability agenda. Such businesses enable students to take real control of their project plan and deliverables.
• Leicester: Collaborate externally to enable more effective changeover of recipes/products – make use of expertise to support student activity.
• Bedfordshire: Change application paperwork so it is less off putting and more informal. As well as dedicating more staff time to support.
• Leeds: Target specific courses and societies to capitalise on interests and enhance employability.
• Gloucestershire: More market research into products with students to refine product ranges and make them more exclusive and therefore fresh and exciting. Collaborate more within Academic departments.
• City: Develop a stakeholder mapping exercise at the beginning of the project and engage the senior management of the university.
Final reflections
• Lancaster: Removing barriers and getting students going and trying things out as soon as possible. Not all projects fit the same process. Networking with other students & local experts has been the most valuable element of enterprise projects.
• Leicester: Importance of integration into existing structures to ensure continuity and ease of implementation; we hope this will occur without complete dilution of our aims and motives.
• Bedfordshire: Those students who are running a project have reported developing loads of new skills, and these will be great case studies for promotion next year.
• Leeds: Two of our projects have already managed to find legacy for their schemes and are continuing into the future. As a University we will now be focussing on targeting courses and collaborating with other SUs in Leeds.
• Gloucestershire: The speed at which interest in social enterprise has grown is astounding. If this continues we will have an incredible bunch of students whose ideas have serious longevity.
• City: Three of our projects have been already working with Cass Mentoring Programme. Need to encourage more joint-up thinking and integration.
Contact details
Lancaster (Joe, Darren & Tom) – [email protected]
Leeds (Alexis, Anna) [email protected]
Gloucestershire (Silas) – [email protected]
City (Maria) – [email protected]
Bedfordshire (Mary, Scott) - [email protected] [email protected]
Leicester (Charlotte) - [email protected]
Energy in private-rented housingStaffordshire, Northampton, Falmouth & Exeter, Worcester and Sheffield
Introductions to your project
GreenPad - Staffordshire University Students’ UnionSustainable homes lettings service - home audits of student properties led by student team, meet a specific criteria to be advertised as GreenPads, smart metering system to encourage and reward positive environmental behaviour
Key project targets GreenPad
• Hiring a student team (12 Auditors) • Have 40 properties listed by March (Assessed over 140
properties)• Save over 140 tC02
• Achieve a 50% reduction in properties offering the “all-inclusive” system over 2 years
Introductions to your project
Planet Too – University of Northampton Students’ Union• Student Switch Off+ off campus energy saving competition• Green House Kits for students - Useful tips, opportunities and info - Pedometers, lettuce seeds, eco buttons• Green House Awards for landlords - Bronze, Silver and Gold level awards - Similar to Green Impact
Key project targets Planet Too
• Distribute 300 Green House Kits (Dec 13) – 300 distributed
• Recruit 60 student houses Student Switch Off+ 1st Year (Jan 14) – 50 recruited
• 90 student houses SSO+ 2nd Year (Oct 14)• 30 student landlords piloting Green House Awards (Oct
14)• Save 480t CO2
Introductions to your project
Green Living Project - Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union• Aim:
Lowering energy costs in private student accommodation through take-up of energy efficiency measures such as insulation.
• Using Community Energy Plus’ established ‘Warm me up’ programme adjusted for a student audience, train up a team of Home energy assessors to visit student accommodation
• Branded Team Cosy, all marketing focuses on ideas of warm and comfortable house.
Key project targets
Green Living Project
• Visit 200 homes to deliver a HEA• 100 of these should take up energy saving measures (eg.
