Events

Go Green at BCU

Go Green at BCU

Each year we run a range of events and activities, including:

    • Animated drawing of calendar with a date coloured orange and circledEnvironmental stands at Welcome Week
    • Go Green at Graduate+ Week
    • Waste Awareness Week
    • Go Green Week activities and events
    • Sustainable travel sessions

Go Green Week at BCU

Upcoming events

Date Event Description
30 January 2025 BCU Repair Lab Students and staff can bring broken appliances and gadgets along on Thursday 30th January to see if they can be fixed at the BCU Repair Lab. The Lab will be based on Level 4 of Millennium Point (MP442) from 9am to 12pm. The repair team will talk you through the fixing process, giving you useful skills for the future.
27-31 January 2025 Go Green week at BCU BCU’s Sustainability team have organised a series of events and activities for students and staff to take part in during Go Green week - whether it’s a 5k run for mental health, clothing workshops or tree planting, there is something for everyone.
There will also be webinars run by the Globe Foundation, pop-up stalls selling sustainable products, tours to show off the biodiversity around campus and much more so make sure to get involved!
Monday 27 January 2025 Clothes swap shop and repair café Join us in the Parkside atrium from 10am-2pm if you would like to swap any of your unwanted clothes for some preloved clothes! There will also be the opportunity to learn how to repair any item of clothing you have that needs mending.
Tuesday 28 January 2025 Doughnut Economics webinar This webinar provided by the Globe Foundation will focus on a key sustainability model, Doughnut Economics. Taking part in this webinar will give you an insight into what humanity needs to survive and how humanity can thrive. The session will run from 2-3pm online and you can register via Zoom.
Wednesday 29 January and Wednesday 5 February 2025 Carbon Literacy programme This training helps participants gain an understanding of the impact of their everyday activities on the climate. The programme also covers how to reduce carbon emissions and explains why it is important to make these positive changes. You must attend both sessions to gain the certificate if you sign up. This session takes place from 3-6:30pm online and you can register via the form.
Thursday 30 January 2025 Sport and Climate webinar This is a great opportunity for students to gain further insight on the impact of Climate on Sport and vice-versa through a webinar run by the Globe Foundation. This session will run from 2-3pm online and you can register via Zoom.

