There's a Green Dream at Edge Hill

The UK's fastest-growing university is set to brush up its green credentials this year to make it one of the most environmentally friendly in the country.

Edge Hill's campus was recently named as the second greenest University in the Northwest, but continues to work harder than ever to lower its carbon footprint and improve its overall position.

Over the next year Edge Hill is working on a variety of projects that range from producing its own compost to a major recycling programme across the campus. The whole plan is set to cut the University's energy emissions by 15% over the next five years.

Dr John Hindley, Environmental Manager at the University, said: "We are working incredibly hard to make the new Faculty of Health building environmentally friendly. There are a number of measures that we have taken to ensure that it is as green a building as we can possibly make it.

"One of our plan's to separate the waste created in the Faculty of Health, place it into separate bins, and from there we will help create Edge Hill's very own compost. I am hoping that recycling becomes the norm and an accepted part of everyday life. We are going to make sure that this project flourishes and given time, expand it right across the campus.

"By April 2008 all of our buildings will have a certificate detailing how environmentally efficient they are. The signs will act like those you see on the side of electrical items with a grading system in place."

As part of the Green Travel strategy, Edge Hill introduced a new biodiesel bus service linking the campus with Ormskirk and Southport. Since the Edge Link was introduced in 2004, a total of 200,000 people have used the service and 60% of those travelled for free using their bus pass.

Dr Hindley added:" We are at an early stage of expanding our Green Travel plan to places like St. Helens which haven't got the best transport links to Ormskirk. That in turn will cut the number of vehicles needing to get onto the site. We will be providing a significant number of additional bike racks because of a dramatic rise in the number of people cycling on to campus."

The University is working hard in other parts of the campus to help lower the overall energy output. He added: "We've found that in student halls there is a lot of energy waste, including heating and lighting, but we are looking at placing lighting systems in corridors that are triggered by movement.

"Another idea that is being seriously considered is turning off vending machines during the night, which will drastically cut our energy bill as well as our carbon footprint. We are also looking at ways of getting more people to turn off their computers and other equipment.

"Students are becoming increasingly aware about environmental issues and what impact they have on the world that we live in. No one's contribution to the energy efficiency programme is too small. I think we can capitalise on these responsive students and make sure that we work together to make a greener Edge Hill."