Sustainability 2022-2023
Your Student's Union Sustainability Officer 2022-2023
Your elected Sustainability Officer is Dan Holmes. To find out more about Dan’s Role and how you can get involved with sustainability projects on campus click here.
WGSU Sustainabilty Committee
Over the Summer period, WGSU established their Sustainability Committee and hold meetings regularly discussing how we can improve, upcoming events and lobbying the University with any new ideas. The committee includes Senior members of staff, WGSU staff, the sustainability officer and all students are welcome to join and contribute. For more information, you can read the Committee's Terms of Reference here or you can contact our Committee chair Katie.taffinder@glyndwr.ac.uk
If you are interested in what the committee is working on please see the committee meeting minutes below:
September 2022 Meeting Minutes
WGSU Sustainability Action Plan
Each year, WGSU prepare their action plan to inform its work for the year ahead. This is not solely what we work on but enables us to identify 4 or 5 key targets based on feeback from the student body. This action plan has been approved by student council and will be reviewed at the end of the academic year.
WGSU Sustainability Action Plan
Welcome Week 2022
Welcome Week 2022 was a huge success and it was wonderful to see so many students back on campus. To continue our commitment to Sustainability, WGSU carefully considered what should be given as a Fresher's Give Away, with this in mind we decided to give Sustainable cotton tote bags and recycable cardboard pens to welcome all students.
During Welcome Week, WGSU hosted a number of events including Wellbeing Wednesday.
Student’s came to spend time with therapy dogs, enjoyed a free professional massage and grabbed a few goodies along the way!
The Communal Garden Project is a joint effort between Your Students Union and The University. During welcome week, a walk was arranged by WGSU staff to show new students where to go for an opportunity to relax, plant and pick your own fruit and veg and preserve wildlife. The communal garden is open to all students - why not come down and check it out for yourself?
Welcome week would never be complete without a fresher’s fair, this year WGSU welcomed over 800 students through the doors with more than 70 charities, businesses and societies welcoming them on the day!
Green Glyndwr held a competition on the day and one lucky winner won a hamper full of sustainable and eco-friendly goodies!
Green Glyndwr Society
The Green Glyndwr Society are always looking for new members, For more information on The Green Glyndwr Society click here.
COP27
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022, seeks renewed solidarity between countries to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the plan. For more information visit - COP27: Delivering for people and the planet | United Nations
To highlight the importance of this convention and how little changes can make a big difference globally, Green Glyndwr are updating their socials during the week of COP27 with some of the changes and improvements made by the University and it’s students. Check out their latest Facebook posts here Green Glyndwr | Wrexham | Facebook
STEM Community Connect Volunteering Fair
To introduce the Green Glyndwr Society and hopefully recruit some new members, we will be holding a stall at the next STEM Community Connect Volunteering Fair. The event is open to all current students and graduates at Glyndŵr. For more information, please click here.
Glyn’s Merry Market
Glyn’s hosted a Christmas Market in December 2022, where stall holders came along to showcase their local business’ and homemade crafts. There was plenty to see on the day with beautiful hand-made gifts from Wax Melts to PomPom wreaths. Most stall holders try to source their materials locally and support small business’ alike.
Green Glyndwr held a stall with Christmas top tips on how to gift sustainably at Christmas and how to reuse wrapping and gift bags. Students were also given the opportunity to adopt their own tree to plant at home. It was a great day had by all especially with the Mulled Wine and Hot Chocolate on offer at the bar.
Refreshers 2023
Green Glyndwr paid a visit to WGSU’s Refreshers Fair in February to promote Go Green Week 2023 and invite more students to join the society. They also highlighted the dangers of littering and how it can affect our Hedgehog neighbours!
Did you know since the launch of the Rice Husk Cups we have saved 31,000 disposable cups from going to landfill?
Go Green Week 2023
Green Glyndwr have been mega busy throughout Go Green Week – you can see what they got up to further down the page, but here’s our Sustainability Officer Dan at the Fayre promoting our wonderful society and getting more students on board!
