The Students’ Union and UWE Bristol have teamed up with local Bristol charity – The Converging World (TCW), to fulfil an aim of planting a forest area the size of Frenchay - UWE Bristol’s biggest campus.

The Students’ Union Green Team have been encouraging staff and the student community to make a donation of just £3.27, which will enable TCW to plant trees in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

By gifting a tree, you are helping to invest not only in the future of the planet but will also be providing a livelihood for communities in Tamil Nadu, who sell the trees to TCW and then plant and maintain the trees for a year. The trees also provide the local community with shade, medicines and fruit, give wildlife a home, and absorb CO2 emissions – all of that for £3.27, what a bargain!

This project allows students and staff to make a positive contribution to a movement that will help offset the worst effects of climate change, while also supporting communities in the developing world. The project also aims to educate and empower individuals to think about their carbon footprint and how they can reduce it.

TCW has estimated that if all students and staff donated enough money to plant two trees, the campaign will have been a success. We are also delighted to announce that The Wallscourt Foundation, an independent charitable foundation that supports education and learning at UWE Bristol, has pledged to match fund donations up to £22,500.

Evan Botwood, The Students’ Union at UWE’s Vice-President for Societies and Communication, said:

“UWE Bristol students are really engaged in sustainability and are keen to take action in reducing our carbon footprint. Partnering with The Converging World is an easy choice, because they stand for both ecological and social justice.”

Professor of Environmental Science and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability at UWE Bristol, James Longhurst, said:

“I am delighted that we and The Converging World are collaborating on this important initiative that raises awareness about the impact of climate change whilst providing a very practical contribution to help minimise the effects.

“Trees provide a vitally important carbon sequestration role but equally offer many other biodiversity, cultural and spiritual benefits.

“UWE Bristol has set itself an ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 – initiatives like this will help the university community as it undertakes the challenging journey to carbon neutrality.”

Here at The Students’ Union, we embed sustainability into everything that we do. This year, for the third year in a row we were the highest scoring students’ union at the NUS National Green Impact awards, this not only shows our commitment to reducing our impact on the planet but also shows the dedication that the student community has to improve sustainability.

If you would like to find out how you get involved with sustainability at The Students’ Union, please contact thegreenteam@uwe.ac.uk.

If you would like to make a donation to our campaign, please click here.