Swap disposable plastic bottles/coffee cups for re-usable

Café Nero, Costa, and Starbucks all have offers when you get your coffee in a re-usable cup, so instead of adding to the 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups that are thrown away each year (estimated by Costa), save money by taking your own!

Save yourself that £1.50 for a plastic bottle of water, and invest in a steel water bottle. It keeps your water cool throughout the day, and you can fill up at home, in your local coffee shop, or at one of the University’s water fountains around campus, for free! Find your nearest campus water fountain here.

Take your own bags to the shops

Did you know that bags for life use up to three times more plastic than single use carrier bags? They’re also sturdier, making them much more detrimental when getting into natural environments. Make sure you’re getting the most of your bags for life, remember to take them to the shops with you and avoid buying more than you need. Or, take your backpack with you to shop, or any other bags that you use in your day to day life to avoid the plastic option completely!

Say no to plastic cutlery when you order in

Plastic straws, forks spoons, are included in many fast food options, and many can’t be recycled. However, most places on Deliveroo or UberEats let you choose whether or not they include plastic cutlery. Whenever you’re able, make sure you’re saying no to these single-use plastic items.

Cling film can’t be recycled, but tinfoil can!

Clingfilm is made from polyvinylidene chloride (PVC) and does not degrade. Manufacturing PVC releases dioxins that is toxic to humans. Swap out cling film for tinfoil, which (once clean) can be recycled! Even better, use reusable lunch boxes or beeswax wraps. Either way, make sure you’re avoiding clingfilm wherever you can.

Ditch the glitter

Glitter is made from aluminium or plastic coated in paint or metal and it’s everywhere. You can find glitter in body lotions, bath bombs, eyeshadows, and generally all over the beauty industry. Glitter is made of microplastics and microplastics never dissipate. It wreaks havoc on biodiversity and marine life.

Did you know there’s no limit on how long it takes a product to break down when it’s labelled ‘biodegradable’? Or that some biodegradable material require specialist treatment in order to do so? That means even when products like glitter are labelled such, it doesn’t guarantee that the product is eco-friendly. By the time some biodegradable plastics have broken down, they’ve already caused harm to the environment.

Some eco-friendly glitter alternatives are coloured sand, salt, coloured rice, certain face paints, sugar, and crushed glass. Of course not all of these can be used cosmetically, but options like glass can work great for craft projects.

Controlling waste at the University

Did you know that less than 5% of the University’s overall waste ends up in landfill? This is because the University is committed to maximising reuse, recycling as much as possible, and reducing the amount of waste produced.

 See more on the University’s sustainability efforts here.

Tuesday 17 January is International Mentoring Day. To celebrate, we wanted to remind you of the great Peer Mentoring programme available to students at UoB.

What is a Peer Mentor?

Peer Mentors are students with a bit of experience of the University and of Bristol. They are usually in their second or third years and can give guidance to our new students, who might still be learning their way around the city and University. Where possible, we aim to match new students to mentors studying a similar subject to them. However, you may choose to be matched based on a protected characteristic; this could be:

• LGBTQ+ identity
• Faith, ethnic or cultural background
• Care leaver or estranged student status
• Mature student status.

How can a Peer Mentor help me?

Peer Mentors can help point you to services and support if and when you need it. They can also help with practical advice, such as:

• What to bring to university
• Local amenities and attractions
• Help finding societies and events
• Meeting for a chat
• Giving you a campus tour.

What can being a Peer Mentor do for me?

Being a Peer Mentor can help with:

• Training & skills development
• Influential reference for future employment
• Work experience which can count towards the Bristol PLUS award
• Increased confidence and self esteem.

Feedback from 2021/22 showed that students who had been peer mentored felt more settled at university. 78.3% felt the programme had Improved their student experience and 73.9% felt more confident at university!

Thoughts from current Peer Mentors

‘University is a scary, exciting and new time. Having someone kind to guide you through it can make a huge difference.’ – Leanne Price, Senior Peer Mentor

‘Peer Mentors offer amazing support to new students. Mentors understand that starting university can be a daunting experience, and thus, ensure that they pass on their knowledge and experience, making it much easier to settle in. They are also always available to listen to any issues, and will provide suitable advice, either directly, or by signposting to other support services.’ – Current Senior Peer Mentor

Do check out the programme if you’re interested in finding out more.

It’s nearly the end of term – and we hope you have had a good one!

Many of you will soon be leaving Bristol to see family and friends, but when you return will it feel like you are coming home? And if you are staying in Bristol, does that mean Bristol is already home to you, or will you be wishing you were somewhere else… maybe somewhere warmer?

We asked our student champions Josh and Lottie about what they’ve done to make Bristol feel like home. For Lottie creating a playlist was the key to comfort, and for Josh it was about making his room a place to relax in.

Josh:

To make my uni room feel more homely, I like to bring plenty of stuff from home to decorate with (and sometimes I go a bit overboard). I have photos plastered all over my walls (using blue tack alternatives to not stain the walls of course), and my shelves are chocked full of books, plants, and Lego.

Lottie:

Music really helped me transition to university at the beginning of first year. Before moving into my accommodation in September, I spent some time putting some playlists together so that I could carry a bit of home with me wherever I went.

