Lancaster’s donors are helping the University to fulfil its aim to lower carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and create a sustainable place to live, work and study; donations to Lancaster’s ‘Area of Greatest Need’ fund are allocated to a range of projects annually and we have seen an increase in requests for funding for sustainability projects.

There is a buzz around campus

In 2017 we awarded £2,351 to Lancaster University Bee Keepers for their Eco Hives project. Dr Nadia Mazza is a Senior Lecturer in Pure Mathematics but in her spare time she has an unusual hobby; Nadia is a Director of Lancaster Beekeepers, and Chair of Lancaster University Bee Keepers. Although Nadia remembers being scared of insects when she was younger, she soon changed her mind when she experienced the magic of a beehive. Nadia understands the importance of bees and the need to protect them not only for the benefit of the environment but for education and research.

Lancaster University Bee Keepers used the funding to help with the set-up costs of the campus apiary, which is now home to three colonies of locally bred bees. The Eco Hives project is an excellent way to promote biodiversity, science research and education; it has also captured the imagination of the local community who have attended site visits and beekeeping events on campus. Lancaster University Bee Keepers have many exciting plans for the future of the campus apiary – from installing a webcam so bee fans can watch the colonies online to selling Lancaster University honey and beeswax products.

For more information about the Eco Hives project please contact Dr Nadia Mazza at n.mazza@lancaster.ac.uk

Precious Plastic comes to Lancaster

Precious Plastic is a global community of hundreds of people working towards a solution to plastic pollution. In 2018 we awarded £7,844 to set up a Precious Plastic Lancaster initiative – funding will be used to produce small-scale recycling machines on campus – these machines will be used to recycle plastics which are not currently recycled by Lancaster’s kerbside system, meaning that the majority of plastic used within the City could be saved from landfill.

Once the machines are up and running on campus and in the City, the plastics will need to be sorted, shredded and melted. The melted plastic can then be used to create new products which can be sold; by producing saleable products, and through education initiatives, the project aims to challenge the idea that plastic is a worthless material and force people to reconsider purchasing single use plastic products.