One Planet Week

Food is a big part of our local economy from agricultural production, food producers to local shops and restaurants.

• Live Cooking Demo - Tuesday 15 February 12:30

Find out what locally sourced seasonal food you can use to create a delicious veggie dish in our live cooking demo with our Head Executive Chef, Dave Martin. We’ll send you the recipe so you can cook up your own version. If you show us one of the dishes on social media (uploading a photo to marketing@york.ac.uk by Monday 21 February) you could win a £50 voucher to be spent at local businesses!

• Opportunities for the local circular economy through urban vertical farming - Thursday 17 February 12:00

What if we could use the concept of the circular economy to ensure that the wastes from one part of a city could be used in another part of the same city?

What does a sustainable economy look like and how can it be developed and promoted? These events look at what changes are needed to develop a sustainable local economy and how this can be approached at different scales, from within the local Yorkshire region through to localisation at a truly global scale.

• Sustainability Forum - Monday 14 February 18:30

Following the recent publication of the University of York’s 2021 - 2030 Sustainability Plan, join us for this YUSU and UoY organised open forum event: to give everyone the opportunity to add their voice to the conversation around sustainability at York. 

• Building Yorkshire's "Bioeconomy" - Tuesday 15 February 18:30 - POSTPONED Check UOY Events Page for new date

Find out what the bioeconomy is and why it is a great economic opportunity for the Yorkshire Region.

• Crowdsourcing your business growth - Wednesday 16 February 16:00

Developing a sustainable economy will require new businesses. Explore the future of entrepreneurial support and how to use the insights from the ever-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in a business to really drive success

• Localisation from an international big-picture perspective - Thursday 17 February 18:30

For decades, we have been tackling our multiple crises – global warming, pollution, inequality etc - from a single-issue perspective. It is high time to drop the single-issue approach and focus on system change.

Fair and equitable access to work as well as resources is crucial to produce a sustainable future for all. These talks and workshops address ways to ensure an equitable response from sharing responsibilities within a working environment to ensuring all people have access to the energy and water they need.

• Water for All: Facts, Footprints and ways to save it! - Monday 14 February 10:30

Organised by Lina Khattab, a doctoral researcher with the York Management School, this event is aimed at undergrad and postgrad students - With an online presentation from WaterWise and a live quiz (with prizes!), it aims to raise awareness about the value of water, as one of the most vital natural resources.

• We are Suma: a democratic workplace without bosses - Monday 14 February 12:30

The experiences of working in a successful business with no bosses.

• Energy Saving Workshop with Yorkshire Energy Dr - Wednesday 16 February 16:00

Want to save money on your energy bills AND help save the planet? Explore all things energy-saving related, including bills, student housing and fuel poverty, in this collaborative workshop from Yorkshire Energy Dr, YUSU and University of York.

• A Carbon Literacy taster session on Equity & Climate Justice - Friday 18 February 12:30

How much do you know about climate change and social justice? Try our quiz in this Carbon Literacy taster session and find out more about why you should become Carbon Literate.

Some of the problems associated with sustainability are too big to change on your own, but together we can work within the community to make a difference and to have fun while we are learning more about sustainability.

• Managing the Campus to Encourage Biodiversity - Monday 14 February 15:00 - On Campus

A talk from our Grounds and Ecology Manager on the range of habitats, plant and wildlife to be found on campus and how it is managed to promote and increase biodiversity.

• Upcycling: Plastic Flowers and Plant Pots - Monday 14 February 16:00 - JJs Common Room

Join Halifax College in turning your plastic and glass bottles into something new for One Planet Week.

• Anne Lister College Quiz Night - Monday 14 February evening

Check Anne Lister social media for details: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

• How you can take action on climate change - Wednesday 16 February 13:00

An introduction to the GIKI app that we are using in the UoY Carbon Reduction Challenge - find out more about how it can help you to take simple steps to reducing your carbon, water and land footprints.

• Climate Change and You: Documentary and Discussion - Thursday 17 February 18:00 - St Lawrence Common Room

Join Halifax College for a short documentary, learn about climate action and discuss with others action you can take.

• Guitar and Bass Repair and Maintenance Workshop - Friday 18 February 15:00

Does your guitar/bass/pedal/amplifier not work how it should, not play how you want it to, or not make the sounds that you would like? Do you want to hear about effects pedals, from how to choose and use them effectively, to how you can build your own? A repair and maintenance workshop for guitars and basses hosted by Wentworth College for University of York staff and students.

We moved all our activities online for 2021 and covered sustainability related to Culture and Community, including sharing a virtual meal in our online cooking demo. We also looked at how different communities are affected by the climate crisis and how sustainability solutions can affect and interact with those with disabilities. Some of the presentations from the week are available on our OPW21 playlist on our Sustainability Youtube Channel

OPW20 was on the theme of Zero Carbon and included a range of educational and practical events to show how low carbon living could be achieved.  We teamed up with GIKI to help people find low carbon foods when they shop and ran a community volunteering event to plant 1000 trees for One Planet both on campus and on local school and community recreation grounds. Some of the presentations from the week can be found on the OPW20 playlist of our Sustainability Youtube channel.

#OPW19

OPW2019 had some great events from the Ocean Plastics Exhibition to Ethical Clothes Swaps, Quizzes, Tombola, Eco-cafe crawls and making your own Beeswax Wrap workshop.

We also had our "More Sustainable Options" labels in the Nisa in Market Square, which highlighted local and seasonal products, vegan options, Fairtrade accreditations, recycled materials, and/or use of sustainable palm oil.

Our calendar below shows all the activities which ran throughout the week.

The calendar is visible to all members of the University - you need to be logged into your University Google Account to see it. Click the +Google Calendar button (bottom right) to subscribe to the calendar.

#OPW18

In 2018 staff and students demonstrated their commitment to the theme (and principle) of Zero Waste! 

Starting with a Karaoke Night in the Courtyard, #OPW18 included a range of workshops from upcycling to fixing musical instruments; a college recycling audit competition; a Zero Waste Challenge; a virtual Wonder Wander in the 3Sixty Room; and building a bug hotel building - to name but a few.