8th May 2024

Sustainability at UH - How To Get Involved

How To Get Involved

We offer a range of opportunities for you to get involved with sustainability at the University of Hertfordshire. Check out our student induction video here to learn more.

1. Follow us on our socials:

2. Upcoming Events:

Date & Time	Activity & Location	Descriptions	Sign up?
Tuesday 14^th May 10:30-11:30	Community Planting - Quad behind Café Rore	Get outside during your morning coffee break and join us in planting some lovely flowers in the Quad behind Café Rore. Help us improve biodiversity at Herts and spruce up our campus ready for the Festival of Ideas.	N/A
Tuesday 14^th May 12:30-13:30	Herts Litter Pick - Meet at the Art & Design building	Join the Creative Arts Green Team for a litter pick to help keep our local area tidy and wildlife friendly. Open to all Herts staff and students.	Yes, please complete our safety form before attending.
Friday 17^th May and Saturday 18^th May 10:00-16:00	Festival of Ideas Green Zone - LB390, CL	Join us for the University's public festival showcasing innovation at Herts where we will have a Green Zone with a number of stalls including a thrift store, seed planting, sustainability games and much more!	Yes
Monday 20th May 14:00-15:00	World Bee Day Walk - Ellenbrook Fields	Join Han from HBS on an afternoon walk out in nature to learn about bees and see if we can spot any.	N/A
Wednesday 22nd May 13:00-15:00	Allotment Workshop - Allotment plots near the sports pitches CL	Join Groundwork UK to develop skills, meet new people and create a flourishing and bountiful green space on campus	Yes
Tuesday 28th May 08:00-09:00	Campus Birdwatch - Meet at Main Reception, CL	Join your Estates Green Team bright and early to see what birds you can identify with the help of your knowledgeable guide Mark.	N/A
Saturday 8^th June 11:00-12:30	Community Litter Pick - TBC	Join the Love Welwyn Hatfield Litter Pickers in keeping the local area tidy and protecting wildlife.	N/A

3. UH Sustainability Advocates Programme:

Do you want to earn points towards your Go Herts Award and increase your employability whilst making a different at Herts? Become a UH Sustainability Advocate! Learn new skills, make a difference, and meet new people. Find out more here.

4. How to be a sustainable student

> Climate change

- Energy usage: Only boiling the water you need, turning appliances off when not in use

- Travel: Active travel (walk/cycle) and use public transport/carshare where you can.

- Food:

The food choices we make can have a significant impact on the environment, often more than we may think. Aside from being responsible for about 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, some of our favourite foods may also be driving deforestation, changes in land use, biodiversity loss, pollution, and water supply stress.

To help the UH community make more informed choices, we have partnered with Aramark to display the environmental foodprint of all our meals in the College Lane food court, with Starbucks, Rore, and DeHavilland food court coming later in January. https://viewthe.menu/swgv

- Stuff: Buy less, buy local, buy ethical, buy secondand

> Biodiversity

- Nature Positive Universities - Student Ambassador

The University of Hertfordshire has pledged to become a Nature Positive University. This pledge is to restore species and ecosystems that have been harmed by the university’s actions as well as enhance the university’s positive impacts on nature.

Become a Student Ambassador!

Nature Positive Universities are developing a thriving Student Ambassadors programme, empowering students to take action for nature on their campuses towards Nature Positive and share experiences and resources with other students across the world. An activities toolkit will be provided, and you can share your actions for nature on social media with the #GenerationRestoration.

Your role:

Attend a monthly drop-in video meeting with other Student Ambassadors to share nature related news and activities from your campus (beginning in January 2023)
Commit to volunteering with us approx. 1-2 hours a week for a minimum of a university term
Organise one or more activities on campus from activities toolkit
Stay in touch with us to let us know any queries and if you are unable to continue volunteering

Learn more here.

- Allotment Workshops

Groundwork East run gardening sessions at the allotment plots, near Telford Court on College Lane every Wednesday 1-3pm during term time. Sign up here.