The University of Lincoln is committed to delivering environmental sustainability initiatives and opportunities both nationally and to the local community.
The University understands that residences and groups local to all campuses have a vested interest in how the University operates sustainably and what impact it may also have.
We are happy to promote sustainability events around Lincoln on our social media, please feel free to get in touch by emailing environment@lincoln.ac.uk or by following us on Twitter: @UoLEnvironment
Page last reviewed June 2024
Supporting the Community
Food donations
At Riseholme Park, the Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology has been supporting local community enterprise Mint Lane Café over the last few years by providing them with fruit and vegetables grown on the estate.
This might include, lettuces, cauliflowers, apples, strawberries and much more.
In the course of research, this produce is often considered as waste, and so to reduce that, it is given freely to both the café and any staff or students who would like it.
Any excess food waste is composted in the Riseholme Kitchen Garden.
We’ve presented a sustainability update to the Carholme Community Forum and are looking forward to building better relationships with groups around Lincoln.
Volunteer work
The University has a volunteer programme which enables staff to take two working days a year to be used to volunteer for charitable organisations. These opportunities can be done individually or as a team or department.
Edible Campus & The Kitchen Garden
The objective of the Edible Campus project is to provide space at the Brayford Campus for students and staff to grow their own food. A small number of heritage variety apple trees have been planted in open spaces around the Student Village to start the project. A Herb Garden can be found near the Village Hall, and is currently being replanted and tidied.
There are also raised beds to grow vegetables in at “The Kitchen Garden”. We’ve grown courgettes, broad beans, carrots, garlic, onions and much more! There are a small selection of mature herbs available for you to harvest from the garden, but we ask that you ensure that you leave some for others. Volunteers are welcome to join our weekly gardening session behind Witham House on the Brayford Campus, between 1-2pm every Wednesday. Please email environment@lincoln.ac.uk if you are interested.
Produce is divided between volunteers and Mint Lane Café.
Further information and a gallery of our Kitchen Garden activities can be found on the Kitchen Garden Project Page.
Lincoln Climate Commission
The Lincoln Climate Commission emerged from a collaboration with the City of Lincoln Council, Siemens, Transition Lincoln and the University of Lincoln. Since then the group has expanded to include the valuable input from a range of businesses and organisations who wish to work together to make a positive choice on issues relating to energy, carbon, weather and climate.
The value of the Climate Commission is its ability to harness the collective energy, vision and ambition of key stakeholders across Lincoln and Lincolnshire to deliver a step-change in its response to the climate emergency.
Supporting Net Zero in the community
The Sustainability team also offers consultation for businesses and community groups on Net Zero strategy.
If you require support with a Net Zero strategy, please email us at environment@lincoln.ac.uk.
Partnerships
The University of Lincoln works hard to build relationships with local organisations and community groups. We’re also part of the Fairtrade City Community Group.
Supporting Lincoln SU and student engagement in sustainability
We support the Lincoln Students’ Union by engaging with their Senior Leadership team including their Student Leader Representatives and student societies such as the Zoology and E.C.O Societies. We also provide support to students taking part in the Student Union ECO Award.
We collaborate on campaigns such as Make a Difference week, our Climate Action Festival and other sustainability events.
Additionally, the Lincoln SU are dedicated to reducing any negative impact which their activities may have on the environment, you can read more about their Green Impact application and the resulting report, here.
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
We are working with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWLT) to enhance habitats and support species to thrive on University-owned land.
At our Riseholme campus, we are providing the facilities and support for wildflower propagation, which will create a regional seed bank for local wildflower species. We are also working with LWLT to trial innovative verge management practices that support wildflower strips for pollinators.
At our Brayford campus, we are developing our landscaping plan based on recommendations from the LWLT, which will mean more native species and protected areas of the campus to support wildlife. The LWLT also supported us to create a wildflower meadow behind our Joseph Banks Laboratory building, which is now being managed by students and staff from the School of Life Sciences.
RiverCare
RiverCare and BeachCare is a national volunteer programme that has two groups operating within Lincoln, Lincoln Witham and Lincoln Sincil Bank. Their mission is simply to clean up the local river banks to make Lincoln a cleaner place to live and to protect the eco systems.
We work closely with them to promote their litterpick dates and encourage both staff and students to get involved. Our E.C.O. Society has actively been working with the Lincoln Witham group who meet up outside the Student Union Tower Bar.
You can learn more about them and upcoming litter pick dates by following their Facebook pages: