St Andrews Sustainability During Green Week

Haven’t we all thought at one time or another that we could be more environmentally friendly but have never actually done anything to change our habits? I discovered at the Environmental Subcommittee’s eco-friendly food and crafts fayre that even small changes can make a big difference. The event took place at the tail end of Green Week on 15 February in the St Andrews Town Hall. Twelve separate events took place throughout the week including a careers fayre, skills workshop, a cosy climate cafe, yoga society collaboration, a cow experience which turned into a film screening, and more. I only had the chance to attend this one event, but if the other society members were as welcoming as the ones I encountered, it would definitely have been worth it to attend them all. 

I was greeted at the door by the events coordinator, Gracie Larson-Anderson, who presented me with a selection of blood orange and cardamom upside down cake, raspberry chocolate cookies, vegan whipped cream, or a brownie. I chose the upside down cake with whipped cream, which was delicious. I walked over to the first table I saw which had an unusually large branch on top of it. Attached to the branch were pieces of (recyclable) paper on which people wrote their green intentions and tied them onto the tree with a string. After writing my own intention of shopping more sustainably, I wandered to the other stations around the room.

My first stop was the Sustainable Style table which had a rack of clothes available to view or purchase. Sustainable Style often hosts collaborations with the Environmental Subcommittee, including a pop-up right before Green Week’s thrift bop in case event-goers wanted to sustainably shop for a new outfit. They host sewing lessons to upcycle your own closet and clothing swaps about once a semester, which are free as long as participants bring clothes of their own. 

Next to sustainable style was a booth for The Eco Hub, a nonprofit store in St Andrews that also runs environmentally friendly initiatives such as the beach wheelchair rentals, iterating that sustainability extends to transportation. The Eco Hub was selling organic soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, skin balm, deodorant, coffee, kitchenware, and other tools such as a toothpaste device to maximise the use of our products. Everything had great prices because The Eco Hub is a non-profit, and I walked away with two 400 ml bottles of organic tea tree shampoo and conditioner for just under £12 (I have used it for a week, and my hair has never felt better). 

The next table was for Transition St Andrews, which I heard about from the two previous booths. The NGO is composed of students, staff, and community members who facilitate eco-friendly events such as St AndReuse Store, environmental pop-ups, and bike rentals, as well as work with the Environmental Subcommittee. Lastly, I talked to the Marine Society, whose members were asking people to write what they loved about the ocean on a postcard to take home or send to themselves. They promoted the society, explaining their weekly beach cleans, pub quizzes, and sea glass jewelry making to further connect St Andrews students to the ocean. 

After speaking to Larson-Anderson, she explained what a success Green Week was with the help of her events assistant Daisy Thomas-Baruya. The Environmental Subcommittee organizes a variety of community events throughout the year, including collaborations with other societies, cosy climate cafes, climate lectures, and more, all aimed at making the University a more environmentally friendly place. I left the event feeling motivated to change at least one portion of my everyday life to make the environment a better place: my hair care.

Graphic by Environmental Subcommittee