Green Libraries Week activities
01 Oct 2025
The Library Environmental Sustainability Working Group will be hosting a series of activities to celebrate Green Libraries Week, which this year is celebrated from Monday, 27 – Friday, 31 October.
- Sustainable Travel Breakfast: Wednesday, 30 October
We will be hosting another Sustainable Travel Breakfast, where Library staff who travel sustainably to work will be rewarded with a free £5 breakfast voucher to spend at the Museum Café. We will also have information about the University’s schemes to support active travel including the Cycle to Work Scheme and the Try the Tram/Train/Bike Schemes (for car parking permit holders), plus freebies from Transport for Greater Manchester to support sustainable travel.
When: Wednesday, 29 October. Drop-in between 8.30am - 9.30am.
Where: Museum Café, Manchester Museum, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL
How: Complete the registration form
- Sustainable Skills Share: Wednesday, 30 October
Could you teach a colleague how to get started with a new craft or hobby for autumn/winter? As part of Green Libraries Week, we are looking to encourage each other to explore creation over consumption as we head into the cosy months. Trying out new hobbies and creating handmade gifts for friends and family can all help reduce our consumption and improve our wellbeing.
So, whether you’re a pro at pilates, a dab hand at drawing, or an origami sensei, let us know if you have a skill that you’d be happy to share with Library colleagues over a lunchtime. You don’t have to deliver a crash course – just giving some pointers on where to get started counts!
To express your interest in sharing a skill (or learning one!), please contact the ESWG via Nikki Tomlinson by Friday, 10 October.
- Environmental Sustainability Volunteering at Firs Research Centre: Thursday, 30 October
The Firs environmental research station is situated in the heart of the University’s Fallowfield campus, and is a green oasis for research, teaching and community engagement. Their mission is to provide a green oasis in Manchester, researching, educating and engaging the community about biodiversity, food security and the environment. With over 100 years of active research, it is the longest continuously running research facility at the University. The site is home to the Firs Environmental Research Station and the University’s Living Plant Collection.
The Firs has kindly agreed to host 15 members of Library staff from 10am - 3pm on a volunteering day, where we can continue their environmental sustainability aims. Activities might include weeding, cutting back, digging and other general garden work, plus a tour of the grounds and plant collections.
Please note that you will need to:
- obtain your line manager’s permission to use a volunteering day;
- complete the volunteer application form and submit to your line manager;
- arrange your own transport to the Firs Environmental Research Station in Fallowfield.
Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Please contact Helen Foster if you have any questions about this opportunity.