Loft insulation)• Save 11t CO2 over 2 years• Train 6 Home Energy Assessors per year• Educate students in basic energy saving behaviour
changes
Introductions to your project
Energize Worcester – University of Worcester Students’ Union• Tackling poor energy habits in privately rented students houses• Bespoke online app to feedback energy consumption and property profile
instantly • Accredited students Energy Advocates to support peers• Multiple behaviour change intervention including smart meters • Replicate same project model in Birmingham Guild in year two
Key project targets
Energize Worcester
• To engage with 450 properties (avg.4.5 tenants per HMO) over the two years
• To reach out 2025 student tenants• Recruit and train 10 Energy Advocates• Recruit and train 25 Energy Assessors• To conduct energy survey in 100 HMOs• Install smart meters in 100 selected properties• Estimated energy saving 2,171 MWh• Estimated carbon saving 505 tonne CO2e • Estimated saving on fuel bill £133,469
Introductions to your project
Green Impact Student Homes – University of Sheffield Students’ Union
• AIM - to increase awareness of the importance of sustainability at home • BY adapting the existing Green Impact model for private-rented accommodation.
• Dual approach – • Green Accreditation scheme for landlords (building/structural focus) • Friendly competition for students (behavioural focus).
• HEAR recognition for students and access to Sustainability Skills sessions.
• Trained student auditors.
Key project targets
Reach: 100 houses involved in GISH over 2 years100 GISH student leads trained in Sustainability Skills500 students involved in GISH over 2 years350 social media followers of GISH over 2 years Outcome:An increase in student participation in pro-environmental actions at SheffieldLandlords displaying GISH logos and publicising the scheme by word-of-mouthTwo or three exemplar homes to be used for toursRolling out GISH across other institutions and including it on the NUS E&E Behaviour Change Rate Card Impact:Participating landlords will have improved the attractiveness of their housesParticipating students will be living in warmer homes, successfully adopting and persuading their housemates to adopt 10-20 good environmental behavioursStudents will leave university with a better idea of how to live sustainably and enhanced employability from the additional Sustainability Skills training.
Green Impact Student Homes
Greatest achievements and impacts
• Worcester - Registered 74 students from 50 houses of multiple occupants.
• Staffordshire – 170 houses audited by students who collected energy data.
• Sheffield – Beat target of 30 houses in first year. 29 landlord, 3 student and 11 student&landlord properties.
• Northampton – 50 houses piloting Student Switch Off+
Challenges
• Initial engagement of students in the project – getting households to sign up to the project
• Communicating with students in private rented housing
• Communicating with and engaging landlords• Getting the timings right – just fitting everything
in!• Landlords busy• Landlords finding online workbook complicated
What would we do differently?
• Start earlier September onward• Focus on adding value for those taking part• Use social networks of sabbaticals more• Getting students aware of energy usage and
improving ‘energy literacy’.• Allowing them to manage the energy of their
homes, hopefully for life!
Final reflections
• Importance of educating • Creating a legacy, things took longer then
anticipated• ¾ don’t know how to read an energy bill in the UK• Really important to change student behaviour as
they will carry on into adulthood• People already know environment is important,
they need to know what to do.• Actions instead of issues• Students were positive about projects
Thank You!
- Staffordshire Greenpad – Katie Ferneyhough [email protected]
- Northampton Planet Too – Simon Pole [email protected]
- Falmouth & Exeter Green Living Project – Stephen Murphey [email protected]
- Worcester Energize Worcester – Peng Li [email protected]
- Sheffield Green Impact Student Homes – Kiran Malhi-Bearn [email protected]
Embedding sustainability in the curriculum
Bristol, Wigan & Leigh, Cumbria, Exeter, Liverpool
Introductions to your project
Exeter Students’ Green Unit – Exeter Students’ Guild
• The Students’ Green Unit allows students to run their own sustainability projects with support from staff and academic mentors.
• We have also taken on responsibility for advocating Education for Sustainable Development in the University.
• We are working with Education Enhancement to develop strategic changes to the way sustainability modules are advertised to students.
Introductions to your project
UBU Get Green – Bristol Students’ Union• Student led• Partnership focussed• Utilising existing systems and processes• Open access resources
Introductions to your project
Greener Minds – University of Cumbria Students’ Union
Online sustainability Module• Available to all staff and students on University Blackboard site/
Mooch• Intends to give all participants a basic- intermediate knowledge
and introduction to the three pillars of sustainability via a core theme.
• Highly interactive, module using our own case studies and activities to outline sustainable methods.
