Teaming up with city universities for 'Brum Goes Green' sustainability week

University College Birmingham has teamed up with two other universities for a week-long campaign to encourage sustainability, reduce food waste and help clean up the city.

Three days of events are being held to mark 'Brum Goes Green 2019', a collaborative drive between UCB, Aston University and Birmingham City University, along with local organisations and charities.

The week kicked off today (Monday 18 March) with a Sustainable Travel Fair at Summer Row and McIntyre House, where National Express and West Midlands Trains were offering freebies to students and staff. Birmingham Bike Foundry were also in attendance to offer advice on cycle safety and maintenance.

UCB volunteers will then take part in a Collaborative Canal Clear-Up on Tuesday 19 March, helping to keep the city clean by picking litter from a stretch of the canal around the University campuses. The bags of rubbish will then be collected by a canal boat provided by the Canal & River Trust.

Anyone wishing to join the team for the clear-up, which takes place from 12-2pm, is urged to pre-book by emailing sustainability@ucb.ac.uk, or you can turn up on the day at the meeting point in Summer Row reception.

This is followed by a 'Waste Free Day' event held in Birmingham's Victoria Square on Wednesday 20 March, where Culinary Arts Management students from UCB will be cooking up a special lunch using 'wonky vegetables' donated by local supermarkets and food waste charities before handing out free meals to the community.

Students are invited to watch the cooking demonstrations and find out more about local organisations such as Vegware and The Clean Kilo, while you can also claim a free lunch by bringing along your student ID and a container. The event runs from 10.30am-2pm.

UCB Facilities Operations Officer Tom Hacker said: “We are really excited to be teaming up for the first time with other universities within the city and hope that the collaborative week will have a positive impact on the city we share.

“At UCB, we are committed to embedding sustainable practice into all of our activities for staff, students and stakeholders and are fundamentally aiming to achieve EcoCampus status.”

Find out more about the plan of events here and follow the campaign on social media with the hashtag #BrumGoesGreen2019.