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

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

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

Tonight was the end of year party to announce the winner of The Lawns Environmental Challenge and celebrate the achievements in the last five months. The night took place at The Lawns and included a BBQ with a difference and top class music from DJ's At Work. A Facebook profile was constructed on May 22nd and in the days leading up to the party the page got 150 friend requests just proving the popularity of the programme.

The night itself was attended by up to five hundred students and the announcement was made by Gail Lewis that Morgan Hall had won the first Lawns Environmental Challenge.

The food for the BBQ was sourced locally, supporting the idea of buying produce from local shops and not from corporate food chains. This idea is given more support with the recent introduction of farmer's markets, held every second and fourth Friday of the month, at the market square in the old town. To maintain the ecological ethos from the previous months, all the waste from the party was being individually sorted into recycling bins, plastics, food waste, and paper etc. The committee paid for the party with the money saved from reduced energy costs which were quite considerable given that the challenge was only running since last October.

The students between the six halls managed to save between £8,000 and £9,000 that resulted in and overall 2% reduction in energy usage on past years. The energy efficiency thinking is to be extended to different parts of the campus, and will become and ongoing process to change attitudes maintain awareness and improve the immediate environment. After the recent tragic death of Rebecca Love at The Lawns, the committee and Ian Gibbs with Rebecca's parents consent are to plant a tree in dedication to her memory.

With the programme's profile being extended at the start of the new term, and by way of publicity from Radio Humberside, Hull Fire, Insight Magazine, the University website and a pending article on the Carbon Trust site, this figure could be increased significantly. Also through the sharing of good practices (eg: the popularity of the Give It A Go initiative) by other Student Unions in the country, this model could be used in halls of residence right across the U.K.

The Lawns is only the second halls in the country to establish such an energy awareness and reduction programme.

Finally in light of last weeks Pay as You Throw proposal put forward by the Minister for Environment, I asked Gail, Esther and Erica their reactions to the carrot and stick approach to energy conservation. They replied that it was a good idea to raise the profile of recycling and renewable energies and uncontrollable landfill sites, but that the proposal didn't get to the root of the problem. Excess packaging is a problem in itself, and until the government is willing to target those companies that use so much packaging then no reward and punishment scheme is going to be either manageable or effective.

Links: Facebook Profile Hull University Web Article

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

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