Our Community Garden
The Community Garden is a joint effort between the University, Students Union and our Green Champions. If you have already visited you may have seen Warren who is an Alumni of WGU, who does a wonderful job looking after the garden, you can read his latest blog here.
You can find the Garden on Plas Coch Campus with what3words here.
WGSU are planning events for Semester 2 when the weather is kinder - please check out our social media for updates!
People and Planet Accreditation
Have you seen the news? WGU have risen by 6 places in the People & Planet Green League to 36th out of all the Universities in the UK, topping the list for Staff and Student Engagement and being one of the first 4 UK Universities to have a fossil free ethical careers policy.
To see how WGU performed against other Universities you can check out the People and Planet Green League https://peopleandplanet.org/university-league
Electric Vehicle Charging Points
In September 2022, Wrexham Glyndwr University made all EV charging points available to students on the Plas Coch Campus.
Download the Vend Electric App for information on charging rates and how to get started https://app.vendelectric.com/getstarted
WGU hope to role out more charging points in future at all campuses, we will keep you updated on their progress.
Campaigns
Help Yourshelf
The WGSU Sustainability Committee are proud to announce their first campaign of 2022, Help Yourshelf!
Please click here for all the latest information
or contact Katie.taffinder@glyndwr.ac.uk
Period Dignity Campaign
In 2018, WGSU Launched their award winning campaign for Period Poverty. For information about the original campaign please click here.
Over the years this campaign has evolved into our Period Dignity Campaign where WGSU supply period products for anyone who needs them across all Glyndwr Campuses.
Aswell as disposable pads and tampons, WGSU also supply re-useable hygiene products such as period knickers and reuseable pads. These can be found in our Help Yourshelf Cupboard.
Cup Again?
In October 2022, WGSU proposed a plan to open an outdoor seating area for Glyn’s Bar. Due to Council guidelines and the Unions’ Single use plastic policy, students wouldn't be able to take their drinks outside. Dan Holmes, our Sustainability Officer put a motion to council for a keep cup campaign. (you can see Dan’s motion paper here). This motion was passed in December 2022 and the WGSU asked the University for a contribution towards the set up costs. (you can see the proposal paper here).
Then… Cup Again? Was born!
Cup Again? Is a simple concept where Students can pay a £2 deposit for a re-useable, dishwasher safe ½ pint and pint marked cup. It’s then up to you if you would like to keep the cup or return for a full refund. The cups can then be washed and sanitised ready for the next use.
Here’s a sneak peek of the latest design which is now in production with HappyCups…
Different designs will become available over time as every £2 received for the cups sold will go straight back into the fund to purchase more! If you are interested in designing a cup please contact carrie.bennett@glyndwr.ac.uk
Cups are now on sale in Glyn’s Bar! As a thank you for your support Glyn’s will offer a 10% discount for every pint bought with a Cup Again? Cup. We hope to see you there!! #cupagain? #greenimpact #sustainable
Bra Bank 2023
It’s time to bin your bra!
Drop off points:
Wrexham Glyndwr University Main Reception
Wrexham Glyndwr Students' Union Building
Wrexham Glyndwr Sports Centre
Northop Campus
St Asaph Campus
Our bra recycling scheme, in conjunction with Breast Cancer Research UK takes your unwanted or unloved bras and through our network of bra banks raises vital funds for pioneering breast cancer research.
The same bras also help to support small businesses in developing countries in Africa and around the world. Together with Breast Cancer Research and their recycling partners, the textile recovery project prevents these bras going into landfill before giving them a new lease of life in countries such as Togo, Ghana and Kenya, where bras remain expensive to produce locally.
You can find more information here
Hedgehog Friendly Campus Litter Pick Challenge 2022
Wrexham Glyndwr University have signed up to the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme and currently hold a silver award for their efforts! WGSU work closely with the University and encourage all students to help if they can. For all the latest information please click here.
The Big Hog Friendly Litter pick challenge runs between the 19th of September and 30th of November 2022.
