Tag: Sustainability

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Sustainability Café Achieves Vegetarian Society Accreditation

April 17, 2024

We are thrilled to share that the Sustainability Café on Penryn campus has achieved accreditation from the Vegetarian Society for producing a fully vegetarian and vegan menu offering.

This accreditation marks a significant milestone in our commitment to offering sustainable and ethical dining options to you, our valued customers.

With this accreditation, you can trust that our vegetarian and vegan offering meet the stringent standards set forth by the Vegetarian Society, ensuring the integrity and quality of our products.

This accreditation reaffirms our dedication to promoting environmentally conscious practices and supporting the global shift towards plant-based lifestyles. By choosing our accredited vegetarian and vegan food, you can not only enjoy flavourful meals but also contribute to a more sustainable future for our planet.

We extend our thanks to the Vegetarian Society for their recognition and support, and we look forward to continuing to innovate and expand our range of vegetarian and vegan options. Join us in celebrating this achievement as we strive to make a positive impact, one delicious meal at a time.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Falmouth University & the University of Exeter Student & Staff 2024 Commuting Travel Survey

April 9, 2024

On behalf of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter (Cornwall), FX Plus is delivering a campus wide commuting travel survey to gather insights into how students and staff are travelling to and from our Cornwall campuses. 

We encourage all staff and students at Falmouth University, the University of Exeter (Cornwall), FX Plus and the Student Union, to complete this survey. Your responses will provide us with valuable information for campus planning, services, and infrastructure improvement, and will also help improve our carbon profiling as part of the university’s net-zero strategies. 

The aim of the survey is to better understand the commuting travel behaviours across our Cornwall campuses. It is applicable to all students and staff based in Cornwall, who are commuting and travelling to our Cornwall campus. This includes Falmouth University, the University of Exeter (Cornwall), FX Plus and the Student Union.

If you are a University of Exeter Cornwall based employee or student, please fill in this survey, and do not fill in the University of Exeter Devon based staff survey.

Everyone who completes the survey, and enters their email address at the end, will be in with the chance of winning a £100 Amazon Voucher. Please provide your email at the end of the survey to be entered into the prize draw. We have three £100 Amazon vouchers to give away! 

Data Protection Act: This information will be recorded and processed by the Falmouth Exeter Plus to:

  • Help understand the journeys being undertaken by students and staff travelling to and from our campuses, including distances travelled.
  • To support the planning and development of initiatives and projects to support sustainable travel to our campuses
    Your data will not be shared or used for any other purposes.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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‘Bin it to be in it’, with a chance to win £1000 with our special LitterLotto bins

April 9, 2024

Have you seen our new ‘LitterLotto’ stickers which are appearing on campus recycling and food waste bins near you? Our Facilities team and Sustainability team have partnered with LitterLotto to give you a chance of winning £1000 every time you dispose of your recycling or food waste correctly.

To be entered into the weekly prize draw, all you need to do is scan the QR code on the recycling or food waste bin and a pop-up will appear on your phone (no app download needed), select what you are binning and take a picture of the waste to enter. So long as you are putting the right waste into the correct bin, the entry will be validated within the portal, and you will be entered into the weekly jackpot draw to win £1000.

The aim of the initiative is to reduce waste by educating and rewarding positive recycling behaviour. When scanning the LitterLotto QR code, if what you are wanting to throw away doesn’t appear in the options, it reminds you that the entry will not be valid and that it could contaminate the bin.

Dylan Jones, Recycling and Waste Officer said, “we are proud to be the first university campus to roll out LitterLotto. We know people want to do the right thing and hope the LitterLotto initiative will incentivise positive recycling behaviours and help to raise awareness of what cannot be placed in recycling and food waste bins (such as coffee cups!)”.

Initially, the scheme will run for a duration of 12 months. For more information about the LitterLotto, please contact Dylan on recycling@fxplus.ac.uk.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Biodiversity Updates 2022-2023

January 9, 2024

The Biodiversity, Sustainability and Ground and Gardens Teams have been hard at work to achieve some blooming good biodiversity outputs for 2022-2023. Abhishek Dixit, Biodiversity Project Officer at FX Plus, has reported a total of 1,152 wildflower plugs planted in 2023. In fact, we’ve planted a total of 1,572 plants since March 2022.

