Monday 6th March to Friday 10th March, 2023

Join us for a week of awareness-raising action, culminating in a Sustainability Festival.

Sustainability Week has a mix of in-person and virtual events, inviting the University community to learn more about the climate action Newcastle University takes, and what they can do to get involved.

The week is brought to you by multiple departments across the University, and promotes external events in the local community.

Meet the Sustainability Team

12:00-14:00, Philip Robinson Library

For staff and students

Organised by the Sustainability Team

The Sustainability Team will be bringing their pop-up stall to the Robinson Library! Students and staff are welcome to come and meet members of the team and find out more about the University's Sustainability initiatives and how you can get involved. 

SustainaWHAT?!

14:00-16:00, 6.19 Henry Daysh Building

For postgraduate students

Organised by PGR Research and Education for Sustainable Development Team

This SustainaWHAT?! event is the first in a series of events in 2023. These have been co-created by the PGR Research and Education for Sustainable Development Team – a multidisciplinary group of PGRs and staff from across Newcastle University (and School X) in collaboration with PGR/staff teams at Cardiff and Bournemouth universities.

All postgraduate students are wlecome to particpate in these events to develop their awareness of the SDGs. They will have an opportunity to explore their research through the sustainability lens, share ideas and skills with a sustainability-minded community, and hear from interdisciplinary speakers, and extend their network.

Sustainability in Fast Fashion; What is the role of the consumer?

15:00-16:30, Online Panel

For staff and students

Organised by the Business School PG Sustainability Forum

This event will be a panel discussion exploring the impact the fast fashion industry has on our environment, the alternatives available and the role we play as consumers, in limiting those impacts. The panel will be chaired by Professor Tracy Scurry (Professor of Work & Employment) and will include Professor Diana Gregory- Smith (Professor of Marketing and Sustainability at Newcastle University Business School), Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas (Professor of Marketing and Sustainable Business at the British School of Fashion, GCU London), Ms Jo Lineham (Sustainability columnist with The Sunday Times and former Fashion Editor & Stylist) and Mukilan Deivarajan Suresh (NUSU Environment & Ethics Rep).

Tour of the National Green Infrastructure Facility

15:00-16:00, Urban Sciences Building, Newcastle Helix (formerly Science Central)

For staff and students

Organised by the Sustainability Team

A guided tour of the National Green Infrastructure Facility at Newcastle Helix into sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Learn about the different types of planting and green roof that are being used by researchers at the University to better understand how to reduce the risk of flooding while increasing biodiversity.

Please meet in the foyer of the Urban Sciences Building, around the large, green National Green Infrastructure Facility flags.

Climate Connections - A Climate Anxiety Workshop

10:30-12:00, 1.69 King George VI Building

For staff and students

Organised by the Student Health and Wellbeing Service

Many adults in the UK report feeling overwhelmed and worried about climate change. This rise in eco-anxiety is the result of personal experience, constant media coverage and an increasing pressure to minimise our environmental impact. The Climate Connections workshop will demonstrate how we can all take small, affordable, everyday steps to reduce our environmental footprint and provide a boost to our mental health and wellbeing.

Conservation for Wellbeing at Gibside

10:00-12:00, Gibside

For students

Organised by the Student Health and Wellbeing Service

Helping others and making a difference to our social and environmental landscape not only improves our natural world, it can help our own sense of wellbeing. Come with to Gibside to assist in a conservation task in the beautiful Spring countryside and see for yourself how helping our planet helps us out too. (Travel included)

Forest Walk and Talk at Gibside

10:00-12:00, Gibside

For students

Organised by the Student Health and Wellbeing Service

Join us for Forest Bathing at Gibside! This Japanese practice is a process of relaxation; known in Japan as shinrin yoku. The simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply can help de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way. (Travel included)

Fossil Free Careers Campaign Workshop

13:00-14:00, G.10 Percy Building

For staff and students

Organised by students 

This workshop is run by students to provide an overview of People and Planet's Fossil Free Careers campaign. They will explain why the campaign was started at the University, what's been done so far and what's happening next.

End/Future Festival: Human Impact on the Planet: Manufactured Landscapes

19:00, Tyneside Cinema

External event

External event. The Human Impact on the Planet: Manufactured Landscapes is a documentary film exploring the work of Ed Burtynsky. Burtynsky is a renowned photographer who explores landscapes that have undergone irreversible change due to industrialisation and globalisation. The film is followed by a discussion presented in partnership with the Anthropocene Research Group. 

This film is part of Tyneside Cinema's End/Future Festival, an event exploring the future of civilisation including the impacts of the Climate Crisis.

Sustainability Festival

10:00-14:00, Lindisfarne Room, Hadrian Building

For staff and students

Organised by the Sustainability Team

An in-person Sustainability Festival showcasing the work the University is doing on sustainability as well external partners we work with. There will be a variety of stalls/talks/activities sharing information and advertising opportunities staff/students can get involved in.

At the festival you'll find:

• the Natural History Society of Northumbria
• Keenan's, our food waste contractors
• Biffa, our general waste contractors
• ResLife, our student accommodation support and engagement initiative
• the Sustainability Team
• staff from global education promoting the Pagoda Project
• NUSU Give It A Go making tea lights via upcycling from 12:00-14:00

End/Future Festival: Climate Change & the North East: Finite: The Climate of Change

19:00, Tyneside Cinema

External event

Finite: The Climate of Change is a documentary film which brings the climate crisis home to the North East. The film highlights the struggle of community groups in the fight against climate change. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with the film's director and local environmental campaigners.

This film is part of Tyneside Cinema's End/Future Festival, an event exploring the future of civilisation including the impacts of the Climate Crisis.