University students give generously to homeless charity in end-of-term recycling drive 05/07/11

Students at the University of Chichester have for the second year running focused on making their campus a greener one as they leave their halls of residence at the end of term.

In a repeat of last year’s efforts, students have been determined to cut down on the waste produced at the end of the academic year, when typically a lot is sent to landfill.

Thanks to the continuing efforts of the University’s Green Campus Group, led by environmental officer Margaret Field, and the Students’ Union, students had made available for them a number of recycling and charity donation facilities at both its Bishop Otter and Bognor Regis Campuses.

2010 was the first time a targeted effort had been made to reduce waste at the end of term, and the enthusiasm continued this year, students were persistent in their endeavours to recycle old items and unwanted food which they would no longer need.

As a result, large amounts of tinned food were donated to the charity Stone Pillow and their St Joseph’s Night Refuge project. Stone Pillow, which is organising a Big Sponsored Sleep Out fundraising event at Chichester Cathedral on 29 October, will use the food, which would have otherwise been thrown away by the students as they move back home for the summer, towards the charity’s aim of offering shelter, information and support to empower homeless and vulnerable people to make positive changes in their lives.

Celica Douglas, University of Chichester Students’ Union Vice President, said: “Amazing progress has been made from two years ago, when the University offered little in terms of recycling and the majority of waste was simply binned. We are now making small but sure steps towards a greener campus.”

The University will now turn its attention to the start of the next academic year when advice will be given to new students concerning recycling as they move into their halls of residence. The University hopes to make even more progress in terms of recycling and a stand will be included at the Freshers’ Fair to provide more information to new students.

Great strides up the Green League table underlined University’s environmental commitment 14/06/11

The University of Chichester has moved up 41 places in the People and Planet Green League 2011, published this week.

The institution, which has campuses in Chichester and Bognor Regis, rose from 82nd to joint 41st place, recognition of the University’s commitment to environmental sustainability and the success of initiatives introduced in the past 12 months.

All universities were judged across a range of criteria, such as whether it has an environmental policy, whether it participates in the Fairtrade scheme or other sustainability programmes, and how engaged staff and students are with the environmental aspirations of the University. The results were then published in the Guardian newspaper on 7 June and on the People and Planet website.

Ian Child, Chief Operating Officer at the University of Chichester, said: “We are delighted to have made such a dramatic rise up the league table, a significant reward for our staff and students who have put in so much hard work on environmental projects.

“We take our responsibilities seriously, not only to our staff, students and visitors, but as part of the local community and the environmental impact we have on the area as well. There is a strong commitment to this issue from the senior management team – environmental sustainability is one of our key priorities, placing it at the heart of University operations.

"With the active support of the Students’ Union, the importance of becoming a greener university has been embraced across the institution, and is beginning to become part of the day-to-day business rather than seen as a stand-alone initiative. However, we want to be higher in the league table, and we know there is more to do. Therefore, we shall be using this success as the stepping stone for further improvements in the way we work, and we hope to see a further rise up the table next year.”

Measures that the University undertake include a Student Departure Day recycling programme, which reduces the amount of end-of-term rubbish that is sent to landfill, improvements to the environmental performance of our buildings, and a new sustainable travel plan has been introduced, encouraging staff and students to car-share or use public transport when travelling to campus. The University has also recently received re-accreditation as a Fairtrade University for a further two years.

Performing without Fear: Exploring techniques to cope with musical performance anxiety 01/06/11

A performance anxiety course for musicians at the University of Chichester is being run for a second year following its successful debut in 2010.

The one-day course, run by the music department, offers musicians the chance to conquer their fears of performing. The course, which attracted participants from as far as Gloucester, Bournemouth and London last year, will be running twice during the summer period at the University’s Bishop Otter Campus in Chichester.

Performance anxiety in music is a subject that is often ignored, but it affects many musicians at various stages of their career. The course has been developed as a result of course tutor Nick Reynolds’ experience of teaching and research into the subject.

The course is part of a programme of summer schools and explores introductory approaches for developing individual strategies to regain the enjoyment of performing music. Anyone who has a love of music but suffers from nerves is invited to attend.

During the course of the day, attendees can expect to explore the ‘whys’ of getting nervous before playing, survey different approaches to learning and playing music that may help beat the nerves, and take part in a practical explorations of techniques.

Louise Jackson, Senior Lecturer of Music at the University of Chichester, who organises Summer School events for the music department said: “The buzz from last year’s day course demonstrated this was an issue that many musicians wanted to tackle. Nerves can be a real problem, one that can damage people’s enjoyment of music. We are pleased to be able to continue to support musicians in dealing with this particular issue.”

The courses will be run on Tuesday 19 July and Tuesday 9 August between 10am-3pm. Places cost £30. For more information, contact the music department by calling 01243 816205 or email music@chi.ac.uk.