Introductions to your project
Green GuildLiverpool
Introductions to your project
• Starting from scratch- 10,000 students across 5 buildings, serving some of the most vulnerable groups in the community- No channel established for learner voice.
• A vision of an effective students’ union with sustainability remaining within its core purpose.
Smart Green Scheme – Wigan and Leigh College
Key project targets Exeter Students’ Green Unit
• To improve the way both new and current students select their modules
• Help develop a tagging system to include all modules with a sustainability theme
• Negotiate with colleges to include optional sustainability modules on the college websites
Key project targets UBU Get Green
• Conduct a baseline of the formal curriculum
• Conduct a baseline of the informal curriculum
• Conduct a survey of student opinion
• Facilitate curriculum change agents
• Engage 500 students in ESD
Key project targets
Greener Minds
• Engage Staff and Students in sustainability. • Engage academics in the Greener Minds project and in the
production of the module.• Make the module relevant to all schools of education via the
involvement of academics.• Make the module accessible to ALL students; inclusion of long
distance learners.
Key project targets
Green Guild
• Aim 1(Baseline): To determine the level of awareness of, and engagement in, student 'pro sustainability' attitudes and behaviours Target 1: 1000 responses
• Aim 2 (Research): To research student perspectives on ESD in the curricula.
Target 2: 30 Ambassadors 800 responses• Aim 3 (Planning): Inform University curriculum planning through a range of
means.
Target 3: Present to L&T Conference, Engage with Curriculum Planning
Key project targets
Aims of the project • To develop an active Students’ Union affiliated to NUS with a
strong learner voice across all College locations.• To develop an understanding of the facets of sustainability
(environment, economy, society) amongst staff, students and the wider community.
• To encourage student entrepreneurship through sustainability.• To promote a sustainable college community.• To further develop and promote links with the local and global
community through curriculum and the Students’ Union.
Smart Green Scheme
Greatest achievements and impacts
• Getting a monitoring question in the annual programme review process
• Strong academic engagement• Very strong response to ESD Survey (593)• High number of Green Course Ambassadors (22)• Inclusion in the University’s Education Strategy• Useful training from NUS with strong learning
outcomes• Sustainability embedded into vocational areas
through the ‘Green Dragon’s Den’
Challenges
• Some academic involvement challenges, depending on faculty
• Terminology used in ESD• Politics• Resistance from individuals and colleges• Making sure sustainability modules have original
and interactive content• Geographical location of university campuses• Student engagement • Willingness to engage from often over-worked
college staff. ‘Don’t bring me problems’
What would we do differently?
• Timings and managing different projects• Empower students in more meaningful ways-
e.g. course reps• Awareness of key deadlines in the staff
academic calendar • Run events for academic staff in collaboration
with the Educational Development Division. • More face to face interaction • Target Teacher Education students to build
aspects of sustainability into the curriculum
Final reflections
• Students are very receptive to ESD• Work to engage the disengaged students • ESD needs a higher value for it to be invested in. • Whilst there is demand for ESD by students and
at a university wide level- many changes to existing systems need to happen
• The timing of projects is crucial for their impact• Focus on student empowerment and
sustainability being student led rather than trying to get buy-in from staff.
•Exeter- Emma Hutchings- [email protected] and Norrie Blackeby- [email protected]
•Bristol- Quinn Runkle- [email protected] and Hannah Tweddell- [email protected]
•Cumbria- Josephine [email protected] and Kasia Litwa- [email protected]
•Liverpool- Dave Wheatly- [email protected] and Stephanie Lynch- [email protected]
•Wigan and Leigh- Christina Donovan- [email protected]
Contact
Driving Student EngagementBirmingham City, UCLan, Bradford
Introductions to your project
University of Central LancashireThe Green Ladder Project
Historically poor levels of student engagement levels around sustainability at UCLan. Students “honestly disengaged”.