Monday 17th of October saw the first litter pick of the year arranged by Green Glyndwr, WSV Accomodation and WGSU staff where students were invited to get involved and keep our campus safe for our little hedgehog friends! Well done and Thank you to all who got involved!
SOS Annual Sustainability Survey
Each year SOS ask students about their attitudes towards learning for sustainable development. We know that students care about sustainability. We see it from the actions thousands are taking on their campuses and in their communities.
This research makes it even more clear how much students care about sustainability:
- Approximately 80 per cent of students want their institution to be doing more on sustainable development
- Around 60 per cent of students want to learn more about sustainability
SOS have conducted this research since 2010-11, and these results have remained constant; despite changes such as the rise in fees, and the crash of the jobs market, the demand for action by their institutions and desire to learn about sustainability has remained constant.
*UPDATE* 16th November 2022
WGSU would like to thank all students who participated in the survey. For the first time in our Green Impact history we have received over 100 responses which means we can access all survey data.
Watch this space for further updates!
Living Lab Project Fund
You can apply for funding to launch a sustainability project! For more information click here
Alcohol Awareness Week 2022
Alcohol Awareness Week is 14th – 18th of November this year.
Did you know depression and heavy drinking have a mutually reinforcing relationship? Meaning that either condition increases a person’s chances of experiencing the other.
WGSU want you to have a good time during your student life but a good time doesn’t necessarily mean having a lot to drink. To prove this, Glyn’s will be selling Mocktails, Alcohol free beer and Alcohol free spirits at discounted prices for Alcohol Awareness Week.
SOS Sustainability Auditing Training 2022
NUS Wales Petition for Student Cost of Living Support
Latest statement from NUS Wales:
"The results of our latest Student Cost of Living Survey are in. More than 6,500 students took the survey, and what they told us is shocking.
96% of students are having to cut back - more than half are buying less food and 45% are turning off the heating more as we head into winter.
9 in 10 students say their mental health has been affected, and over a quarter are
living on less than £50 a month after paying rent and bills.
NUS is calling for a student support package from the government, including tying maintenance support with inflation, giving students access to Universal Credit, and capping student rent."
Sign the petition here
Green Community Links
The Wrexham Clothing Exchange send one simple message.. ‘Swop Not Shop! Fast fashion is so yesterday! Why not refresh your wardrobe a different way, swapping your unwanted pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories.’ Keep up to date with all their latest news here.
The REFILL-osaurus is a zero waste refill shop in Ty Pawb, Wrexham. For all their latest information and updates click here
The Yab Hub is a Non-Profit Project in the Heart of Wrexham Town centre. Check out all their latest events and what’s on offer at their café here
Xplore! Science Discovery Centre is a collaborative effort between staff, partners and local community. Their ‘Heart of the Community’ Vision is to make science accessible to all and they work hard every day to improve what they offer to their audiences. To sign up to Xplore!’s newsletter and to keep up to date you can visit their website here.
Wales Climate Week 2022
21st-25th of November is Wales Climate Week. Will you make a pledge about the action you will take to help Wales reach net zero? Add your actions to their pledge wall here
WGSU Sustainability Survey 2023
WGSU invite all students to take part in our 2023 Sustainability Survey. You can find the link here.
We appreciate your time and effort so be quick to be in with a chance of winning a 1st edition Cup Again? Cup as a thank you for participating.
The January 2023 survey responses have been reviewed and summarised you can read the summary here. We thank you for all the fantastic ideas suggested, we'll be sure to organise something soon!
The 2023 Homes fit for Study Survey
Chance to WIN £500 or 1 of 5 £50 prizes!
The 2023 Homes Fit for Study survey runs from January 23rd to February 19th. Completing the survey will allow us to gain your perspective on the accommodation you’re living in!
Complete the survey here: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/accommodation_survey
St Asaph Community Book Swap
Student Leaders Conference 2023
This year’s Students Leaders Conference is scheduled for 7th February – 9th of February. We have 3 days full of different sessions available to book on now – there’s something for everyone! Book on to as many sessions as you like here.