We also observed 5,145 square metres of grassland enhanced by wildflower seedling and turf planting. With 1,940 square metres of mixed evergreen and deciduous woodland enhanced by invasive plant removal and tree planting.

In addition to the daily contributions of our green fingered colleagues, some of this planting was also thanks to our weekly Campus Conservation Volunteering Sessions which are held every Wednesday lunchtime from 12-2:30pm, and last year an impressive 51 sessions were delivered for students, staff, and the general public. For full details about upcoming sessions visit our ‘Events on Campus‘ page.

 All these activities are already helping wildlife on campus, as seen through new wildlife monitoring events. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is one such example, whereby we contributed the recording of 545 individual butterflies from 14 different species.

In total, our Biodiversity Project Officer has led 17 Wildlife Walks, participated in 12 Outreach Events and engaged 225 participants through these biodiversity events.

To continue to build on this work, we have a number of wildlife monitoring events planned for 2024, such as the RSPB Big Bird Watch events which will be held on both our Penryn and Falmouth campuses this month (26 and 27 January 2024), and a BeeWalk, Bat surveys, bird monitoring programme, and potentially a freshwater quality survey for our streams and ponds. Keep a look out for these future events on the FX Plus website here.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Winning at Waste

January 9, 2024

As we look back on December, it’s often a month of excess and overconsumption. It’s the month which creates a mountain of waste and recycling for us to drown in until the first bin collection after the festive holidays. Many of us will have sifted through the sacks of wrapping paper, sorted through plastic packaging and wrestled with a record number of cardboard boxes – it’s a tedious task and one which gets little recognition!

This is not the case on campus. Your noble waste and recycling efforts have not gone unnoticed. In fact, we can look back on 2023 and celebrate some waste related wins. Dylan Jones, Waste and Recycling Officer at FX Plus, has diligently been calculating what we throw away and has reported increases in recycling and a reduction in overall waste generated on Penryn campus when compared with last year’s figures.

Here are some 2022/2023 statistics (when compared with 2021/2022):

  • Food waste recycling has increased by 38%
  • All recycling has increased by 5.3%
  • All general waste generated on Penryn campus has reduced by 7%
  • Over 10,000 tetra pak cartons have been recycled since last January (2023), and we now average around 1,000 tetra pak cartons recycled each month!

Waste and recycling are ongoing challenges, but the above statistics are an encouraging indication that our campus community is moving in the right direction, an endeavour that which takes us closer towards our sustainability goals and reduces our negative impacts on the environment. Well done, you! Keep up the good work.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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The Swap Shop Returns

September 18, 2023

Today, on Monday 18th September, the Swap Shop on Penryn campus reopened to encourage students and staff to pick up preloved items for FREE, instead of purchasing new. The last academic year saw the Swap Shop achieve great success as we celebrated nearly 100kg of items that had been donated, 240 items reused and over half a tonne of carbon saved!

We would like to emulate (if not exceed) this same success, which is why the Swap Shop has reopened for Welcome Week at the Sustainability Café. The Swap Shop is FREE for all to use and shall be open from 8:30am – 4:30pm, until Friday 22 September. It will then move to Fox Café on Falmouth Campus the following week, Monday 25 September – Friday 29 September.

Students and staff from Falmouth University, the University of Exeter, FX Plus and the SU are all invited to get involved, whether that’s through choosing preloved items from the Swap Shop itself or donating items in good used condition that others could make use of.

The Sustainability Team have set up Swap Shop Donation Points on both campuses, these are located in the Rosehill building (Falmouth) and AIR building (Penryn). If you have any surplus items that you think our campus community would love, such as unwanted stationary or lonely kitchenware, then please donate them the Swap Shop for re-homing.

The Swap Shop will also make regular appearances throughout the year, in the run-up to key holidays and special dates in the calendar to try and encourage you to shop sustainably by re-using and re-gifting quality used items.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Lime Tree Avenue

December 16, 2022

Members of Cornwall Ancient Tree Forum (CATF) are working to register Penryn Campus’ Lime Tree avenue for preservation and protection as the trees (Tilia cordata) are aesthetically, historically, and environmentally of great importance.