Past events

Date Event Description
18-22 March 2024 Waste Awareness Week 2024 Coordinated by the Facilities Management (Contracts) and Environmental teams, the series of events that form Waste Awareness Week were an opportunity to learn more about what happens to your waste and the importance of recycling. Staff could also meet our waste partners to understand how our waste can be turned into a resource, and enter the recycling quiz to win a wireless Bluetooth speaker.
20-24 March 2023 Waste Awareness Week Following the success of our first Waste Awareness Week in 2022, we brought you more opportunities to learn about waste and recycling, win prizes, get involved, and have fun! We hosted a series of fantastic events, to learn more about what happens to your waste and the importance of recycling. Events included BCU’s first ever Common-Waste Games!
March 2023 SDG Teach In The annual SOS-UK SDG Teach In takes place throughout March, calling on educators to pledge to include the UN Sustainable Development Goals in their teaching, learning and assessments. To support the SDG Teach In, we ran an online session on Thursday 16 March 12-1pm, which provided an introduction to embedding sustainability in the curriculum. We also encouraged staff to join the BCU Education for Sustainable Development community of practice.
6-10 March 2023 Go Green at Graduate+ Week We organised a variety of environmental activities for Graduate+ Week, including two sessions run by The Globe Foundation; Climate Change and Climate Futures. The Community Environmental Trust and the Environmental Team also ran running drop-in activities in Curzon atrium on Monday 6 March 10am - 4pm, including the opportunity to make your own bee home from natural materials.
31 January 2023 January Welcome The Environmental Team took part in the City South Campus January Welcome event, encouraging students to sign up to the mailing list and play How Bad Are Bananas.
16 November 2022 Information Supermarket A refresh week was run for students, which included a variety of stalls to promote initiatives to students. The Environmental Team ran a stall to encourage joining our mailing list and sustainability groups. 
31 October - 4 November 2022 Go Green at Graduate+ Week Instead of a running a separate Go Green Week this year, we incorporated environmental activities into Graduate+ Week. This included a wildflower plug planting session at Conservatoire, willow weaving with the Community Environmental Trust and workshops on Eco Eats and Eco Gifts by The Globe Foundation. The Environmental Team also ran stall to promote their work and play the How Bad Are Bananas game.
14 September 2022 Welcome event We ran an engaging stall at the BCUSU Welcome Fair, with goodies from The Clean Kilo to be won by anyone that signed up to our mailing list. We also promoted Hedgehog Friendly Campus and encouraged students to sign-up to our Sustainable Students Teams group and Bicycle User Group.
25 May 2022 Cycle security and safety event Drop-in sessions were held at both City Centre and City South Campus by  by the BCU Security Team, with WM Police and Bike Register. Advice was given, and discounted D-Locks and bike register marking kits were on sale.
21 - 25 March 2022 Waste Awareness Week We ran our first ever Waste Awareness Week, to encourage and promote reducing, reusing and recycling. Events included litter picks, a waste sort and segregate session and waste and recycling fairs. 
21 Feb - 6 March 2022 Fairtrade Fortnight We celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight  this year with competitions, online events and delicious Fairtrade freebies.
January 2022 Veganuary We spent the month celebrating all things plant based, including Meat Free Monday menu options, plant-based food on a budget cooking demonstrations and tasting sessions, as well as a talk on how to make more environmentally friendly food choices with renowned Food Forward chef Jenny Chandler. BCU Catering also held vegan home baking stall roadshows across our campuses. The amazing Food Forward visited each campus, with cooking demonstrations and talks around the benefits of plant-based eating. We have also set up a Veganuary Teams group for staff and students to share plant based recipes and ideas!
8-12 November 2021 Go Green Week  During the second week of COP26, one of the most significant events in the climate movement, we ran a series of environmental events for BCU Go Green Week. COP26 was the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties and was hosted in Glasgow. The summit brought international parties together to accelerate actions towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Wednesday 15 September 2021 Welcome event We had an engaging stall at the BCUSU Welcome Fair, where we promoted the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme and encouraged students to sign-up to our Sustainable Students Teams group, Bicycle User Group and receive updates from us. We also had sustainable giveaways including reusable cups. 
Wednesday 21 July 2021 BCU Biodiversity Action Plan consultation Ecological surveys have been carried out across BCU sites over and this was an opportunity for staff, students and the local community to find out about the results of the surveys and how they could input into our Biodiversity Action Plan.
Thursday 13 May 2021 Dr Bike at City Centre Campus Staff and students could book a 15 minute slot with a mechanic, who would made minor repairs and ensure that your bike is roadworthy.
Monday 10 May 2021 Dr Bike at City South Campus Staff and students could book a 15 minute slot with a mechanic, who would made minor repairs and ensure that your bike is roadworthy.
Thursday 29 April 2021 Dr Bike at City Centre Campus Staff and students could book a 15 minute slot with a mechanic, who would made minor repairs and ensure that your bike is roadworthy.
Wednesday 14 April 2021 Commuting by bike webinar Cycling UK ran a webinar for BCU staff and students, who commute by bike or are thinking about it. The session included tips and tricks on the practicalities of cycling in an urban environment, including road positioning, bike set up and equipment basics.
8 – 12 March 2021 Go Green Week We organised a series of virtual talks, including Eco Eats: Budget-friendly food, Surfers Against Sewage - Plastic Free talk, Bats in Birmingham and the Black Country and Helping Hedgehogs, as well as Dr Bike sessions. 
22 Feb – 7 March 2021 Fairtrade Fortnight This year we celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight remotely, with lots of activities for you to get involved with. These included our Fairtrade banana selfie competition and Fairtrade cooking demos from @BCUCatering.
20 January 2021 2021 Clean Air Zone webinar We joined BCC to find out all about the upcoming Clean Air Zone in Birmingham, which goes live on 1 June 2021 and will charge the highest polluting vehicles to drive within the city centre. A recording of the session can be viewed here. 
January 2021 Veganuary We hosted a Veganuary photo competition and shared your favourite plant-based recipes. 
December 2020 Sustainable Christmas Online workshops were run by The Globe Foundation, teaching the art of Furosjiki gift-wrapping and origami Christmas cards.
September 2020 Welcome event We hosted virtual welcome events including 'keen to be green?' and travel updates with Transport for West Midlands and National Express.