Small actions, big impact: Green Week shows how small actions can create lasting change

Staff and students across York St John University have come together for Green Week 2026. The week included a programme of activities designed to explore sustainability through practical actions, learning and community engagement. 

Taking place from Monday 16 to Friday 20 March, Green Week encouraged York St John staff and students to engage with sustainability in a range of ways, from sustainable travel and biodiversity projects, to teaching initiatives and creative activities. 

The week began with an opportunity for staff and students to meet the University's Sustainability team and learn more about projects taking place across campus. 

A key focus of the events on offer was sustainable travel. Staff and students were able to take advantage of free bike repairs and safety checks in a special on-campus workshop from the Bike Doctor. This helped to remove barriers that can prevent people from choosing active and sustainable travel options.  

Katie Cassidy, Sustainability Graduate Intern, said: 

"Sometimes it is the small things, like not knowing whether your bike is safe to use, that can become a barrier. Having someone there to check bikes and offer advice can help make cycling feel that bit easier and more achievable." 

The Sustainability team is also developing a new campus cycle map in response to recent feedback from the University's staff and student travel survey. The map will provide information on cycling facilities across campus, including showers, lockers and secure bike storage, helping more people feel confident about cycling to work. 

Green Week also showcased York St John's commitment to biodiversity and green spaces through Wild Wednesdays, the University's community gardening initiative. Students and staff worked together to prepare planting beds for spring and learn more about the community garden, supporting local wildlife while improving shared campus spaces. 

On Thursday, the focus shifted to sustainability in teaching and learning, with academic staff invited to take part in the Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS UK) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Teach In. The session explored how sustainability can be embedded across different disciplines, helping students develop the knowledge and skills needed to respond to environmental and social challenges.  

The week concluded with a sustainability-themed gaming session led by Dr Matt Coward-Gibbs, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences. The event explored how games can encourage discussion about sustainability through storytelling, design and player experiences, providing an accessible and engaging way for participants to explore complex issues. 

Dr Coward-Gibbs said: 

"Games are a unique way to support discussion and collaboration around complex topics, especially sustainability; they have the potential to help us challenge dominant ways of thinking and look at the world from an alternative viewpoint. 

Using games as a way to evoke questions or conversations, whether that is our 'hacked' version of Wavelength, or looking at the way the tabletop games industry is fronting sustainable production, there are many avenues for us to continue to explore and expand. 

Tabletop games provide us with a fantastic tool to both start and deepen conversations and discussions around sustainability issues.” 

 Sarah Williams, Sustainability Team Manager said: 

"Green Week showed that sustainability does not have to feel like one huge, overwhelming issue. Across the week, the events broke it down into smaller, more manageable ideas and showed that small things can still make a difference. 

Sustainability can be practical, like getting a bike checked, but it can also be social, creative and enjoyable. It can be spending time outside, taking part in activities that support wellbeing, or joining conversations that help us think differently about the future. 

What stood out most was that there were lots of different ways for staff and students to get involved. Green Week showed that sustainability can be part of everyday campus life, not through doing everything perfectly, but through small actions, shared ideas and people coming together." 

Green Week forms part of York St John's wider commitment to sustainability and social justice, bringing together staff and students to explore how environmental responsibility can be embedded across campus life, teaching and everyday decision making. 

Read more about our work Sustainability and environment | York St John University