Guest blog by Jessica Lobo, Sustainability Action student representative
Saving the world, one bag of rubbish at a time
A year on from when I first started working with Sustainability Action and it’s been a fantastic experience, not only for me, but also for the hundreds of students and staff that are involved across the campus in one way or another.
Homegrown Harvest!
From swap shops to surveys, conferences to curriculum revamps, this year has not only seen the return of the ever successful Waste Wars – now celebrating its 8th year! – but it has also seen the first University of Southampton Sustainability Action awards presented, as well as the start-up of the BEES (Business Ethics and Environment Students) programme and much more.
Sustainability Action continues to go from strength to strength finding new and innovative ways to embed sustainability across the University, and although it is time for me to hand over my role as student representative on the team, my experience with the team will extend far beyond the past 12 months that I’ve enjoyed working with them.
Trying to live sustainably, and trying to survive as a student, are two lifestyles which don’t immediately seem to be harmonious. However, through the work we’ve done this year we’ve shown that often the sustainable choice can be beneficial, purse friendly and most of all fun! Most importantly, projects like swap shop and waste wars have introduced ideas which have now seen my housemates (for example) increasingly shop for their clothes at charity shops and taking care over our own recycling. We have even started growing some of our own fruit and vegetables (although I will save that success story for when we’ve made it through our first harvest!) but it’s fantastic to see a lot of the work that Sustainability Action does on campus, translate into everyday lifestyle choices. It’s also encouraging to see events like the Southampton Hub Sustainability Festival, and Environmental Rock (a community event in May hosted at the Hobbit, which the SUSU Ethical & Environmental committee took part in) being organised and run by students, and it’s exciting to see students and staff alike take a growing interest in research and sustainability at the higher education level.
Ethical & Environmental Committee promise tree of student sustainability pledges
I’m excited to continue my higher education studies and take my experiences with me when I move to London in the autumn. Even with everything I’ve discovered this year, I’m sure trying to live sustainability will be a big a challenge as ever there, however if Sustainability Action has taught me anything, it’s that nothing can’t be tackled with a positive attitude and a lot of laughs along the way!
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the brilliant team for all their hard work, and thank everyone that’s got involved over the past year. It’s been a marvellous 12 months, and I can’t wait to see what the team will pull out of the bag next! For now, it’s over to Beth White who will be spending the next 3 months working with Sustainability Action on, I’m sure, some very exciting plans.
Over to you Beth!