Environmental Society

AN INTERVIEW WITH...

ENVIRONMENT OFFICER

ELSIE LEWIS TALKS TO FRANCESCA WARREN (ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE, 3RD YEAR), ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT WITH MARY'S ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY.

Francesca is St Mary ’ s Environment Officer and the Chair of St Mary ’ s Environment Society. Francesca organises campaigns and projects around College to help Mary's become more environmentally sustainable, promoting eco-friendly activities that students can do to improve their carbon footprint.

What are your core values as a society & what are the aims of the Mary’s environmental society? We hope to change people ’ s lifestyle habits in small ways to enable a more sustainable future. I believe that small community-based projects can really make a huge difference within the global struggle against anthropogenic climate change.

By providing resources and opportunities, such as sharing university-wide occasions, a much larger group of likeminded people are reached and, in turn, are able to band together and make a larger difference to the environmental cause. For example, a Facebook page has recently been created for those interested in eco-activities and events. Consequently, wider-reaching events, from seminars to SCOOP meetings to protests, are organised around University campus.

What are some of the campaigns that the environmental society has done this year? The Reducing Waste campaign, which ran over Christmas, advertised purchasing from small, local businesses or second hand where possible instead of from multi-national or large companies, such as Amazon or Pretty Little Thing. These companies have a much larger impact on the climate as their factories are often within developing countries where there is less red tape on environmental laws and there is therefore a higher carbon footprint due to the distance that the package must travel. Moreover, companies such as Amazon have such a high turnover of products, so their left-over waste is often just dumped and burned, once more massively impacting the climate. This campaign also promoted not falling for the trap of buying unnecessary items in the Boxing Day or January sales. Our Veganuary campaign involved posting quick, tasty, and easy vegan meals weekly across January for people to try, as well as some more detailed ones for those who are more interested in cooking. With this campaign there was also a fact page about how veganism is better for the planet. The aim with this campaign was to show how delicious vegan food is, and try to reduce meat consumption. By posting new recipes, students were encouraged to try new techniques and flavours that they potentially wouldn ’t have tried before. We also held a litter pick during January around Observatory Hill and filled 4 bin bags with rubbish. I help out other colleges and Greenspace, for example, assisting with the My Greenspace website and app, which allows people to win £20 vouchers for restaurants or shops. I also participate in Fairtrade Fortnight, or the Greenspace festival, which happens in Easter Term. How is Mary’s becoming an eco-friendlier college? We aim to have a wildflower garden to boost biodiversity and increase pollinator populations. There are also talks with College about having more vegan and vegetarian formals. This was brought up at the start of the year and it was great to see Emma Johnson, our JCR Vice President, push for this menu! By promoting campaigns within College and showing how easy it can be to do your part in the fight against climate change, I hope I am making an impact (no matter how small) on people ’ s lives and their daily actions.