Sustainability festivals and green spaces

Over the weekend I had a great time attending the 2015 Southampton Sustainability Festival with fellow Green Action members. The day was organised by Southampton Hub and focused on raising awareness of sustainable consumption and inspiring students to take action. Throughout the day there were a number of really interesting workshops which included speakers from various initiatives and organisations including Southampton Repair Café, The Environment Centre, Labour Behind the Label and the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development. I particularly found the talks by Positive Money, on how new money comes into circulation, and The Real Junk Food Project, on the principles behind ‘pay-as-you-feel’ cafes and preventing food waste. They were really eye opening.

Over the lunch break one of my committee members and I were also able to set up a stall for Green Action to share what our society does with people at the event who may be interested, which also ended up being a great networking opportunity. We were set up next to a stall by ‘The Bug Shack’ who promoted insects as a sustainable source of protein - something I’ve actually been really curious about. It was great to have the opportunity to ask them some questions and learn more about the potential of insects.

The festival was held during Student Volunteering Week at the University.

I really feel like I’ve been gaining a vast amount of new perspectives on various issues I feel passionate about through the lectures and assignments I’ve had this semester, as well as through additional events such as the Southampton Sustainability Festival.

A couple of weeks ago Green Action teamed up with SUSU's Marxist Society and Southampton and District Young Greens for a joint event on capitalism and the environment which again was really interesting and eye-opening. Studying biology, I tend to focus more purely on the science behind a lot of the current environmental issues society is facing, but I feel it’s very valuable to able to see these issues from various perspectives in order to gain a greater understanding on how best to tackle them.

Attending so many green events does make you appreciate nature more. As a third year student, while I have been able to attend a number of fascinating events I also spend a lot of time in front of my laptop by a desk, so my one of my housemates and I have been trying to find ways to spend more time outside. In my last blog post I wrote about taking part in one of the Conservation Volunteering Society’s Sunday tasks at Chilworth Conservation Area.

This weekend my housemate and I decided to go for a 5km run on Southampton Common. For those who don’t know, the Common is a large green space close to the University and the city centre. It’s been a long time since I last went running but thankfully I didn’t feel too exhausted and I definitely got to fill my lungs with some fresh air!

A refreshing morning at Southampton Common.

I always enjoy stepping away from my desk and mixing with different groups, learning more about the environment or making time to enjoy Southampton’s green and natural spaces.

Kristin