Welcome to our 2022 Student Sustainability Architects - part 2
The Sustainability Service has welcomed our 2022 cohort of Student Sustainability Architects to the team! Find out more about who they are and the projects they will be working on this year.
Student Sustainability Architect roles are part time paid positions that help to deliver and support sustainability projects at the University. They bring new ideas and a student perspective to projects that align with the University's strategic objectives. This year's projects include biodiversity monitoring programmes, sustainability careers events, developing campus trails, embedding sustainability in the curriculum and reducing plastic use in labs.
In this, the second of our two-part post, you can meet our next seven Student Sustainability Architects and find out more about the projects they'll be working on. Throughout the year we'll be sharing updates on the progress they've made.
Let's meet our architects!
Ejiro Matilda Ikoko
School: Institute for Transport Studies
Degree programme: PhD Transport Planning
Project area: I am the student ambassador for the Faculty of Environment.
About me:
My goal within sustainability architect role is to help create and promote a sustainability culture amongst students including PhDs across the faculty, by developing and engaging students in inclusive initiatives on sustainability.
I am, and have always been very passionate about inclusion. For instance, my PhD research is focused on inclusive Mobility as a Service for vulnerable groups. I believe that society should not exclude anyone if we all start thinking sustainably.
Students are the future of today and tomorrow. Thus, in order to create a society where sustainability becomes part of our daily lives, we have to make conscious efforts to create a sustainability culture, now.
My vision is to raise awareness and encourage students in the Faculty of Environment to engage in sustainability activities within and outside the university.
Julie Marietti
School: Politics
Degree programme: Study Abroad Full Year Program (Erasmus) / Third year
Project area: I work in collaboration with the Residential Services to build the Biodiversity Action Plan in the University residences.
About me:
I want to get involved in sustainability because I feel concerned about climate change and I want to take part to the ecological transition. I am convinced citizens and youth actions are crucial to lead this transition. I am especially interested in increasing biodiversity and reducing waste.
I am passionate about environment (it’s not a surprise), but also politics, travels and cinema. As a student sustainability architect, I would like to increase significantly biodiversity in residences while reducing waste.
Mary Fleming
School: Faculty of Biological Sciences
Degree programme: MSc Biodiversity and Conservation
Project area: I’m working on the Edible Campus project with the University Sustainability Garden at its heart.
About me:
I’m really excited to have the opportunity to engage with fellow students about sustainable gardening, where it can take you, and how a few small changes can make a big impact on your carbon footprint and in turn the effort towards net zero.
There is so much to learn from sustainable gardening about farming, food sourcing, diet, and it all starts with quite literally planting the seed!
I’m passionate to introduce other students to these ideas through the expansion of the Edible Campus as far as into their own back yards. I’m hoping this year to create an Edible Campus trail map, alongside other campus trails, as well as gardening workshops and plant swaps.
Oliver Bramley
School: School of Chemistry / Sustainability Service
Degree programme: Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry
Project area: I will be working on the Natural Flood Management (NFM) and weather dashboard projects.
About me:
I have always been interested in sustainability and climate change but only been able to make personal changes. I am looking forward to seeing how large and important institutions can make effective change. I am interested in how new technology can be combined with research to make sustainable improvements and decisions.
I would like the official launch of the NFM project help to inform a large part of the student and wider Leeds community about the importance of flood management. I hope that it will get more people to visit the site and see the changes that have been made there and possibly contribute to the biodiversity monitoring there.
I would like to see the Dashboard launched and begin to be used to by the grounds team to inform choices they make. In the long term I want the data the dashboard will collate to be used to track the effectiveness of the NFM project.
Reuben O’Connell
School: School of Biological Sciences
Degree programme: Undergraduate Biology
Project area: I will be working on coordination of the campus biodiversity ambassadors living lab project.
About me:
At Leeds we have an amazing campus – in the middle of a city, yet dotted with lovely green space, and filled with wildlife.
I’m excited to join the amazing team and help to maintain and improve biodiversity at our university. Not only does this help the environment, I believe that everyone can benefit from engaging in the natural world around them – its interesting, its beautiful and we all should have a chance to enjoy it.
Sam Brooke
School: School of Earth and Environment
Degree programme: Sustainability and Environment Management (Integrated Masters)
Project area: I’ll be working on the biodiversity monitoring programme on the Brownlee Centre.
About me:
I’ve always been interested in the practical side of conservation, especially working out in nature, so I’m looking forward to investigating the ecosystem around the site. Having refuges for nature is important to me because it benefits everyone, providing a haven for wildlife to flourish and for people to discover.
Eleanor Pettem
School: School of Earth and Environment
Degree programme: Environmental Science
Project area: 2022 Student Sustainability Conference.
About me:
I’ll be working with Laura Wilkinson Hewitt on organising and delivering the 2022 Student Sustainability Conference. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the exciting sustainability research students Leeds universities have to offer!
Sustainability is a core concept of the majority of my course’s modules, so to be able to learn about it further and put it into practice is something I’m grateful to have the opportunity to do. Climate is something I am particularly passionate about both in my course and outside it, so the climate theme of this year’s conference is something which aligns with my personal interests.
Missed meeting our first six architects? Read the first part of this post here.
How can you help?
If you would like to get involved in any of the above projects or anything we do as a Sustainability Service, do get in touch by contacting us at: sustainability@leeds.ac.uk
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United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work reducing single-use plastic is linked to the following SDGs:
- Goal 4: Quality education
- Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- Goal 13: Climate action
- Goal 15: Life on land
- Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.