The Eco-Hub has created an accessible, affordable and sustainable space for students and staff to meet.
The Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team (GUEST) have recently launched an on-campus sustainability hub. As announced on Instagram, the Eco-Hub is set to remain open year-round, from 10am-6pm, Monday – Friday, in Room 206 of the Boyd Orr Building.
The Eco-Hub social café will provide discounted drinks to those who bring reusable cups. With coffee being sold for as little as 50 pence, the Hub will be the permanent provider of the cheapest coffee on campus. Moreover, GUEST’s community fridge will be moved from the Library to the Eco-Hub and will be regularly stocked with yellow label and donated food for students to take free of charge.
The Hub will host a range of events including ‘Student 2 Student Essentials’, free bike repair sessions, and educational workshops. The Eco-Hub will also house a permanent second-hand clothes stall. Students can donate unwanted items to the hub and acquire new, ‘pre-loved’ items.
The Hub will be managed by GUEST, a team of students who work with the University community to promote sustainability and encourage social and environmental wellbeing. GUEST provides services that help students mitigate the effects of climate change and the cost-of-living crisis. The group’s past projects include second-hand swap shops and the ‘Student 2 Student Essentials’ programme, which allows students to browse donated home products and take what they need for free.
The creation of the hub has itself been sustainable, Room 206 was previously home to Café Piccolino, and the space has been vacant for the last few years.It is yet to be seen if this new endeavour will make an impact on the University’s sustainability ranking. In January of this year, The Glasgow Guardianreported that the University of Glasgow had placed 110th in a sustainability ranking of UK Universities, down by 36 places on the previous year.
