Want to save money as well as helping the environment? The Union of Students in Ireland have recently launched a new European project SAVES2, which encourages students to cut their energy costs and help the environment by carrying out simple energy saving tasks to win prizes.
Student Switch Off Coordinator Darcy Lonergan explains the project. “We are asking students to help us tackle climate change by carrying out simple energy saving activities such as ‘switching off the light’, ‘not leaving things on standby’, and ‘putting a lid on when cooking’. Students have a chance to win prizes along the way by posting photos of themselves and their friends carrying out these activities on our Facebook wall. On four campuses in Ireland (DCU, NUIG, Maynooth and UCC) we will run a friendly race between students in apartment buildings. We will monitor the data of each building and the building who reduces the most amount of energy wins a big prize at the end of the year.”
SAVES2 has already taken off across Europe. It now runs internationally in 7 countries after originating in the UK. But why did it all start? “There are many reasons to run this program; to help combat climate change, to educate students on how to make savings and to tackle fuel poverty. We wanted to show that saving energy can have a real impact and the positive habits students gain from this campaign can be carried out throughout their lives”.
According to Darcy, you don’t have to live on campus to get involved as there are two different campaigns to take part in. “SSO (Student Switch Off) is the competition we run on the four campuses. It focuses on students on campus saving energy and will reach 114,000 students over three academic years. SSO+ is the second phase of the campaign which focuses on students in private sector accommodation. We will educate them on what they should look for when searching for accommodation such as energy ratings, insulation etc. This will reach 105,358 students in 7 countries over three academic years.”
So how can we get involved? “Right now we are mainly focusing on Students from the 4 Universities (DCU.,NUIG,UCC and Maynooth). If any students from these colleges are interested they can email saves2@USI.ie or follow our Facebook pages. Each University has its own page. The name of the page will be the university name followed by student switch off. For instance, UCC page is “UCC Student Switch Off”. For those students really interested, we have the Ambassador challenge.The ambassador is an enthusiastic student who helps us run the campaign within a campus by raising awareness, promoting our competitions and photo actions and helping with events. Email saves2@USI.ie for details”.
And you don’t have to attend DCU, UCC, NUIG or Maynooth to take part. “Of course, all students can get involved to help us tackle climate change, simply like our pages and carry out the energy saving activities/tips we provide.” So what are you waiting for? Get involved and start saving energy and money. It’s a win win.
Photo Credit: USI
