There are many ways to champion Sustainability at the Salford SU and University, including getting involved with volunteering, joining a society, attending events or supporting campaigns.
Salford SU is working alongside the University of Salford’s Sustainability Team to incorporate sustainability within the Union, provide opportunities for students to get involved with sustainability projects and help support staff and students to have an understanding of sustainability issues. You can find out more about Environmental Sustainability at the University through the Sustainability Team’s webpage.
Responsible Futures
One of the main ways the Student’s Union is committed to embedding sustainability is through the supported change programme and accreditation framework Responsible Futures.
The University of Salford and Salford SU are working in partnership to gain accreditation to the Responsible Futures programme run by SOS-UK (Students Organising for Sustainability).
We joined the programme in September 2023 and are currently working through the framework to embed sustainability though all aspects of the student learning experience, with a plan to go for initial accreditation in 2025.
There are many key actions that the partnership are working through including communicating and supporting sustainability at the University, creating a Students’ Union Sustainability Policy, gaining representatives to champion sustainability at Salford SU and embedding sustainability into training and induction processes.
There will also be paid student opportunities as part of this programme, including curriculum mapping where students review module specifications against the Sustainable Development Goals and other Education for Sustainable Development criteria.
UoS Sustainability and Environment Society
There is also a newly formed UoS Sustainability and Environment Society. If you are passionate about sustainability and concerned about climate change and environmental issues, you can join a community of like-minded people!
You can find out more about the society via social media on Instagram – uos_sustainabilitysoc
Other initiatives to get involved with:
Hedgehog Friendly Campus is an initiative funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and delivered by SOS-UK.
The campaign aims to highlight the issues faced by hedgehogs, encourage staff and students to combat these issues on campus and aims to turn University campuses into habitats where hedgehogs and wildlife can safely live and thrive.
Anyone can get involved with Hedgehog Friendly Campus, it’s open to all staff and students, even if you don’t know a lot about hedgehogs. There are many volunteering opportunities and events to take part in ranging from litter picks, audits, surveys to fundraising events.
You can also become a Hedgehog Ambassador or Champion for the campaign, where participants can receive CV references, digital badges and certificates.
If you are interested in this campaign you can join the HFC Microsoft Teams Group or find out more information through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus webpage.
The Community Growing Space is located behind the Clifford Whitworth Library.
There are opportunities to volunteer at the space through community gardening sessions that are organised throughout the academic year. Activities have included deweeding the beds, planting a variety of produce from herbs to wildflowers, planting new hedgerows alongside the growing space and also lunch time picnics.
The space is open to everyone and is regularly used by students and staff to socialise, study, work or even garden in their free time, so if you are around go and check out the space!
If you are interested in getting involved or learning more about the Community Growing Space then you can join the MS Teams channel to receive regular updates.
Green Impact is a sustainability engagement programme run internationally by SOS-UK. It allows for departments to form staff teams, to improve their environmental performance, champion sustainability and receive recognition for their collective efforts and impacts at the University.
Every year there is a volunteering opportunity open to all students at the end of the programme, where you complete a day of training alongside SOS-UK and become an IEMA (Institute of Environment Management and Assessment) accredited auditor.
Go Green Salford is one of the Sustainability Team’s sustainability engagement programmes. The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability and encourage positive change amongst our students, staff and the local community. Each year a series of events and activities is run in collaboration with different departments and organisations. Previous activities have included talks centred around local wildlife and de-carbonisation, sustainability pop ups and stalls on campus, community gardening, wildlife surveys and litter picking.
Want to get involved with Go Green Salford? Keep an eye out on social media platforms, the events run in September/October and March every year.
Contact Us
As we are working in partnership with the University of Salford’s Sustainability Team, many student opportunities will be mentioned in the monthly Sustainability at Salford Newsletter.
You can sign up to keep up to date with any activities, events, volunteering opportunities and campaigns that are going on and how to get involved.
If you have any questions about sustainability or ideas for projects and volunteering feel free to contact us via email - su-opportunities@salford.ac.uk