This Friday 26 April is the second Blackout ever to be held at the University and it is going to be bigger and better than ever. This year we are including Avenue and WSA as well as Highfield campus in the Blackout – in what we think is the biggest switch-off and energy audit of its kind in the sector.
Rebecca Smith, helped out at Blackout last year and describes her experiences in the blog below.
As an Environmental Sciences student, I’ve always been passionate about protecting the planet. However in my everyday life I often see little things that could make a big difference if we did them just a bit differently – like getting in the habit of turning lights off when we don’t need them! That’s why I helped to organize the Blackout last year. I wanted the chance to make a real difference at my University by showing how much difference just switching off a few things can make.
I took on the role of Student Co-ordinator on the night. My job involved making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time – which wasn’t easy with 250 staff and student volunteers! It was all very exciting and I was able to communicate with the teams as they went around the university buildings switching things off. Our big reward came at the end of the night when we received a 100 strong pizza order to thank all of the volunteers for their hard work.
I was delighted and shocked when I found out that we managed to reduce the campus electricity consumption by six per cent over the weekend, and I was amazed to learn that this saved over £1600 and seven tonnes of carbon. I feel really proud to have been part of such an original event; I had the opportunity to make a positive change at my University, not to mention that I gained some great experience for my CV.
Overall it was a fantastic experience and I’d recommend it to anyone. This year more students than ever have signed up to help out with Blackout on the night – but you can do your bit as well by switching off all your electrical equipment on Friday when you go home.