Green Action and student campaigns

Last Tuesday Green Action held the first official event of the year. It was great to see a lot of new people with an interest in the welfare of the planet and the health of our environment as well as a willingness to get more involved in taking action towards making meaningful green changes. The aim of our first event was to remind and inform people of the importance of the campaigns we are running and to leave people feeling motivated to participate in the first Global Divestment Day event (which was held last Friday).

During the meeting on Tuesday I gave a brief introduction to the campaign for those who weren’t familiar with it, followed by a film showing of a documentary about the power and aims of the movement. The film covered the importance of taking action, and talked about the role we all can play in helping to make change happen. We also organised materials so that members of the society could contribute some art to the stalls we planned to set up at the day event. We made a large banner to hang on our stalls to help grab people’s attention during the day.

I was involved in the planning of the Global Divestment Day event, but due to lab work commitments I was busy for the majority of the day. However, I heard from my committee that it was a lot of fun and that they were able to gain a lot of signatures! The Marine Conservation Society, who have joined us in the campaign, also did a great job, collecting signatures and helping to raise further awareness by reaching out to more students.

It feels great to have taken part in the first ever annual Global Divestment Day and running our own independent campaign.

While at times controversial, it feels good to be able to work towards making positive change for something you believe in and to be able to work with other students who are also passionate about a greener future for our planet.

Social media has also been really useful in raising awareness and my committee were taking loads of photos during the day.

The Marine Conservation Society put together their interpretation of what an oil spill could look like.

It’s great to have another society to work with on campaigns so we can raise awareness from different perspectives.

Through being involved in this campaign I have been gaining a lot of experience in organising different events and coordinating different groups.

If you’re passionate about campaigning, or the environment, there are plenty of chances to get involved at Southampton as a student, and there are so many ways to help with causes which you feel strongly about!

Kristin