Meet the candidates standing to be the next student trustees to join the People & Planet Board of Trustees!
You can now read the statements from each of our candidates and watch back our recent "meet the candidates" online event below.
For example, I have either organised or facilitated at various meetings ad gatherings, such as;
I believe that I would be an asset, as I have worked with People & Planet in the past with good results, given that we both have many of the same goals in mind, when it comes to fighting climate change.
Before my time at Birkbeck, I worked at the British Library as a Leading Library Assistant. During that time, I served in various capacities as the; Branch Organiser, Branch Secretary and Branch Chair. Currently, I am the student union’s Environmental and Ethics Officer, I am also part of the Birkbeck student union scrutiny panel and I sit in the student parliament. It is in these capacities, that I have learnt how to absorb considerable amounts of data, screen out what's important and act on it, and take collective responsibility. I also have over the last 20-30 years, sat on various committees and organisation boards, both internally during my studies and also in various capacities outside of Birkbeck. Beyond being on committees, I have also worked with XR, Just Stop Oil, been on protests and made videos on climate change.
Both People & Planet and I share a strong sense that climate justice is nothing without social justice, and that is why I believe that intersectionality is the bridge between the two. I am well versed when it comes to the ability to read and review papers in time, between meetings, give my opinion in a timely and constructive fashion, when it comes to being vocal and asking questions. I do strongly believe that a collegiate and collaborative approach is often the best one. I hope that this gives you some insight as to my worth and value as a candidate and a potential student trustee.
Hi! My name is Sam (he/him), I’m 21, and I’m a science student and organiser. I’m standing to be a student trustee of People & Planet because I see the organisation’s incredible role in raising generation after generation of lifelong changemakers, and I’d love to help support that within the organisation. I believe these things would enable me to bring valuable perspectives, energy, and insight to People & Planet:
Campaigning on the issues that matter to students, staff and community alike in our university communities, People & Planet’s strength is through its network, and it is changing the game on UK campuses. For decades People & Planet has been empowering people, winning policy change, and making the world a better place, and I’d love to be part of, and help build on, that history.
I was 13 when I first joined my local Friends of the Earth group in south London. Since then, in a variety of different groups, I’ve worked on campaigns to protect nature, ban fracking, tackle air pollution, support LGBT+ people, give aid to those whose human rights are being denied, and address the climate crisis (which intersects with all those other issues). I’ve spent the past two years campaigning with Cambridge Climate Justice for the University of Cambridge to finish the job it started when our predecessors won the divestment commitment in 2020. This includes the Fossil Free Careers and Fossil Free Research campaigns, pushing for an end to the university's institutional platforming of the fossil fuel industry. I also sit on the Finance and Operations Committee of the Campus Climate Network, a US-based project that launched the Fossil Free Research campaign and supports student organising. This is very similar to the work People & Planet does in the UK. Through the various campaigns, I’ve spent many hours thinking about organisational and campaign strategy, organised events, facilitated meetings, delivered workshops, spoken at events, reviewed budgets, coached and trained fellow students, and more, and I believe these skills would help me be a good People & Planet trustee.
Like People & Planet, I want a world where everyone can live a happy, fulfilling life. Some of the biggest barriers to achieving that vision are the climate and nature crises, poverty, war, institutional discrimination, and human rights abuses. My values then are about tackling these issues, with an understanding of the great injustice that in general, those worst affected by these crises are those least responsible. On the climate crisis, millions are already facing the impacts. We must therefore act on our values with a sense of urgency and moral clarity, and platform and centre their voices. In Cambridge Climate Justice, we’ve taken the issues right to the top of the university, working both inside and outside the institution's structures to build support for a university that routinely leverages its reputational and financial power for good, rather than allowing complicity in some of the greatest harms of our time. I also believe that while the issues themselves are of utmost significance, the journey to get there is just as important. By building networks and grassroots organisations, and by believing in the power of everyday people, we create stronger, more resilient communities, where people look out for each other, including those they'll never meet. In organising, we are actively building the world we want to see!
Students' needs should be the key consideration making strategic changes within universities since they are the first and direct consumers of a higher institutions service. The diverse and dynamic student population need support from trusted students to advise them on how to effectively present their needs to their universities and contribute to societal good while they study. I am certain that as a student trustee with People and Planet, I will help university students across the UK attain any goals they have to build a more sustainable society.
I am an environment and sustainability specialist with two university degrees in the subject, and I am about to get a 3rd one. My passion for environmental protection as a child and sustainabile development as an adult has made me happily invest my study years to build my knowledge in environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The student trustee role matches my passion and skills; I am bringing in expert knowledge, and great work experience from paid and volunteering roles to do a great job of serving the student community accross UK through people and planet.
The three P's of Sustainability are People, Planet, and Profit - they ought to be prioritised in that order during decision making. Unfortunately, we cannot confidently say that decision making follows that order. I love that People and Planet is shinning the light on what truly matters, realigning the interests and focus of organisations, and holding them responsible - people first, then our irreplacable planet, before profit, this I am happy to be part of, knowing that if the first two P's (people and planet) receive the required attention, compliant organisations wouldn't run at a loss.