David Sprake delivered the first lecture of the SLC titled ‘Climate Change without the Hot Air’. David covered a lot including renewable energy, co2 emissions and melting ice caps. It was a real eye opener with live statistics made available. WGSU used this opportunity to invite students from Coleg Cambria to have a taste of ‘Uni Life’ and it was great to welcome potential future students to the SLC.
Refreshers 2023
Student Opportunities held a Refreshers Fair on Thursday 16th of February. WGSU held a stall promoting all our services and campaigns. Students came along to sign up for new sports teams and societies and also showed their support for our current campaigns Help Yourshelf and Cup Again? For more information on Refreshers you can click here.
Go Green Week 2023
Go Green Week is on from the 27th of February 2023, WGU and WGSU have a week packed with different activities and trips for all students. There will be competitions running all week including a Wrexham Scavenger Hunt and a Strava challenge to ‘ditch your car’.
On Tuesday, the Sustainability Fair was held in the main reception. Green Glyndwr, Our Sustainability Officer Dan, RSPB, Innovative Energy, Veolia, Keep Wales Tidy and refillosaurus all held stalls to share information, sell eco-friendly goods and hold competitions. Green Glyndwr had a wonderful Fair Trade Hamper up for grabs… did you guess how many cans Veolia had in the crushed can pile?
On Wednesday, Horticulture Wales were giving away free plants, herbs and Microgreens in Main Reception.
Aramark held a meat free Wednesday with wonderful Vegan and Vegetarian Meals on offer. Aramark offer Vegan and Vegetarian options all year.. not just Go Green Week! Their objectives are simple “ to serve our people, our communities and take care of the planet” you can read Aramark’s 2022 Progress Report here. Aramark strive to promote healthy eating and to “Be Well. Do Well”. You can visit their outlets across the Wrexham Campus at United Kitchen, Grumpy Mule, Edward Llwyd Building, Caffi 45 and Regent Street.
Could you lead the way on the climate and nature crisis through food? SOS have written a handy guide in response to student attitudes on sustainable food on campuses, you can find the guide here.
If that wasn’t enough, our wonderful Alumni, Warren and Green Glyndwr invited Students and Staff to the Community Garden to plant some veggies for Spring. It was Wonderful to see all the Hard work Warren has put into the Garden over the winter months. He’s been busy Mulching, growing Winter Broad Beans, Hardy Herbs and beautiful fresh Garlic.
Travel Thursday kicked off with our Sports Centre promoting their Bicycle Hire Scheme. Did you know they hire bikes to students for as little as £10 a week? To find out more about the Active Campus Campaign head over to the Sports Centre any day of the week.
Green Glyndwr also paid a visit to our Regent Street Campus, giving away free rice husk cups and promoting Living Lab Fund available to all Glyndwr Students.
Wrexham Student Village also hosted a Travel Thursday event for students to find out their options for active travel around Wrexham. The Staff cycle to work scheme and electric vehicle charging points were also highlighted and promoted.
Friday saw staff and students’ joining forces with Llais Y Goedwig and Wrexham County Borough Council to plant trees in Lincoln Park, Borras. This was part of the Welsh Government Scheme ‘My Tree Our Forest’ where every household can pick up a tree from over 50 hubs dotted around North Wales. Not every household can plant a tree so that’s where we came in and planted trees with Hywel Dodd who explained the scheme and that 300,000 trees have been donated and 700 of those will be in Wrexham.
We got busy planting Silver Birch, Oak and Scots Pine, Crab Apple and Elder trees today and it was great to see so many of us get stuck in. If you would like to find out more about the ‘Plant a Tree for Me’ Scheme you can do so here. Here's our Membership Project Coordinator Carrie and Head of Membership Services Marc planting their 1st trees of the day.
Go Green Week @ Northop
As you can see from the timetable below staff have been busy organising a fun packed couple of days later on in the month. Transport can be arranged to Northop Campus just email C.Payne@glyndwr.ac.uk.
