On the 25th of February, Students of Staffordshire University left their mark by volunteering together to plant 250 trees in one afternoon, all in the name of sustainability.
The trees were planted on the nature reserve, an area owned and managed by the university. The reserve is one of the most significant wildlife sites in the city; it is home to a vast array of wildlife and is now even a bigger part of the universities eco-friendly aspiration.
There were several aims for the project, one being the protection and enhancement of the wildlife in the area. Project leader Katie Ferneyhough, who co-coordinates the Students’ Union Sustainable Homes project – GreenPad – expressed her enthusiasm: “It’s got the direct effect of having all those additional trees on the reserve, which, once matured, will be able to absorb over 3 tonnes of C02 every year, the equivalent of a car driving nearly 30,000 miles! It will also help to reduce the risk of flooding on the reserve and provide a new habitat for existing species, in addition to increasing biodiversity.”
In addition, the project aspired to actively engage students in sustainability efforts on the university campus. The project has clearly demonstrated that the students of Staffordshire University do care about sustainability. Katie affirms that: “We wanted it to be a long lasting legacy for students to be part of, and it’s proved that our students actively do want to be involved in on-campus sustainability activities if we provide them the opportunity to do so.” The practical side of sustainability is certainly encouraging more students to become involved, and a wide audience of students has become engaged in a project that they may not have necessarily been interested in before.
For the students, the experience as a whole has been extremely rewarding. For Katie, the most satisfying part of the experience has been the volunteers’ passion and determination for the project. She states “It was amazing to see so many students got involved from so many different courses, it was really exciting to see how pleased the students were, they felt like they had really made a difference, which they definitely had done and that’s amazing”. The project has revealed that Staffordshire University Students Union has successfully delivered such a valuable opportunity. It has offered its students what is sure to be one of many opportunities for them to become involved with practical sustainability work and to become part of the legacy here at Staffs.