Staff throughout the University of Gloucestershire are leading sustainability change through action, research, education and practice. We’re always so pleased to celebrate and shine a light on the many achievements of our colleagues.

The sustainability award category recognises colleagues whose contributions are making the University an innovative environment for learning, collaboration and practice in sustainability, demonstrating the connections between people and planet for the benefit of students, the University and the wider world.

We’d like to wish a huge congratulations to this year’s winner of the Staff Award for Sustainability to Ed Moulding, Assistant Facilities Manager!

Ed is one of the many unsung heroes from the Estates Team. He tirelessly works with his team to ensure that the grounds are neat and tidy and that waste, litter and general refuse are collected and disposed of appropriately. He is always approachable, supportive and keen to find ways to improve the student, staff and public experience of our campuses. Following the sale of Cornerways the Sustainability Team were seeking a location for a new garden, and Ed has supported this and a project to plant trees on campus. Ed has also been working with current students, alumni and the Sustainability team to deliver No Mow May. Ed is a respected member of the Estates Team, always friendly and approachable, always willing to share his vast knowledge of plants, trees and how our campuses support nature and biodiversity. 

The other shortlisted nominees in the sustainability category this year were:

  • Emily Buirski (Cheltenham Education Partnership Co-ordinator) who delivered an exciting sustainability programme, ChangeMakers, this year to Cheltenham secondary schools. This work is helping young people in our region to develop as change makers for the future while making sure the university has a great role at the heart of this action.
  • Carbon Net Zero Team – Dr Jon Furley, Dr Nigel Wichall, Camille Stallard, Lou Overton, Kevin Farmer. This team have worked across three professional services areas to kickstart the University’s journey to carbon net zero emissions and its response to climate change.
  • Amy Lilley-Stewart (Secondary Partnership Lead) has been committed to sustainability for several years and has used this interest to broker partnerships and create new practices supporting Education for Sustainability.
  • Park Garden Team – Miriam Webb, Jonathan Wye, Ed Moulding, Dr Jon Furley, Will Weaving. This group have gone above and beyond in their action, mainly through voluntary time on top of the day job, to create a beautiful and accessible new garden space at Park campus. A huge effort by the whole team!

Congratulations to you all!

We’d also like to give special recognition to the nominees and winner of the Diversity and Inclusion award:

The LIFT Decolonising the Curriculum Team – Dr Adeela Shafi, Sam Copland, Dr Charles Afriyie, Dr Mouhamed Thiam. This cross-school team has come together with outstanding commitment to lead the way with decolonising learning at UOG. They have developed and maintained a toolkit to support course teams to challenge perspectives of power and hierarchy in teaching, learning and assessment, embedding a decolonised approach within their modules, and communicating their understanding across the institution through resources and staff engagement activities.

And the winner of this award – Sri Tellapragada (Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance) takes the initiative to engage students from a variety of backgrounds in his teaching. He has been a part of the BAME+ community where he encourages events that build awareness of equality and diversity. He is a positive role model who promotes diversity and inclusion by exhibiting his genuine appreciation for people with different backgrounds and perspectives.