Buxton and Leek College wins prestigious national award for green-thinking work

Buxton and Leek College (BLC) has come joint first in a national green-thinking competition and will now go ahead to compete against other institutions on an international level.
By Lucy Ball
Published 2nd Apr 2021, 08:00 BST
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The college was placed joint first with Queen’s University Belfast and scooped a prestigious ‘Student Engagement Green Gown Award’ in recognition of their college-wide approach to improve green credentials in 2019/20.

Judges in the competition praised the college for being a ‘small organisation with a big output’.

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Rachel Limbert, Enrichment Officer at BLC, who led on the Green Gown entry said: “We’re really pleased and proud to have won the Student Engagement Award.

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“It’s great that we have been recognised for the impact our students have made with the “Keen to Go Green” projects, especially in such a competitive category and I’m really excited to see where our sustainability journey will take us in the future."

The college, is classed as a “small institution winner”, however it was in the same category as and competed and won against “large institutions”, beating off competition from the University of Sheffield, Edinburgh Napier University and London School of Economics & Politics to win the award.

Judges commenting about why BLC’s application shone above others, said: “Even up against big institutions BLC is a small organisation with a big output.

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“This application sets the standard for the whole HFE sector, embedding and mainstreaming sustainability thoroughly with local and global reach.

Some of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown AwardsSome of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown Awards
Some of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown Awards
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"This is a really unique approach that is worth showing off.”

Established in 2004, the Green Gown Awards (GGA) celebrates exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges.

With sustainability moving up the agenda, GGA is recognised as the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the further and higher education sector.

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At the virtual ceremony held on March 2021, the college was praised for embarking on a number of successful initiatives which saw students taking ownership for the ways in which they wanted to improve the sustainability of the college campuses and wider communities.

Some of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown AwardsSome of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown Awards
Some of the students with their green thinking ideas and projects which helped BLC to bag joint first in the prestigious Green Gown Awards

The college will now go forward to the International Green Gown Awards to compete against educational institutions from around the world.

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Related topics:Leek CollegeBuxton