The Students’ Union Green Month is upon us; running from 27th Feb – 27th March we have lined up a wide range of sustainable activities, events, news updates and hints and tips to inspire and engage our students. The theme of Green Month is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which you will be seeing more of over the coming weeks.
Why the Sustainable Development Goals?
Our recent Sustainable Union Survey found that our students are highly concerned about climate change and it’s affect on the next generation (rating 5.14 / 6) and that students want to learn about how to understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of the industries associated with their field of study (rated 4.87 / 6), but feel that there is a gap between the desire to receive this teaching and what students are actually being taught.
As explained in our February news article it's quite easy for academic staff to pledge to take part in the SOS-UK SDG Teach-In, which asks educators to embed the Sustainable Development Goals into their teaching, and we encourage all students to ask lecturers to get involved. (You can simply email this link to your lecturer and ask them to make a pledge) The Teach-In helps educators and you as learners to identify how you can contribute to solving some of the world’s greatest challenges and to support a fair and sustainable future for everyone.
Because our survey found that 73% of student respondents were not initially aware of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we have adopted these as our theme for Green Month; promoting #SDG and the relevant goals in our communications, we aim to demonstrate how achieving Sustainable Development is relevant to practically every area of our lives from health and equality to education and justice and that we all have a role to play in achieving them.
What else is happening during Green Month?
Keep an eye on the What’s On Page, Union Social media and your inbox for Student Newsletters, to keep up to date and get involved.