• Community Volunteering• Transformation Projects on campus x 4• Activist Academy• Give It A Go & Green Week
Key project targets
Green Ladder Targets
• Engage with 1,000 students each year • 400 students @ Green Week• 150 students Give It a Go’s • 25% increase in pro-environmental behaviours• Transformation Projects on campus
Introduction
University of Bradford Union of StudentsCycling 4 All Project
Cycling 4 All Targets
• Increase disabled student engagement with UBU• Provide sporting opportunities to disabled students• Develop disabled students pro-environmental
behaviours• Produce a range of research projects within the
university• End of year disability sports day• Link the project with other SU’s and members of the
public• Develop e-bikes for sustainable commuting for
disabled students
Introduction
Eco Targets
8,000 unique webpage views over the two years2,000 social media followers over the two years
30 students employed across the project over the two years30 community events visited over the two years (potential of 3,000 individual people engaged)20 non BCU educational institution visits carried out over the two years (potential of 2,000 individual students engaged
Eco Targets
20 non BCU educational institution visits carried out over the two years (potential of 2,000 individual students engaged
80% of BCU students aware of the project aims by 2015 200 student volunteers are engaged for more than 20 hours in the project over 2 years
Greatest achievements and impacts
• 31 participants (majority disabled) attending cycling 4 all event. “Best day ever.”
• Building an allotment involving the Schools of Landscape and Architecture, Art and Health. Built into students course work.
• Running Eco English – with 100 International students learning English via 2 weeks of sustainability themed activities and events.
Challenges
• Issues with capacity. No capacity to set up own communications resulting in lack of website, etc.
• Identifying and accessing disabled students. No platform or effective advocacy agency to help with this.
• Timescales. 2 years is not long enough to embed change. In post after Fresher's week so missed a vital time to engage with students.
• Finances. Spending is a problem. University systems cause problems in spending the budget. No access to purchase cards etc.
What would we do differently?
• Start in post 3 months earlier.
• Getting interns in post more quickly.
• Ensuring the project is truly student-led.
• Not have called it “Green”. Asked students to name it, brand it and own it.
• Tried to link up and buddy up with other projects earlier.
Final reflections
• Get out and about! Don’t expect students to come to you. You go where they are, e.g. Schools, depts, halls etc.
• To engage with students tell them about the benefits. To keep them engaged demonstrate the benefits.
• Engaging and changing behaviour requires different approaches for different people. There is a spectrum of engagement and it can take time.
• Unity and collaboration. Use partnerships to get stuff done.
• Being innovative means taking risks.
Contact details
UCLan – Emma [email protected]
Birmingham City – Hari [email protected]
Bradford – Adam [email protected]
Examples of good practiceRussell WarfieldRachel Drayson
Ideas for engaging students in your M&E
How will we encourage people to take part in the research?
Avoid labelling the research as ‘environmental’, ‘green’ or ‘sustainability-related’ as this can be off-putting for those without a pre-existing interest in these issues and therefore lead to biased results. At NUS, we usually describe our E&E surveys as ‘lifestyle surveys’ to encourage students to tell us about their lives at university or college.
Explain why you’re carrying out the research, and what you will do with the results.
Make sure the research methods you are using, and the language used within the research materials, are inclusive and easily understandable.
Consider providing an incentive for participation, for example through offering payment for attending a focus group or offering a prize draw to all respondents to a survey.
Use personalised reminders to encourage people to take part in your research.
Choose methods that are accessible to your potential participants, allowing them to contribute appropriately to the research.
Here are some techniques your fellow projects have been using…
• Liverpool Guild of Students – using course reps to secure responses to surveys
• Lancaster University Students’ Union – using video blogs
• University of Northampton Students’ Union – getting survey responses face to face
Carrying out mid-point and follow-up research
Repeating your baseline questions plus…
• Assessment of levels of awareness and engagement with the project
• Motivations and barriers to participation in the project
• Changes in their behaviour over the past academic year
• Why these changes have taken place• What element of the project can the changes be
attributed to
Example questions will be posted at…
http://www.studentsgreenfund.org.uk/resource-bank
Good practice in your communications
• Growhamptonhttp://www.growhampton.com/our-blog/post/top-10-team-moments-april
• Leeds Green Exchangehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIX-MNXG2NE#t=52
• Green Dragons• http://www.green-dragons.co.uk/
Q&A
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