Tim Kellett and Marion Bryant from CATF and Environmental science student Kira Jefferies recently took measurements of lime tree girth for the Ancient Tree Forum records. Tim, Marion and Kira are also looking for hollowing of trunk and cavities; fungi; lichens in on and around the trees; damage and dead wood in the tree crown; epiphytes such as ferns; climbing plants such as ivy; clematis, honeysuckle and any other plants living on the tree.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Food recycling success

November 24, 2022

A trial project to recycle food waste in Penryn student residences has been so successful it’s being rolled out across our campuses.

The scheme began in May (2022), when the FX Plus Facilities team teamed up with Cornwall Waste Solutions to encourage students to separate food waste in some of the some Glasney Village blocks, at Penryn Campus.

It was later expanded to more student residences, including Packsaddle, and now new food waste bins have been installed just outside AMATA Cafe, in the bin compound near the AIR building and at Falmouth Campus. Even more locations will be added soon.

This has already led to a big increase in food waste being sent to an anaerobic digestion plant, where it can be turned into electricity, fuel and fertiliser. In September/October 2021, 1.5 tonnes of food waste was to anaerobic digestion facilities – this was from the kitchens of the main campus catering outlets at Falmouth and Penryn. This year, in the same period and with the addition of the new food waste bins, 2.5 tonnes has been sent.

Casey Thomas, Head of Facilities Management, said: “Thanks to the innovation of the Facilities team, this project is already making a significant contribution to supporting Falmouth and Exeter universities in their aims to make our campuses more sustainable.”

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email recycling@fxplus.ac.uk for more information.

For tips about how to reduce your own food waste, see https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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E-bikes for hire

September 22, 2022

New, pay as you ride, electric bikes are now available at Penryn Campus.

As a special, introductory offer, the first 900 students to sign up on the Beryl Bikes app using their university (Falmouth University or the University of Exeter) email address can have up to 30 minutes riding for free.

The Beryl Bikes have been installed as part of a county-wide cycle share scheme funded by Cornwall Council. 50 bikes at 21 stations across Falmouth and Penryn are now available with the scheme being expanded to Newquay, Penzance, St Austell and Truro over the coming months.

The Penryn Campus electric bikes are outside The Exchange, opposite Heart Reception, and along the Old Drive. Those two stations can accommodate 10 bikes as part of the wider scheme.

Their easy availability for campus users supports the sustainability aims of Falmouth University, the University of Exeter and FX Plus and will make it easier for staff and students who want to ride tackle Cornwall’s hills.

Users can pay for use of the bikes by the minute, with a pre purchased bundle or with a 24-hour day pass. For details of other bike locations (including several near Falmouth Campus), how the scheme works, downloading the app and more, please see the Beryl Bikes website.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Every Flower Counts

August 8, 2022

We are committed to supporting biodiversity and sustainability on our campuses. Part of this involves twice yearly flower counts which not only give us an estimate of how many bees we support but also to measure the benefits of changing the mowing regime on areas of land.

Since 2020, Every Flower Counts surveys are carried out by the Grounds Team twice a year, at the end of May and the end of July. They help to track changes and to compare different areas, including unmowed grass areas, wildflower turfed areas, seeded areas and more.

Most areas surveyed are the same each year but some vary, depending on which are being left wild/unmowed.

Alasdair Garnett, FX Plus Groundsperson, explained: “The surveys give us a rough idea of how areas are performing. From the latest (July 22) survey, we can see that our grassland is healthy and benefitting wildlife. And, as we’ve seen recently with goldfinches on the Ox Eye Daisy bank, once the bees have enjoyed the flowers the birds get the use of the seeds.

“We use volunteers to manage and improve the big wild areas, raking the cut grass and sowing wildflower seeds, and this year we also have many young plants grown from seed which will be planted from September onwards. We’ll be organising regular volunteering sessions from Freshers through the winter to help with this.”

Plantlife organises Every Flower Counts as a way of supporting plants and pollinators. The survey allows participants to calculate the difference they are making for nature with their Personal Nectar Score.

Counts include the number of individual, open flowers and flower richness – the number of different flowering species present.

The Plantlife results are displayed differently this year, preventing comparison with previous years but the Grounds Team is hoping to be able to compare future years from now on.

The July 2022 results headlines for Penryn Campus are:

  • Number of flowers on all areas surveyed: 2,884,918 (estimate) which gives –
  • Enough nectar sugar to support 112,521 honeybee workers per day.
  • Enough pollen produced to support 15,857 mining bee brood cells/larvae or around 1586 bumblebee larvae.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.