Last week saw two very exciting sustainability events take place.
The student-led Sustainability Society is comprised of students from Business Management and Sustainability BA, Biological Laboratory Sciences FdSc and Access, alongside lecturers Elena, Jason, Jo, Caroline, Jess and Joe.
The team all worked enormously hard on the events, which included sustainability workshops at the Tropicana in Weston-super-Mare and a beach clean on Monday, and a Youth Summit on the Community Energy in partnership with Burnham and Weston Energy CIC on Wednesday. The summit included a range of phenomenal guest speakers from industry including, Lynda Wookey from Burnham and Weston Energy CIC and Amelia Crews from Younity, the funders of the Youth Summit. Further panel members included Kate Eastment from Garden Organic , Alex Watson from Michelmores, and Joe Tristram from Centre for Sustainable Energy (Bristol).
The summit was designed to raise awareness of issues relating to sustainability and, in particular, community energy.
The summit was attended by 200 people including Weston College Level 3 students from a range of programmes as well as pupils from Priory and Worle school.
We would like to give special recognition to Level 3 Travel and Tourism students who presented their wonderful ideas on sustainable travel. We would also like to give thanks to Lynda, Burnham and Weston Energy CIC, and Younity without whom the event would not have been possible.
The event was truly inspirational in transforming the way we think about energy, our own consumption and the role young people have in shaping our future.
Here is what our attendees had to say:
“Thank you. It was a great day. And some fantastic seeds sown that are sure to yield fruit in the future. It was a great opportunity to network with other drivers in the cause. Made some great contacts Thank YOU”.
Pete Lane, Lecturer in Foundation Learning FIP
“It was exiting to be a part of such an important project. Great to inspire and engage young people into thinking, what steps can be taken to help the environment. I really enjoyed coming up with ideas for the event”.
Emma Flemming, HE Biolab student.
“Thanks so much for having us on Wednesday, it was lovely to be a part! Community Energy needs young people at the heart of the movement, both to ensure longevity and to utilise their curiosity and perspectives. The youth summit was a perfect opportunity to introduce the concept and engage the next generation!”
Amelia Crews, Community Renewables Engagement Lead: Younity
“Thank you. It was great event which we personally also found inspiring and happy that our contribution was well received. It was a really well-run event and the talks were all so interesting. If you do anything similar in the future, please do let us know.”
Ocean Acheson-Crow and David Dodd, Waste Minimisation and Recycling Team: North Somerset Council
A big thank you to all who participated to make the event such a success!
