Local Action

What are Local Action Groups?
Interested in creating a Local Action Group?
What we do, the support you can get
Key Contact information

Act Local - Think Global

Ecoversity is supporting a number of Local Action Groups and champions in delivering sustainable development activities within their departments and workplaces.

WHAT ARE LOCAL ACTION GROUPS?

A Local Action Group or ‘green team’ is any group of students or staff who want to get together to reduce the environmental impact of their department or workplace – grass roots action.

What a local action group or champion does depends entirely on the group or champion – it may be introducing Fairtrade food and drinks, encouraging people to recycle or running a campaign to switch off lights. Local action goals can be as ambitious or modest as you want; it’s all up to you.

Some local action groups have lots of members while others are just a few dedicated champions. And groups can meet regularly or just get together to plan and deliver new initiatives as needed.

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INTERESTED IN CREATING A LOCAL ACTION GROUP?

Individuals, groups or teams interested in setting up a local action group or becoming a champion should contact the Ecoversity Helpdesk and we’ll be happy to come and have a chat about how we can support you in making your area more sustainable.

ecoversity@bradford.ac.uk.

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WHAT WE DO – THE SUPPORT YOU CAN EXPECT

Ecoversity is here to encourage the widest possible participation of the University community in sustainable development activities and therefore will be hands on in providing you with support and expert help on how to become a more sustainable workplace.

We provide introductory training to any new group or champion, setting the scene about sustainable development and Ecoversity, providing information on the support available and helping start the process of action planning in your area.

We can also provide an Energy & Environment Office Audit of your area, giving you valuable feedback on your current environment performance and areas that you might like to focus on. The audit helps identify actions on waste, energy, transport, water and procurement. For further information contact Ben Tongue at environment@bradford.ac.uk.

We will also provide you with a supporter who is more than happy to attend regular meetings and help you in the process of becoming more sustainable.
Finally, we also provide a number of helpdesks to respond to your queries and requests for help, including:

Energy Helpdesk at energy@bradford.ac.uk – for all your energy saving queries and help.

Environment Helpdesk at environment@bradford.ac.uk – for all your recycling, waste, biodiversity and travel queries.

Estates Helpdesk at estatesandfacilities-helpdesk@bradford.ac.uk – for all requests for maintenance repairs – e.g. grounds maintenance or heating problems.

Ecoversity Helpdesk at ecoversity@bradford.ac.uk – for all your general queries about the Ecoversity Programme, our progress and future activities.

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KEY CONTACTS - LOCAL ACTION TEAMS / CHAMPIONS

Informatics:

Mat Overton has been leading on a sustinable IT project which includes offering technical advice to staff and students on how to reduce energy and paper useage costs. Contact m.overton@bradford.ac.uk, for further information.

Learner Support Services:

The most recent local action group is based in Learner Support. To get involved contact Grace Hudson, g.hudson@bradford.ac.uk

Student Union:

The Students Union runs a wide range of initiatives from recycling and composting with our own wormery, to energy conservation, (implementing the use of energy saver and timer devices) to monitoring work mileage and acting to make better use of sustainable transport.

We also run a number of initiatives to help students and staff participate in positive ethical and environmental behaviour change, for instance through campaigns and volunteering.

The Students Union houses an award winning second hand store, Uboutique, and a charity run bike shop, Cycle Re Cycle. We also have a dedicated Ethical and Environmental Officer and help run a Computer Recycling Course.

All this cumulates in our achieving of the NUS Sound Impact Awards, for which we won the only National Ecologist Award last year.

Contact Chris Wilson for information about the course that offers practical training in how to dismantle/put together a computer.