Last update 22/07/08
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Minister
visits StudentForceThe Minister of Marine, Landscape and Rural Affairs, Jonathan Shaw MP visited
Oakham Station on Tuesday 10 June to tour the offices of StudentForce for
Sustainability and acknowledge the founding of the Community Stations
Initiative.
During the visit The Minister presented a plaque to StudentForce on behalf of
ACoRP and Network Rail, then enjoyed a working lunch of local
produce during which he welcomed the benefits the Community Stations Initiative
can bring to local people by offering empty, disused railway premises at a
peppercorn rent.
StudentForce were the first organisation to renovate and move into a disused
railway building brought about by the Community Stations Initiative.
Sara Branch, Resources Manager
Sustainable
Colleges ProjectSustainability charity StudentForce has for the last year been running a Learning and Skills Council funded Sustainable Colleges Project, reviewing and promoting sustainability in Further Education colleges in the East Midlands. European volunteers worked in nine colleges one day a week, with the support of the EU’s Youth in Action fund.
In addition to a baseline survey of sustainability in Further Education in the East Midlands, a variety of mini-projects were developed focusing on sustainability across the colleges’ buildings and estate, curriculum, community, leadership and management and institutional culture.
The project saw the creation of sustainability policies, a cross-college student survey, international links, People & Planet groups, the introduction of sustainability elements to a variety of courses and tutorials, a number of awareness-raising events, a variety of activities auditing the presence of sustainability in partner colleges, and much more.
Much of the work undertaken is now available as free resources on the project website at www.studentforce.org.uk/sca, along with the final report which fully explains the project process and details the activities undertaken.
As the project enters it second year in 2008-09, we hope to build on the
successes of the last year and, by working closely with a further eight
colleges, develop resources and good practice to benefit the sector as a whole.
Simon Winch, Sustainable Colleges Project Manager
CommunityCheck
ToolkitStudentForce was recently invited to present its new
Toolkit to Joan Ruddock MP and Minister for Climate Change, as one of
DEFRA’s pilot projects on sustainable consumption and production. The toolkit is
freely accessible to any local authority, organisation, university or college
which wishes to encourage young people or students to check out and support the
resource efficiency of local publicly-accessible buildings.
Adam Cade, Chief Executive
StudentForce
helps RCEs communicateStudentForce has helped set up RCE East Midlands as the UK’s first UN-endorsed Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development.
The United Nations University (UNU) and UNESCO have now formally approved and
supported over 60 Regional Centres of Expertise for ESD (RCEs) around the world.
They have recently invited the London South Bank University to consider
establishing such a regional network of champion organisations. Ros Wade,
Director of the Education for Sustainability Programme, has asked StudentForce
to assist her in setting up such a network. In the UK there are currently three
RCEs in the East Midlands, West Midlands and North-East regions. RCE status is
currently also being considered in all the other regions of England as well as
in Wales. Adam Cade, StudentForce’s Chief Executive, was also recently invited
to chair a conference hosted by the Welsh Assembly to consider RCE status for
Wales. As a way of encouraging effective and sustainable communication between
the 60 RCEs around the world StudentForce has also helped set up a professional
networking site
http://rcesesd.ning.com, RCE
Presentation.
Adam Cade, Chief Executive
The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) is a government agency with the
aim of improving the quality of leadership in the further and adult education
sector. StudentForce has recently helped CEL launch a Moodle website to promote
leadership in sustainable development to the Principals and senior management
teams in further and adult education colleges in England. The site aims to
encourage champions and others to communicate about leadership in sustainable
development in terms of campus management, curriculum development and community
links. This builds on StudentForce’s experience with its highly successful
Sustainable Colleges
Project.
