Students dig ideas for Good Life at uni
THE phrase 'student house' usually conjures up images of dirty takeaway dishes, electrical gadgets in every room, and heating cranked up to full blast to ward off the damp.
But a 1960s student bungalow at Keele University has just become an experiment in green living and four lads will be spending the next year experiencing the Good Life on campus.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Students, from left, James Adams, Scott Reid, Carl Brindley and Jack Mills Davidson. Pictures: Clare Jennings
From tending their own vegetable garden, through to using low-energy toasters and kettles, they are determined to prove people can save money and help the environment by following simple, practical steps.
The university-owned digs have been taken over by Scott Reid, Jack Mills Davidson, Carl Brindley and James Adams, who are studying environment and sustainability degrees at Keele.
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Their efforts are also being eagerly watched by the students' lecturers, who plan to use the energy monitoring data for academic research.
Carl, aged 29, said: "The house is an incredible learning environment. From 9am to 6pm, other students at Keele can also drop by and see it."
He is overseeing the garden works, which include creating raised vegetable beds, where they will grow produce for their meals.
Meanwhile, Scott is busy inside the house looking at ways to reduce their energy bills.
The 21-year-old said: "Some of the radiators are going to have reflective panels, so they reflect the heat back. We've also got separate bins for recycling."
Messages are dotted around the house reminding them to switch off lights and turn off dripping taps, as one leaky tap can waste up to 90 litres of water a week.
"We came up with the idea for a sustainable student house as part of our course and approached the university for support," said Scott.
The university has fitted double-glazed windows to the bungalow, which are expected to save £130 a year on energy bills.
A grant from an alumni fund has also paid for a greenhouse and future changes could include installing solar panels.
The lads will be keeping other students updated through a project website, Twitter, and a blog.
Their initiative is also one of the first research projects to be championed by the new Keele University Sustainability Hub, which opened yesterday.
Based in converted farm buildings on the campus, the hub features a lecture theatre, exhibition and meeting space, and a Fairtrade coffee lounge.
It will also be used as a visitor centre for schoolchildren and the public, so they can see technology which helps the environment in action.
Hub manager and lecturer Sharon George said: "They can see photo-voltaic panels close up. We've also got bio-mass boilers, geo-thermal heating, and rainwater recycling."
One of the other projects linked to the centre will see older people work with students to learn from each other's skills.
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