Going Green at The Lawns In Cottingham (1/2) By Michelle Dee

(1/2), (2/2).

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

When Gail Lewis, Esther Ratcliff and Erica Stephenson formed a committee during Freshers Week October 06, the three enterprising women took on the enormous task of changing the way today's students think.

After seeing U.S. Universities' energy saving initiatives, Gail (4th year American Studies), Esther 4th year (English and Spanish) and Erica (Drama graduate, now vice-president of the Media and Communications Department at the Student Union) took it upon themselves to encourage the reduction of energy usage and carbon emissions from the at The Lawns Halls of Residence in Cottingham.

The committee (comprising eight members) with the guidance and support from the newly appointed Energy Manager, Ian Gibbs, took the U.S. idea and launched The Lawns Environmental Challenge. The aim was to provide students with the information, knowledge and support to reduce carbon emissions, across each of the residential halls. The group held awareness raising nights and demonstrations to show the students exactly how much energy can be saved by following a few simple guidelines.

There was an all important competitive element to the challenge that pitted hall against hall, with charts and online results as to how they were all progressing. Through the competition the students learned much more about where the electricity, gas and water came from, they also learned more about recycling waste. Recently there have been claims from the government that living greener could reduce the affects of climate change.

However, because the belief that carbon emissions affect climate change is not accepted by everyone and being aware of the stigma attached to ecological do-gooders, this approach was set up not to simply preach the Green ideology but to instil in the students useful practice, which when they move off campus into student accommodation (and responsible for their own bills) will save them real money. So the challenge had appeal on many different levels for the students.

Every way that energy can be saved has been incorporated into Halls living.

The committee held a showing of Inconvenient Truth the Al Gore funded, award-winning Ecology documentary and researched all kinds of interesting facts and figures that the students could relate to. In one particularly effective demonstration the committee members showed the students, by use of a large exercise ball, the amount of CO2 produced when leaving an electric bar fire on for twenty minutes. By raising the competitive spirit between the halls, presenting information in fun, dynamic and interesting ways that related directly to student life, the committee began to change the students' attitudes to energy consumption.

Continued..... Next Page (2/2)

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

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