Green Gown Awards 2015 – Student Engagement - Liverpool Guild of Students - Highly Commended

Students Lead with a Buzz

Green Guild started in October 2013 encompassing a wide range of initiatives for embedding sustainability across the University community. Three interrelated themes of Education, Engagement and Outreach were driven by three members of staff and included student leadership at each stage.

The total student engagements through the project has now exceeded 5000 out of a target of 2000 and included:

A total of 151 trained student leaders were recruited (30 Bee keepers, 26 Gardeners, 38 Seed Fund team members, 34 Curriculum Researchers, 16 Student Switch Off Ambassadors and seven Green Impact Auditors) Some were employed to support curriculum research through surveys  and leading focus groups on ESD. We worked with a cross-institutional working group to formulate recommendations on ESD now approved for implementation by the Student Experience Committee.

11 student teams with staff mentors have submitted either a successful social enterprise or curriculum based projects to the ‘green seed fund’.

Top 3 learnings

1 Making others aware of the opportunities remains one of the biggest challenges. Face to face contact is the most effective method of communication and engagement

2 Social enterprise activities linked to sustainability provide tremendous personal development opportunities and there is boundless creativity and skill amongst the student body. Students’ Unions can provide an appropriate level of support without imposing too many restrictions

3 There is a high demand for ESD and collaborative approach across the institution is needed to make a difference.

Videos

• Students Lead with a Buzz (click to hide)