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Sustainability

Last week was the closing date for Green Impact, the University’s sustainability accreditation and awards scheme. Around 40 teams of staff and students from across the University got involved in improving the environmental performance of their places of work and study. Colleges were well represented and in this article we give some examples of what has been achieved through Green Impact.

 

In Clare College (Gold winners 2016) the gardens have been managed carefully over the last few years to support biodiversity and to promote native British species. The change has been particularly visible this year (see below), with primula, fritillaries, yellow rattle and native wild orchid appearing in the garden. In addition, a BirdCam Box  for blue tits has been installed, which will stream live images on the college webpage once it’s occupied.

Wildflowers

 

At Emmanuel College (Silver winners 2016), the Green Impact team have held a range of green-themed events including a Green 'Freshers' Feast' organised with the Cambridge Hub (see photo – green formal Freshers' feast). This was a ‘veggie formal’ where attendees discussed green-related events and opportunities in Cambridge with new students. Emmanuel also held a film screening of Virunga (an acclaimed conservation film) in the college bar, and had a food collection box for Cambridge City Foodbank at the end of term. The College held a talk by the eminent Environmentalist Jonathon Porritt on the 2 February, in collaboration with Cambridge Zero Carbon Society. The Green Impact team are busy incorporating simple changes which will make big environmental improvements, like introducing a ‘lug-a-mug’ scheme next term which will encourage people to re-use mugs rather than using disposable cups, the majority of which cannot be recycled.

Freshers feast

 

At Corpus Christi College the gardening team have worked to encourage greater biodiversity in the grounds of the college, one element of which was an impressive insect hotel, dubbed ‘Buggingham Palace’. The team have also embraced the social sustainability side of Green Impact, by engaging in a charity initiative linked to Comic Relief, raising money through a Red Nose Day bake sale.

Buggingham Palace

 

At Churchill College, a new participant in Green Impact this year, the team have looked to put simple ‘good housekeeping’ actions in place to help improve the College’s environmental performance. Actions included labelling light switches to encourage people to switch them off, particularly those where there are more than three sets of lighting in a room. In addition, the team have reviewed the College’s recycling arrangements to provide accessible recycling units in public areas, helping to ensure that people are aware of what goes into what bins, therefore reducing contamination and increasing recycling rates.

Churchill lights

 

Another new participant this year is Wolfson College, the host for June’s Green Impact awards ceremony. The College’s compost initiative has been rolled out to all residential communal kitchens to help cut down on waste going to landfill. Meanwhile the team has worked hard to engage staff and students in environmental issues, for instance holding a Green Week consisting of a sustainable formal, green movie night, green pub quiz, and a green bop along with a number of other themed activities.

Wolfson compost

 

Well done to all this year’s College Green Impact teams, we hope you all win an award this year! Get in touch with the University’s Environment and Energy section if you want to find out how your College can be involved in Green Impact next year!