Adam Cade, Chief Executive
New Team MemberHello everybody, my name is Jan Kronberger and as I started volunteering for
StudentForce just a couple of weeks ago I want to use this chance to introduce
myself. I am a 28-years-old graduate from Austria and finished my diploma
programme in Social Economics in November last year. As I am interested in
environmental and sustainable issues, as well as in working for
Not-for-Profit-Organisations, volunteering in the Sustainable Colleges Project
at StudentForce offers a good chance for me to start a new period of life as an
employed person.
The areas StudentForce operates in are similar to my main subjects at
University, and as I wanted to improve my skills with working abroad for a
while, I am sure the following year at StudentForce will be exactly that kind of
experience that I am looking for. As I already have had a great time so far, I
am looking forward to further challenges, interesting projects at Colleges and a
great time with many nice people and many possibilities.
Jan Kronberger, Sustainable College Assistant
Graphic
Design students encourage peers to be more eco-friendlyMatt Dalby and Robbie Ormrod, students on Rutland College’s Graphic Design course, last week showcased a series of posters they’d created promoting recycled products and waste reduction. The posters were displayed during a waste awareness event organised in the college with help from Oakham-based national charity StudentForce for Sustainability.
We created a series of posters to show to our generation that all materials are valuable and we can do cool things with products many people would just throw away, said Matt and Robbie. The posters were displayed at the college’s Let’s Talk Rubbish event, which aimed to promote new recycling facilities at the college.
Elsa Oliveira, a young French graduate, has been appointed by the college to work on sustainability projects and raise student awareness about sustainability and the environment. Elsa said of the students’ art: I’m really impressed with how Matt and Robbie have worked and thought about the environmental issues that today’s throw-away culture has created. Their work was really good - it was like working with professional designers. A new generation of eco-conscious teenagers seems to be coming along, with many students having an environmental awareness that influences their choices in their daily lives.
Matt and Robbie said: We took our inspiration mainly from looking at
the raw materials and trying to view them from a different perspective.
The posters will continue to be displayed around the college.
Elsa Oliveira, Sustainable Colleges Assistant
Let’s
Talk Rubbish!Students at Rutland College organised Let’s
Talk Rubbish!, a waste awareness event on 28th February with help
from Rutland charity StudentForce for Sustainability. The event marked the
launch of the College’s new recycling facilities and aimed to inspire students
by showing novel ways materials can be reused and recycled, encouraging them to
think creatively about their waste.
Let’s Talk Rubbish! featured trade and
awareness stalls showcasing recycled products and ethical brands, helping
students find out about more sustainable lifestyles and ethical ways of buying
products. Lots of students took part in workshops such as clothes restyling,
making purses from Tetrapak and making belts from tyres. There was also a
recycling quiz with a top prize of vouchers for ethical clothes company Howies.
Two Graphic Design students showcased a series of fun posters they’d created
promoting recycled products and waste reduction. Matt Dalby, 18, and Robbie
Ormrod, 19, wanted to show to their peers that all materials are valuable and
they can do cool things with products many people would just throw away.
Elsa Oliveira, Sustainable College Assistant
On a lovely sunny day the troops at StudentForce donned their walking boots and set off from Oakham Station towards Egleton Nature Reserve, at Rutland Water, to walk with the Warden. This team building event was a follow on from our successful cycle around Rutland Water last April. At the reserve we were met by Martin the Warden who took us for an informative walk explaining the new expansion plans, how the reserve is maintained, the types of birds that live there and how volunteers keep everything going.
After spending some time watching the birdlife we returned to the centre for a warming drink in the shop and also took a look at the excellent educational facilities. It was soon time to leave so we took in some more of the reserve before walking back to the office.
For more information on the reserve www.rutlandwater.org.uk/
Sara Branch,
Resources Manager
| Year | Type |
| IEMA 2007 | Press release |
| Aspect 2007 | Press release |
| Telegraph 2006 | Press article |
| Times 2005 | Press article |
| Volunteers with Grand Designs 2004 | Press release |
| PECT Accreditation 2003 | Press release |
| Year | Type |
| 2007/08 | News |
| 2006/07 | News |
| 2005/06 | News |