Blog by Harriet Bickley, Research Associate and Sally Freeman, Reader in Medicinal Chemistry. 

The School of Health Sciences Environmental Sustainability group and friends ran a series of fun part-wildlife, part-science stalls about trees at three events in June: the UoM Community Festival, the FBMH Sustainability Showcase and the Division of Medical Education’s Biodiversity Social afternoon, to inspire staff, students and local communities to value the benefits of trees for people and planet. 

Many thanks to all the staff and student volunteers on the stalls: Harriet Bickley, Sally Freeman, Diana Kurkul, Muhammad Sabudin, Sabrina Piva, Kiarash Teimouri, Malaika Asif, Anisa Visram, Hazel England and Jo Pennock. Thank you also to everyone across campus who donated plant pots before the event for potting up plants.  

  Our stall activities included making the 3D Molymod molecules used in photosynthesis, a tree matching game (matching leaves and seeds to the correct tree), making origami newspaper plant pots, sowing acorns and beech mast to take home, leaf rubbing, and writing personal environmental pledges for our tree of hope.  

We gave away 20+ tree saplings (oak, beech, holly, sycamore; with thanks to Sally’s squirrels for planting them!), some wildflower seed-embedded cards (with thanks to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust & Redrow), many tree seeds, dozens of tree ID sheets (with thanks to Greater Manchester Ecology Unit & Local Record Centre), colouring sheets and wordsearches, and some magazines. Our spare remaining tree saplings are destined for the Ardwick Climate Action Group. 

We showcased pharmacy undergraduate posters about sustainability, e.g. the importance of saving the Amazon rainforest as a ‘carbon sink’, as well as a potential source of new medicines, plus posters about the importance of trees and advertising student groups (The Botany Society, The Firs Green Wellbeing Gardening Club, Manchester Food Partners: Commit to Community – who grow food for the community at The Firs Botanic Grounds), a poster on the carbon cycle, and some thoughtful quotes about trees.  

We advertised the UoM Tree Trails around Brunswick Park and Whitworth Park, the living wall on the Schuster Building, the Firs Botanic Grounds, and the Manchester-based City of Trees organisation.  

Hopefully we have inspired people to protect trees and the wider environment. If we look after our trees, our trees will look after us. 

Harriet Bickley is a Research Associate & Data Manager for the Manchester Self-Harm Project (MaSH) within the Centre for Mental Health & Safety. Contact: Harriet.Bickley@manchester.ac.uk

Sally Freeman is a Reader in Medicinal Chemistry in the Division of Pharmacy & Optometry. She has included sustainability in her lecture Y1 units and Y4 projects. Contact: Sally.Freeman@manchester.ac.uk

To find out more about Environmental Sustainability: visit the Faculty’s intranet page, website, read our ES Good Newsletter or contact srbmh@manchester.ac.uk . For more information on Environmental Sustainability at the University watch this short film or visit their website. 

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