Go Green

The Festive Season is a magical time of the year. The lights and decorations, the food, and of course spending time with friends and family. But while we all enjoy the festivities that season brings, the environment is not. The increased energy usage, waste, and consumption during can create a significant carbon footprint.

There are things we can all do to reduce our impact on the planet during the festivities. Here are few tips and hints to think about:

Season’s Greetings

Responsible Futures is a whole institution accreditation programme with the aim to embed sustainability across all aspects of student learning. Responsible Futures has been created by the charity Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), this is a unique accreditation being student led and audited by students.

Go Green recently ran a workshop for students and staff about Responsible Futures at the OU which you can watch below.

Learning about the climate and ecological crisis can be very disturbing and overwhelming. We may feel a variety of different emotions often grouped under the umbrella label of eco-anxiety. But what is eco-anxiety and how can we learn to live meaningfully with the reality of the crisis without falling apart?

Sustainable Fashion: Fashion Fixing and Mending - Getting started with  Ismay Mummery. OU Research Student, Ismay, shares her findings from her garment mending research study and will offer ways to get more out of your wardrobe and get inspired to alter and fix garments rather than getting rid of them. 

So, what’s the problem with plastic? Have you ever wondered how it gets into the ocean? Where it goes? What it does? And most importantly, what you can do? Lucy Deans answers all of these questions and more with an aim to increase our plastic pollution literacy while building on tips to reduce your own plastic consumption.

In this month's workshop, Ann Cummings (Senior Project Manager) talks about the risks that our planet faces as a result of our changing climate and how we tackle these issues. We listened to the ways our staff are adapting to extreme weather at home, in their communities and in the workplace. 

Watch the full video here:

Joined by Jen Gale from Sustainable(ish), Go Green discusses the Sustainable(ish) ideas around progress over perfection when incorporating sustainable actions into our everyday lives, and some of the things we can do to change our homes and lifestyles, as well as call for systematic change.

Watch the full video here:

Sisters Against Plastic (Mary and Theresa) are ‘normal people’ who noticed just how much plastic they were using. Shocked and concerned, they went on a yearlong ‘plastic diet’, tackling the everyday (and obscure) plastics in their lives. Now experts in plastic pitfalls and top tips for reducing plastic consumption, the Sisters Against Plastic inspire people to give cutting down on plastic a go and try more environmentally friendly alternatives. In this session they show us their easy swaps around the home and how you can start making these changes to go on a 'plastic diet'.

In April 2023, The OU’s Matthew Cook, Professor of Innovation in STEM, held a Go Green session exploring the idea of consumers becoming less interested in product ownership and more interested in product use and the outcomes products achieve. Notable examples include city bike rental initiatives that satisfy the demand for urban transport, as well as garden and household maintenance tool-sharing schemes.  

Watch the full session below: 

In April 2023, Lewis Wilkinson from the Parks Trust joined a Go Green session to explain more about great crested newts and why they are a protected species. Many great crested newts call our Walton Hall campus home and Lewis explains how we can all help to create a biodiverse haven for newts and other creatures to thrive. Lewis also shared tips on how we can help protect the newts if we happen to find them in our green spaces.

Watch the recording of this session below: