Hello! My name is Felicity, and I am excited to be one of your new Student Green Office Projects Officers. I am currently in my second year studying LLB Law with International Relations and aspire to be an immigration barrister, although my love for academic research implores me to keep an open mind! I am a trinket collector (I have a Sylvanian Families’ mouse in my bag, for hard times) and a self-care enthusiast (easily found in Lush or Boots).

‘Those are oddly consumerist hobbies, for someone who calls themselves an environmentalist!’, is a phrase that, as a teenager in the era of the ‘Trash Jar’, would have made me feel incredibly guilty about my hobbies (even last year). Now, this is a belief that I openly challenge, and would love to empower others to challenge too.

When I was a child, jars weren’t for ‘trash’ anyway! They were to store food. Even today, I have never seen all four walls of my grandparent’s pantries, as they are hidden by jars – tall and wide, filled with jams from their garden and from other people’s gardens.

I spent every summer of my childhood in Bratislava, where my maternal family is from. Although my first language is English, the language of my heart is foraging. Whether it was a blueberry or a mushroom – and whether it was found in a forest or in a park, it was sure to come home with us (if edible, and approved by my grandparents) and make its way into a stew or a cake. It was this upbringing that has taught me that environmentalism, regardless of hobbies, or circumstances, is for everyone and should be accessible to everyone. Although gardens may not be accessible to everyone, and foraging is largely dependent on what can grow in each environment; knowledge on what is edible, how to collect, prepare and store it should be. Its my personal mission to learn how to do this in the UK.

Aside from my summers away, I grew up in Kent. I am a proud commuter student, who has breakfast in the students’ union and dinner in the library. My pride in my commuter student status emerged from an internship that I undertook this summer, under the amazing watch of Dr Susan Kenyon regarding commuter students and how they are (or aren’t) catered for in universities across the UK. Learning firsthand, through my own research, in addition to the research of others, that many ‘Widening Participation’ students feel as if they are being neglected by a system that I have benefitted from and enjoyed encouraged me to use my voice and knowledge to improve the system. I am determined that my events will be mindful of commuter students’ ability to access them, as they deserve to experience all that university has to offer, despite not living on campus.

As a shameless maximalist, and collector of cute things, it is important to me that people feel empowered to call themselves environmentalists, whilst enjoying their hobbies and self-expression, without shame. The most sustainable and ethical way to enjoy whatever collection may appeal to you is, of course, by searching for these items second-hand. My childhood was spent filled with second-hand clothes and toys, in addition to ensuring that if my items weren’t being used, that someone else could enjoy them. It fills my heart with joy that many people are discovering or re-discovering shopping second-hand or swapping
items between them. The quest for an item often ends up with you enjoying the item that you have found even more (at least in my experience)!

After the lingering effects of Covid during my A-Level experience, I wanted to take a year away from education. I spent this year developing myself and was afraid that this personal development would stop at university. It has not. I have found friends and interests within the university, outside and within my course, people who I have learnt a lot from, and people I have taught!

I hope we can all learn something from each other and watch each other grow this year!

❤️🌱

By Felicity Lindo, SGO Project Officer