Friday 10-08-2018 - 12:45

My final year at WGU & WGSU has been extremely rewarding to say the least. 

It was not easy to begin with as I did not have much interest or knowledge surrounding sustainability at first, and I remember the first SWAG meeting not making sense at all. But after the NUS Sustainability Summit 2017 in Coventry SU, something clicked. I had a sense of enlightenment and motivation to push forward in making a positive change at WGU whilst I had this role. Things were not that easy though, many of my ideas were knocked down mainly due to cost. However, I did not take no for an answer and pondered different ideas and different ways to go about things. 

 

I'm going to briefly mention my achievements as Sustainability Officer and president of the Sustainability & Fairtrade Society 2017/18.

 

- Produced the first successful Environmental Calendar of events with Pip Francis for the academic year

- Successfully removed single use plastics from WGSU (cups, bags, spikeys and straws) 

- Worked alongside Paul Barton and Aramark to introduce reuseable coffee mugs, porcelain mugs and glass cups. (hopefully they will be switching to plastic free materials in the near future!)

- Worked alongside Pip Francis and Rob Stockton to produce a Sustainable Printing Policy and Strategy 

- Worked alongside Wrexham Borough Council, Plaid Cyrmu and students on Plastic Free Wrecsam campaign (still ongoing)

- Worked closely alongside WGSU to jump from 'Good' to 'Excellent' in Green Impact and The Highest Nations Awards

- Worked alongside WGU and SWAG members to achieve Fairtrade Status

- Introduced BookShare in the WGSU lounge

- Successfully lobbied Aramark for further vegan and vegetarian options

- The Sustainability & Fairtrade Society had over 30 members

- Won Student Sustainability Champion Of The Year 2018

- Won Student Council Member Of The Year 2018

- Won Society Contribution and Collaboration 2018

 

It's been an incredible adventure and I have learnt so much about the importance of sustainability, and that it is the path I want to take in the future. 

 

Thanks for having me guys and keep up the sustainability work!

 

Maryam out x