Last month, colleagues and students came together to take part in Carbon Literacy Action Day (CLAD), an international event designed to bring people together and engage and empower them to take action against the climate crisis.
Our event at Bath was held largely for our current staff and students but was also open to participants from other universities globally. It was great to connect those on campus with people from other parts of the world, from Mexico to the Netherlands! This brought diverse richness to group activities and allowed participants to take inspiration from being part of a more significant movement for change.
While the University delivers Climate Literacy courses each year, for this event we wanted to give any community member an equal opportunity to participate regardless of where they are. By running it as a hybrid event, we were able to bridge the gap between those studying on exchange and those working or studying in Bath.
Throughout the day, participants learnt about the science of climate change, as well as calculating their personal carbon footprint and evaluating different options to reduce it, such as by looking at how they travel, what they eat and energy use in the home.
Here are what some participants had to say about the workshop
Clementine Seymour, MBA Careers and External Engagement Officer from the School of Management, undertook the course and said:
“Climate Literacy is a fantastic opportunity for members of staff to find out what they can do to help achieve net zero; it highlights the importance of taking climate action and showcases interesting facts you may not have heard before. From travel to eating habits, there are several topics that we delved into, and I left feeling inspired and motivated. As a keen ‘greenie’ already, when it came to deciding what my pledge would be, I decided to help create a green team in the School of Management, so I am hopeful of getting this in place and collaborating with fellow colleagues.”
Alex Whitwell, BSc (Hons) Architecture, currently on exchange at TU Delft, is a student who participated in CLAD via our online session and said:
“Taking part in CLAD made me more conscious of some aspects of the climate emergency that I hadn’t considered before. One area I became much more aware of was how different foods within food groups had different carbon footprints. For instance, fish is higher than chicken, which surprised me! I’ve made changes to my diet and other activities in response. I’ve been passionate about sustainability at work and in my private life for a while, and I wanted to take part in CLAD to gain a more thorough understanding of the facts and figures behind it. I was really surprised by the different impacts small daily changes could have. For instance, turning your thermostat down by only 2°C could save up to 700kg CO2e per year, while having a short shower might save just 80kg. All these small changes are important, but I was surprised which ones were more impactful. I would definitely recommend the course to other students; it was a great way to become more knowledgeable about the details of climate action. It was great speaking to other people on the course who all came from different backgrounds, and we learned almost as much from each other as from the course itself.”
By bringing together staff and students from all corners of the University, Climate Literacy Action Day proved to be a successful event in promoting climate action and sustainability. The participants' experiences and feedback demonstrate how crucial it is to educate individuals about their carbon footprint and the impact of their daily actions. The event was a testament to the University's commitment to making a long-lasting and positive change in our community and beyond.
Become Climate Literacy Certified
If you want to join us in our next Climate Literacy session, please email the Climate Action Team. If you want to take climate action now but are unsure where to start, visit our student and staff action webpages to help you get started. Remember, every small change counts!
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