Welcome to your July newsletter
Find out more about Sustainability at York in July 2024.
Celebrating Green Impact 2023-24
We celebrated all the Green Impact teams at our awards ceremony on 13 June. Congratulations to all award-winning teams for the impact they've helped to create. Since Green Impact launched at UoY in 2011, more than 11,000 actions have been completed by teams. More than 500 students have volunteered with Green Impact and more than 300 awards have been presented. 2023-24 has seen the highest level of engagement since the programme began.
Here's some of what has been achieved this year...
- 40 teams registered on the Green Impact toolkit, 30 teams submitted their toolkit, and 28 teams received at least one award
- 192 people were part of Green Impact teams
- 77 students got involved as Green Impact auditors and project assistants
- 2,833 people were reached via Green Impact teams
- 1,556 positive sustainability actions were put into place and 12 larger scale projects were completed
You can read the full 2023-24 impact report here and view photos from the awards ceremony here.
If you would like to get involved in Green Impact in 2024-25 and make a difference in your team, let us know by emailing GreenImpact@york.ac.uk and watch this space for details of the 2024-25 programme launch later in the year.
Student Switch Off campaign round up
The national, award-winning campaign was back after a few years' hiatus and it's been an incredible year! The campaign engaged students on environmental and social sustainability, introducing life-long sustainable living habits reducing energy usage in campus based accommodation.
Throughout the year we ran engagement activities communicating practical advice to achieve quantifiable energy, waste and water reductions. David Kato College won the competition this year by achieving the greatest energy reduction and getting students engaged and taking the most action.
Sarah Hay, David Kato College Manager said: "As a brand new college, we are incredibly proud of our student community and their active engagement in saving energy and promoting sustainability. Winning the Student Switch Off competition highlights our student's commitment to making a real impact towards greener living throughout the college."
As a reward to the college for winning the competition, they are collaborating with the university's grounds team to improve viewing options to see the water fowl on the nearby campus east lake. This will benefit the college and wider community!
Some key stats:
- In total 33,394 kWh was saved which is 8 Tonnes of CO2 or 1,043,568 cups of tea equivalent!
- 422 students participated in our online competitions, masterclasses and webinars
- 63 students entered our climate quizzes
- 22 signed up to become volunteers, with 6 going on to complete the training and 2 achieving a Bronze volunteer award
- 334 engaged in our campus visits
A University of York student volunteer said "Student Switch Off is a really great initiative which I would encourage everyone to get involved, regardless of their degree or stage of education. Having a diversity of responses and possible solutions to the climate crisis ensures that we are able to tackle our environmental problems efficiently and come at it from a range of different perspectives.
We can't wait to start the 2024/25 campaign in the autumn - look out for more information.
National Marine Week - 27 July to 11 August
National Marine Week is The Wildlife Trusts' nationwide celebration of all things marine. Despite the name, it lasts 15 fun-filled days to allow for the variation in tide times around the country. During this time, Wildlife Trusts all around the UK put on a jam-packed program of events and activities including inland, and there are ideas for ways you can get involved on their website.
Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July is a month-long campaign to raise awareness about the environmental impact of plastic and encourage people to reduce their plastic use. Support by committing to reduce single-use plastics and sharing tips on sustainable living.
Earth Overshoot Day - 1 August 2024
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Earth Overshoot Day 2024 falls on 1 August, meaning that from January 1 to August 1, humanity has used as much from nature as the planet’s ecosystems can renew during this entire year. Read the 2024 announcement here for more information and keep up your sustainability efforts to #ShiftTheDate.
Take part in this year's Big Butterfly Count 2024
The Big Butterfly Count is a UK-wide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see. The Big Butterfly Count begins on 12 July and will run until 4 August. Find out more and get involved here.
University of York Sustainability spotlight
The University of York has boosted sustainability by moving its “Viking” computer cluster to a renewable data centre in Sweden. EcoDataCenter, the Swedish data centre which is now home to Viking 2, runs on 100% renewable energy; 75% from hydropower and 25% from wind power. It is also the world’s first data centre to be made from wood. Read more here.
World Nature Conservation Day - 28 July
The main purpose of celebrating World Nature Conservation Day is to conserve animals and trees that are on the verge of going extinct from the natural environment of the Earth. Support this awareness day by participating in tree planting, wildlife protection initiatives, and educational campaigns. Spread the word about the importance of conservation and take action to protect our planet’s precious natural resources.
Carbon Literacy Training - Tuesday 16 July and Friday 19 July - Online
Access free carbon literacy training (two half-day sessions) covering climate change, why it’s relevant, carbon footprints and how you can do your bit. Upon successful completion, you can become a certified carbon literate citizen. Open to staff and students. Register your interest to secure a place.
Register your interest and secure a place
Sustainability in the news
- Climate change made UK's waterlogged winter worse, BBC News
- Hurricane Beryl: Caribbean leader calls out rich countries for climate failures as ‘horrendous’ storm makes landfall, Guardian
- A rapid shift in ocean currents could imperil the world’s largest ice shelf, Science News
- Huge jellyfish invasion could disrupt Arctic ecosystems as waters warm, New Scientist
- Is climate change making turbulence worse?, BBC News
- Recycling carbon dioxide into household chemicals, Science Daily
Links and further information
Don’t forget to follow UoY sustainability on social media.
You can also check out UoY Sustainability on our WordPress blog, or click the links below to find out more!
- UoY Sustainability pages
- Our Sustainability Plan 2021-2030
- Staff can join the Green Impact Slack channel: #green-impact.
- Green Impact toolkit (registration code: 40238)
- Green Impact Google site
- SOS-UK webinar series