Student Impact

Student-Led Societies & Groups

Evergreen Society

Evergreen is the University's climate and humanitarian justice society. Dedicated to living a happier, healthier, and greener future together, for students and the wider Chester community. The society makes a conscious effort to foster a sense of community among its members, which is important for the motivation to curate the change they wish to see.

Evergreen’s recent achievements include:

  • The takeover of the Swap Shop initiative.
  • Working with People & Planet on campaigns, for example, their Divestment Border campaign.
  • The delivery of their Menstrual Health campaign (in collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ society), which shared crucial information to the student body about menstruation to address associated misconceptions.
  • Winners of the Students’ Union’s ‘Student Activists of the Year’ Award 2026.

Instagram: @csu_evergreen

Chester Students’ Union webpage: Evergreen

Batty for Mammals

Batty for Mammals is a student-led project that focuses on raising awareness about local mammal species on campus. The project encourages engagement with mammal conservation through social media and activities including creating storyboards about nocturnal species such as pipistrelle bats, hedgehogs, and foxes.

Batty for Mammals’ recent activities and achievements include:

  • Carrying out transects on Exton Park site to explore and record wildlife, adding to local mammal records.
  • Winning ‘Best Mammal Story’ in the University’s Mammal Challenge (2026).
  • Being shortlisted for the University’s ‘Volunteer Provider of the Year’ (2026).
  • Delivering outreach sessions with Girlguiding, including tunnel trap-making activities participants could use to explore wildlife at home.
  • Collaborating with media students from our Kingsway site, who interviewed the group as part of a nature/conservation documentary.

Instagram: @battyformammals_uoc

Student Carbon Literacy Facilitators

Students who are Carbon Literate can also train to become a Carbon Literacy Facilitator (CLF). This training is accessible to all current students, as delivery is offered either in person or online. 

Through the Unijob scheme, the University now offers paid opportunities for Student Carbon Literacy Facilitators. This role includes delivering engaging and impactful Carbon Literacy training sessions to peers and staff.  

Facilitators play a key part in raising awareness about climate change, promoting sustainable practices, and empowering others to take meaningful climate action by: 

  • Helping participants understand climate science, carbon footprints, and guiding them in developing their own climate actions.  
  • Encouraging discussion and reflection on personal and institutional climate impacts, fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment.  
  • Providing feedback and contributing ideas to enhance training delivery and participant experience.  
  • Working closely with the Sustainability team and other facilitators to ensure consistency and quality across sessions.  

Email: carbonliteracytraining@chester.ac.uk

Student Projects & Activities

Established by our students, Chester’s on-site Swap Shop has been designed to help students and staff access affordable, good-conditioned "pre-loved" clothing and fancy-dress costumes. Located at Exton Park and held every month, the Swap Shop offers a happier, more inclusive and sustainable experience. Since 2024, the Swap Shop has saved over 500 items of clothing from going to landfill. 

In June 2025, the Criminology society also hosted its first-ever book swap in collaboration with the Sustainability and Library teams, with 88 books redirected from waste streams. 

From 2025-26, the Evergreen society took ownership of the Swap Shop, making the scheme completely student led. Members create promotions, audit donations, oversee the initiative’s administration, and facilitate the shop when it’s open. Staff can also get involved by donating or swapping fancy dress items, clothing, accessories or books at each Swap Shop. 

Email - csuevergreensoc@chester.ac.uk. 

Hedgehog Friendly Campus is led by students and supported by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. The project aims to make University sites a safe and attractive site for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are officially classified as vulnerable to extinction, so the project aims to make University spaces hedgehog friendly, as well as give people the tools to make their own spaces hedgehog friendly. 

Activities can include building hedgehog houses, keeping feeding stations topped up and organising litter picks. 

Email - hedgehogs@chester.ac.uk. 

In April 2026, the student-led Photography society hosted an upcycling crafts session, promoting the reuse of materials by creating baskets out of scrap paper and recycled cardboard. Liaising with the Sustainability team, and with generous donations from the University’s Print team and the Centre of Student Exchange & Language Development, the society was able to “be creative whilst also saving emissions”. 

The Sustainability team collaborated with the Volunteering team, Chester Zoo, and RECORD to support Chester’s city-wide contribution to the annual City Nature Challenge. 18 students supported the activity, discovering and logging wildlife on campus – including a range of beetles, bees, plants and even some evidence of hedgehogs. 

At a screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing, a film designed to galvanise political action on nature and the climate crisis, the University invited students to lead a post-film panel discussion. The audience was encouraged by students to identify how they can engage different communities - from business to faith groups - to help build the pressure for regional and national government action.  The panel reflected on what we should learn from societal responses to other crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role that universities can play in catalysing change. 

Nature at Night is a University of Chester research project funded by the Ecological Citizens Network. Bringing together students and lecturers from Geography and Natural Sciences, the project offers Research Assistant roles to students – two of whom received the University’s ‘Unijob Student of the Year’ award in 2026.

The project focuses on eliciting mutual care between young people aged 18-25 years and nocturnal wildlife, with a particular focus on bats. The project has carried out:

  • Bat and wildlife walks on campus.
  • Workshops, including a focus on bat detector building, photography and artwork. Students were able to take the detectors they made for free.
  • Focus group interviews to better understand the barriers and connectors between young people and their ability to enjoy the night.
  • Stakeholder interviews, including representatives from the Bat Conservation Trust and Butterfly Conservation, to gain insight into youth engagement with (nocturnal) wildlife and conservation.

The project is currently developing a Nature at Night zine from workshop artwork and planning a citizen science activity, including a campus bat walk, summer surveys, and interviews on how bat detectors enhance accessibility and engagement with nocturnal wildlife.

Instagram: @natureatnight_uoc

In 2026, three students worked as RSPB University Ambassadors, connecting University of Chester students with the local RSPB group to encourage student interest in their conservation work. This included hosting a stall at the University's Volunteer Fair, creating a social media group to share events, organising a student bird walk, and helping students learn how to identify birdsongs and submit their findings to local records. They also hosted a RSPB pin badge stall, raising over £100 for the charity.