SU staff paid a visit to Northop on the second day of their Go Green activities, it was great to see another campus getting involved and to support them with clothes for the clothing exchange and a hot drinks hamper as part of our Wellbeing Week.
WGSU Clothing Exchange
WGSU have teamed up with PREWORN to host our first Clothing Exchange as part of Green Week 2023. You can drop your swaps off now at the SU reception or you can bring them along on the day. If you bring 5 or more items we’ll treat you to a hot drink in Glyn’s. We hope to see you there!
We received a great suggestion on our recent Sustainability Survey to host a Clothing Exchange… so we decided to try it out to help reduce the impact of the Fashion Industry one dress or pair of trousers at a time!
What’s the environmental impact of fast fashion? Producing clothes uses a lot of natural resources and creates greenhouse gas emissions which are responsible for climate change. Overall the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions, according to the UN – more than the aviation and shipping combined.
The first clothing exchange hosted by WGSU was a great success and we would like to thank all staff and students who supported it. Preworn have very kindly given all our students a 10% discount on their website if you sing up to their mailing list. Use code WREXHAM10 on their website here. We have received a lot of clothing donations and these are available to all students for the next few weeks. Any remaining clothing will be donated to The British Heart Foundation. Help Yourshelf also received lots of donations on the day and we have been able to restock the shelves significantly – so thank you!!!
Wellbeing Week 2023
The popular Wellbeing week is back! This year's Wellbeing Week will take place between March 13th - 17th with a whole range of activites taking place on campus and online. The week is about ensuring that you have access to all the information about how to support your wellbeing as well as incorporating Random Acts of Kindness (RAK). And the best is this- the events all week are free with lots of freebies to give out and competitions with some amazing prizes! You can find more information here or take a look at the timetable below:
Mellow Monday
The first day of Wellbeing week saw our staff hiding lots of sweet treats as part of our Random Acts of kindness pledge to the Brit Challenge! We hid treats in Glyn’s, B corridor, Regent Street, ELC, Bevan Building and Northop Campus. Were you lucky enough to find one? Please tag us on Social media if you were!
We also paid a visit to Wrexham Student Village and St Asaph campus for a Help Yourshelf takeover! There are Revision, Breakfast, Hot drinks and Self Care Kits left in the WSV Pantry in the Laundry Room and the Study Room for you to Help Yourshelf! There was also a Hot Drinks Hamper left for Students' to enjoy in Northop Campus, make some time with your cohort to enjoy a small time out with your favourite hot drink and a biscuit.
Don’t forget! Glyn’s are hosting some Brit Challenge activities throughout Wellbeing Week. Monday will be the Big British Switch Off and there will be a row-athon for the rest of the week!
you can donate to the Brit Challenge 2023 here.
The British Inspiration Trust (BRIT) supports young adult mental health and fitness in the UK through the delivery of our annual BRIT Challenge.
By inviting every UK university and college to encourage all their students and staff to participate, we aim to support young adult mental health, reduce isolation and promote mental fitness by;
Uniting the HE and FE Sector through a UK-wide annual inclusive BRIT Challenge
Delivering inspiration through our BRIT Ambassadors
Offering the BRIT Challenge as a UK-wide inclusive feel-good fundraiser and inviting teams to choose a second charity to raise funds for, alongside BRIT, to support local, regional and national charities
Donating to or sponsoring the British Inspiration Trust will help enable us to support and improve young adult, student and staff mental health, fitness and wellbeing throughout the UK by delivering our annual inclusive BRIT Challenge
Staff and Students’ were lucky to receive a wonderful Yoga session with Karen Tilby on Monday. Attendees were gifted new yoga mats, towels and water to keep hydrated. Karen Tilby is a wonderful instructor with years of experience, you can find her on Linkedin here.
Unfortunately, due to staff shortages and illness, we have had to postpone our Crafternoon activity on Tuesday afternoon. We hope to host our Cratfernoon later in the year. Please look out on our socials for future updates.
