We’re back!
After a bit of a cool down period for website maintenance, our site is getting back to business and posting regular Green Impact updates. We’ll also be sharing useful hints, tricks and tips for adopting a greener lifestyle, and welcome your contributions! If you’re a student or member of staff at the University of Sheffield and want to try your hand at blogging, get in touch. We’ll be posting articles on all sorts of interesting topics surrounding sustainability and the environment, and we’d love to hear your ideas too.
To start the new year off on a high, here’s some of the things Green Impact Sheffield has been up to over the last few months…
The Green Impact 2015/16 Launch
In November last year, GI 15/16 was officially launched with a lively event in the Alfred Denny Confererence room. Attendance was high, with over 80 people representing around 40 teams. The launch gave our new and returning teams the chance to meet and chat over tea and biscuits (all organic and fairtrade of course!), and also to meet their student assistants if they had asked for them. There was then a short presentation from the NUS Project Officer, Anneessa Mahmood, to unveil the new workbook and talk about the changes for this year. Teams were also introduced to Sheffield’s new Sustainability Project Assistant, Joe Llanos, who is here to support staff and students through the scheme.
Green Impact Project Assistant training
To help our staff teams achieve the best they can in Green Impact, we recruited and trained 37 student volunteers to work as Green Impact Project Assistants (GIPAs). These students are really enthusiastic and great ambassadors for sustainability – many of them are already involved in other sustainability initiatives happening on campus. The role of these volunteers will be to act as an extra hand for their allocated team, supporting them in getting actions done and promoting the good work of all involved. Our GIPAs will also benefit from regular training sessions delivered by the Sustainability Projects Assistant, as well as the opportunity to get HEAR accreditation and personal references. They’ll even get the chance to be crowned ‘GIPA of the year’ at our annual awards!
The Big Christmas Switch Off
In the run up to Christmas, we ran a campaign to encourage University staff to reduce the energy wasted over the festive period. Over 20 Green Impact teams signed up to take part, with lots of other members of staff who aren’t affiliated with Green Impact also getting involved. Emails were sent to staff and students, posters were put up across campus and department ‘walk-arounds’ were organised to make sure all unnecessary electrical items and lights were switched off, doors and windows closed and heating turned down. The meter readings will soon be taken, so that we can view the success of every department and shout about how much we’ve saved!
This is just a selection of our activities over the last few months – many of our Green Impact teams have also been running their own events and campaigns, including bake sales, Christmas jumper days and Sustainability fairs. We’ve got lots of other exciting things planned for 2016, so make sure you get involved!