04 September 2024 Engaging campus life in sustainable practices

By encouraging new sustainable initiatives and innovations, Lincoln University’s Sustainability Fund is bringing new ideas to life on campus. Supported through the fund, Lincoln University’s annual Sustainability Week promotes participation in activities designed to help those on campus become more sustainable in their everyday lives.

The fund's creation has been driven by Lincoln University’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and net carbon zero by 2050. With air travel volumes returning to pre-COVID levels, the university has intensified efforts to cut carbon emissions from air travel, which made up 20% of the university’s annual carbon footprint in 2019. The introduction of a carbon charge on university air travel aims to reduce these emissions by at least 50% by 2030, based on the 2019 baseline. Funded by the carbon charge, Lincoln University’s Sustainability Fund awards monies to various projects across the university.

Held in August, the 2024 Sustainability Week was organised by the Lincoln University Students’ Association (LUSA), Lincoln Environmental Sustainability Society (LESS) and Sustainability Action Group for the Environment (SAGE). To run the event, the group received enormous support from students and staff who recognised the importance of this event.

Recycling challenge held on campus

Lincoln University Senior Tutor in the Department of Environmental Management John Gould, a leading member of SAGE, says, “I’m definitely seeing an improvement each year in the uptake of sustainable practices across campus. We need to keep moving in the right direction and that’s why Sustainability Week is so important – to keep raising awareness of the importance of everyone doing their bit to be more sustainable.”

This year's event received high participation rates across all activities. Over one hundred native seedlings, donated by Lincoln University’s Field Research Centre and Travis Wetland Trust, were planted on campus by 40 enthusiastic staff and student volunteers. Dr Colin Meurk supervised the planting and shared his wisdom about native trees and biodiversity along with offering a broader picture of native plantings in Canterbury.

A popular and well-attended event, a panel discussion looked at how New Zealanders are meeting the challenges of reducing agricultural emissions. Professor Anita Wreford provided a snapshot of the research undertaken nationally and at the university to reduce agricultural emissions. Dr Shannon Page spoke about the role of agrivoltaics and Lincoln University’s plans for an energy farm while Dr Charles Merfield shined a light on emissions reductions from an ecological perspective.

A strong focus of Sustainability Week is highlighting alternative ways to travel to the university using sustainable modes of transport. Whether walking, carpooling, driving an EV, taking a bus, riding a bike or Ebike, around 120 sustainable commuters were treated to a free pancake breakfast. Free bike servicing was also provided on campus with 22 bikes being repaired or serviced.

Often sustainability measures in buildings can go unnoticed by those who utilise them, so Lincoln University’s Sustainability Officer Patryk Szczerba guided a tour of the new Waimarie Building, with an overview of its many sustainability features given by Dave Bain, Change Manager of the Lincoln University Campus Development Programme. Dr Colin Meurk shared his knowledge of campus ecology and biodiversity as well.

Waste recycling challenges were run across campus, allowing students and staff to test their speed and accuracy in sorting items for waste, recycling and composting.

“We cover the breadth of ways everyone on campus can be proactive in being more sustainable, through their choice in transport, how they dispose of waste at home and the university, addressing issues surrounding carbon emissions and actively contributing to local biodiversity,” shares John.