Green Gown Awards 2015 – Student Engagement - Bristol SU - Finalist

Learn Act Engage Create: a four-step approach to embedding sustainability into the student experience

Learn Act Engage Create is the journey through which students are engaged in sustainability during their time at University of Bristol. Their experience equips them with the skills and knowledge necessary to be responsible global citizens at university and beyond.

Bristol SU’s SGF project, Get Green, developed the four-step model for student sustainability engagement which capitalises on peer-to-peer engagement and has been critical in engaging over 10,000 students in 2014/15.

The four step approach to embedding sustainability into the student experience takes students on a journey:

1. Students learn about sustainability through Education for Sustainable Development in their curriculum
2. They act on their knowledge by participating in energy-saving or recycling projects in halls and on campus
3. They engage with peers and discuss issues around social, economic and environmental sustainability through volunteering and attending a monthly sustainability network
4. They take the initiative to create and lead sustainable change.

Top 3 learnings

1 Peer-to-peer engagement is vital in order to successfully change social norms around attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability

2 We need to make sustainability relatable to each of our students as individuals in order for them to buy-into the agenda

3 The most effective sustainability activities and projects are student-led. Students are fantastic and sometimes we undervalue their abilities, by giving them ownership over projects with a little support and resource we will see big changes!

Videos

• Learn Act Engage Create: a four-step approach to embedding sustainability into the student experience (click to hide)