A selection of our top picks over the past few months:

Apps

• Olio – allows you to share food with other users in your area for free.
• Toogoodtogo– shops/restaurants post unsold food to buy at a reduced price. Magic bags= random items/lucky dip.
• Karma– similar to Toogoodtogo but users can see exactly what food is on offer instead of lucky dip/magic bag idea.
• Nosh– allows users to record what food they have in their house. They can view expiry and use-by dates on screen by scanning bar codes- with an emphasis (more than the similar ‘NoWaste app’) on how best before dates don’t mean you can’t eat the food.
• Kitche– tons of recipes which are created from inputting the ingredients you have in the house (to use up your leftovers etc).
• Good on You– they’ve compiled lots of information to provide you with ethical and sustainability brand ratings. Just search for your favourite brand to see how they score, and where their fall-downs are. Also, find ethical alternatives and read many articles that they’ve put together.

Books

• The Value of a Whale- On the illusions of Green Capitalism by Adrienne Buller. Giving a living creature a monetary value to reflect its utility to humans is intended as a conservation measure- do you agree with this?
• How bad are bananas?: The carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee. Find out about the carbon footprint of anything and everything that we do, from individual actions all the way to global.

Documentaries

• WaterBear– a free video streaming website with documentaries and films on environmental issues.
• Waste Land (2009)– set in Rio de Janeiro to show the audience the daily life of those living near the waste build up here.
• We the Power- The Future of Energy is Community-Owned (2021)– this documentary demonstrates the power of community action in the context of locals taking power back from large energy companies. Produced by Patagonia clothing company.
• Youth Unstoppable (2021)– WaterBear’s new original feature documentary.

Podcasts

• The Yikes Podcast– a general discussion about climate change solutions and human rights.
• Mothers of Invention– a focus on feminist climate change solutions with input from women from across the globe.
• The Climate Conscious Podcast– communication on environmental sustainability in the context of the Caribbean and Small Island Developing States.
• Sustainababble– a weekly podcast aiming to simplify topics around sustainability and inject an element of humour into the conversation.

Websites

• Carbon Brief– a great UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. You can even sign up to their daily, weekly, or monthly ‘Carbon Brief’ via email to receive all the latest news.
• Tree Hugger– Sustainability made simple, for everyone.
• National Geographic– They have lots of information on their website, as well as videos to be explored on YouTube.
• Climate Food Challenge– can you arrange foods in order of their carbon emissions? Have a go on this online game!

Online Learning

• Sustainability Essentials– a 20 minute online training package exploring sustainability at LU, ways you can help to do your bit to help us achieve our Net Zero Goal.
• OpenLearn– This free learning portal is brought to you by the Open University. There are 1000’s of free courses on here. Why not check out the Nature and Environment ones!
• Carbon Literacy Training– Carbon Literacy is a 2 day accredited training scheme run by the Carbon Literacy Project (CLP) to embed sustainable behaviour changes within an organisation. The sustainability training improves staff awareness of the carbon costs and the impacts of their everyday activities. It also empowers individuals, communities, and organisations to be aware of how their actions can reduce emissions.
• SDG Academy– The SDG academy curates free, open and educational resources from the world’s leading experts on sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Sustainable Development Goals– The library has purchased this resource which has chapters, articles and teaching and learning resources for each of the 17 interlinked global goals. Any student or staff member can gain access when connected to the University’s VPN.
• Linkedin Learning– There are lots of Sustainability and related courses here to check out, and you get a certificate/badge on your Linkedin profile afterwards too.

Got a resource that you think belongs on this list? Drop us an email to enviroassist@lboro.ac.uk and we will check it out to get it added! Equally, send us your thoughts!

This article is in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 ‘Quality Education’.  To find out more, click here.