Wellbeing Wednesday
Wednesday 15th of March saw the return of our Wellbeing Fair in Glyn’s. We had plenty of giveaways and Milkshake tasters on offer for our students to enjoy. We had the opportunity to promote all our services including the Advice Centre, Student Voice and opportunities, along with our campaigns such as Cup Again? Help Yourshelf and our Random acts of Kindness.
Stall holders included Horticulture Wales, Wrexham Wellbeing hub and Refillosaurus.
University Departments also joined us including WGU Ask, WGU Funding and WGU Mental Health. Did you pass on your RAK from the ASK Jar of kindness?
WGSU societies also joined us on the day including LGBT+, Green Glyndwr and Nutrition and Dietetics highlighted the national Nutrition and Hydration Week (13th-19th of March) It was great to see our societies get involved on the day!
We also welcomed our dear friends from Therapy Dogs Nationwide. They are a national charity where visiting volunteers take their own dogs into establishments to provide comfort, distraction and stimulation. It was great to welcome our dog friends back to campus along with their humans! You can find more information on all the wonderful work they do here.
It was a lovely afternoon with lots of information on offer for students. Andy visited us from the University to highlight the importance of safe drinking and tips on how to keep track of your alcohol intake and Rose, our University Menopause Champion also came along to show students a Menopause Symptom Checker and where you can find support if you are going through menopause.
Therapy Thursday
Students were offered Massage and Reiki from Emma Sims Holistic Therapies and Waterfall Therapies today. They explained the importance of holistic therapies for your mind and body. There are so many benefits to these treatments, if you missed out today you can call 07930120516 and book a consultation.
We were also very excited to invite Caroline Gordon and Teagan Brielly-Sollis who are both lecturers in the University to show us the impact of following a vegan lifestyle. They brought lovely desserts along for everyone to try a vegan treat.. or 2! There were Brownies, Macaroons, Cheesecake and much more for everyone to try!
We finished day 4 of our Wellbeing Week with a visit to the Communal Garden and a Zumba session in the Sports Centre with Susie Knight! It was great to see the turn of spring in the Garden and Susie gave us all a good work out afterwards!
And that’s a wrap for Wellbeing Week 2023! Thank you to everyone who has supported and engaged with us this week. Unfortunately due to staff shortages again we are not hosting our Coffee Morning on Friday Morning.. we will be sure to rearrange soon!
Negative Impact Report 2022/23
We have identified the negative environmental impacts that we have as a Students’ Union, to help us develop and improve these in the future. Some are beyond our control (for example, the building we are in) however we realise we are not perfect and we can make changes and make a difference! Below are what we identified in 2022/23 and the progress we have made to date.
Full Negative Impact Report for 2022/23
Annual Students’ Union Awards 2023
On Friday 12th May 2023, WGSU hosted their annual awards in the Williams Aston Hall. It was a wonderful evening with good food and wonderful music for students’ and staff. Our Sustainability Champions for 2023 were presented their award by Lynda Powell, Executive Director of Operations.
Your Student Sustainability Champion for 2023 is Daniel Holmes! Unfortunately Dan couldn't be with us on the evening so Katie Taffinder accepted the award on his behalf. Well done Dan and thank you for your contribution to our Sustainability Works and Objectives over your time here at Glyndwr, we wish you well in all your future endeavours.
Your staff Sustainability Champion of the Year is Carrie Bennett. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees on the night, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
World Refill Day
Ready to take action to prevent plastic pollution? 👊 #ChooseToReuse with us on June 16th! Join millions of people around the world making one small change to their everyday routine to have a BIG impact in reducing single-use plastic on #WorldRefillDay 🌍 www.worldrefillday.org
The overproduction and consumption of single-use plastic is creating a global environmental crisis. REDUCE ⬇️ REUSE 🔄 & REFILL 💧 with us this #WorldRefillDay to be part of the global solution instead.
Green Impact 2022-2023
The results are in.. and we are so pleased to announce we have achieved excellent status upon our return to the Green Impact Accreditation this year!
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Give us a call (01978 293371) or drop us an email: union@glyndwr.ac.uk
Company number: 10111959
Registered Charity: 1168132