My dad always plays music when we have a family meal together on a Saturday night and he has a very specific taste! I created a playlist with all of his favourite songs, mostly consisting of music from the 70s and 80s, and whenever I listen to it, it brings me comfort because I’m reminded of my family and all of our great memories together.

I really recommend doing this because you can listen to the playlist whenever you want: in the library, on the way to lectures or at night before bed!

Let us know what “home” means to you by sending in your pictures and stories to student-comms@bristol.ac.uk.

In the meantime, we hope you have a happy and healthy winter break. If you’re staying in Bristol for the holidays, remember that the Residential Life team is running daily events, open to ALL students. And while the University is officially closed between Friday 23 December and Wednesday 4 January, you can still access some services if you need them. You can also request wellbeing support during this time if you need to do so.

With the very best festive wishes from the Student Comms team. We look forward to hearing from you in 2023!

This week we catch up with David, an Advocate for the Be More Empowered (BME) for Success programme for undergraduates. David is currently studying History. We caught up with him about the programme, his interests, favourite places in Bristol and more…

Highlight of being an advocate so far:

Getting to know such great people, it’s just a nice safe space to talk.

What leadership means to you:

Leadership means supporting a team, and being compassionate, empathetic and kind.

Goal for end of 2022-23:

To at least get one academic policy through, as it is difficult currently to get the university to actively provide changes to their rigid structures.

Favourite meal:

I don’t only have one favourite food I have many and it varies from time to time, Ghanaian food is always going to be my favourite. Currently, my favourite Ghanaian dish, though, is Banku with fried fish, pepper and shito.

Book/film recommendation:

I couldn’t just do one of the two – I have both a film and book recommendation. If you haven’t watched it already, I would recommend watching Judas and the Black Messiah, a powerful historical film. There is criticism, such as it  only focuses on Fred Hampton, for example, but overall, it’s a powerful watch. I’m reading this currently, but I would really recommend Walter Rodney’s book, How Europe underdeveloped Africa. It’s a really great read.

Favourite place in Bristol:

Malcolm X Community Centre – I was part of a public history project last year called Decolonising Memory Digital Bodies and the place along with the sense of community I felt there was great. It was space where we could talk about our raw feelings regarding the sensitive topic of enslavement. It’s a culturally sensitive, caring and compassionate environment. I also love the illustrations in the centre of Black inspirational people.

Who would you say is your biggest inspiration and why?

My biggest inspiration would be my family, this because of their fight against adversity, their willpower and confidence, which has always been something I have admired and lived by.

Huge thanks to David for sharing these insights into his experience of the programme, and some of his preferences. Please contact student-comms@bristol.ac.uk if you have a story you would like to share on this blog for Black History Month, and beyond…!

This week we catch up with Jordan, an Advocate for the Be More Empowered (BME) for Success programme for undergraduates. Jordan is currently studying Engineering Mathematics, but has many more interests besides his degree. Read on to hear more…

Highlight of being an advocate so far:

The best part of being an advocate has to be seeing the impact we make on students, especially with the return of in-person events last year! Seeing so many people turn up to and take value from our ADHD workshop and the open Iftar, for example, were great reminders that the work we do is valued and necessary to help make students feel like they belong on campus. I’m hoping to really double down on that this year and provide more chances for students to get involved with in-person activities!

Goal for end of 2022-23:

By the end of this academic year, I would love for the BME Success Programme to have a well-defined set of digital material, from high-quality social media posts to (hopefully?) a video which highlights the work we’ve done over the years as advocates! Personally, I’d also like to have learned a few songs on my guitar. I’ve owned a guitar for a good 5 years now but have always shied away from picking it up and actually learning how to play anything, so here’s to adding “amateur guitarist” to my repertoire of “somewhat” useful skills.

What leadership means to you:

Leadership to me is more of an action than a status or title. I’m a huge football fan, so seeing my favourite players influencing the game, both on and off the pitch, taught me a lot about how I can be a leader in my own community and about what skills and qualities would help me achieve that! Firstly, it helped me acknowledge the differences between a leader (e.g. the captain) and a manager. A leader cares about their team and how they can extract the best out of everyone, vs a manager whose job is to make sure everyone fulfils their role and works towards a goal. Secondly, being true to your values in everything you do is important when maintaining integrity. Someone who demonstrates good leadership skills should act with integrity as that gives others the chance to understand their motives and intentions, thus enabling them to get behind or not.

Favourite meal:

Nothing beats a good curry goat with rice and peas!

Book/film recommendation:

I really enjoyed the movie Rocks, but I can’t recommend the book How to Win Friends and Influence people by Dale Carnegie enough!

Favourite place in Bristol:

Pitch 17 on the downs has a special place in my heart (UTFB), but I’m a big fan of Ashton Court Estate, especially in the summer, where you can catch some deer, great views and a local car boot sale on Sundays!

Huge thanks to Justin for sharing these insights into his experience of the programme, and some of his preferences. Please contact student-comms@bristol.ac.uk if you have a story you would like to share on this blog for Black History Month, and beyond…!