Welcome to our first student sustainability newsletter!
Our newsletter is aimed at keeping our Flinders University community informed about all things sustainability. Featuring the latest projects, initiatives and events we’ll be including interviews with students and staff, and practical tips for living a more sustainable life.
Stay tuned for more in our next editions throughout the year! If you’d like to contribute or have any ideas for sustainability articles, please contact us at sustainability@flinders.edu.au.
Recent Events
Orientation
During Orientation we ran several activities to help people learn more about sustainability at Flinders. This included a scavenger hunt, where participants sought out on-campus sustainability initiatives and the ever popular ‘In Which Bin?’ game.
Scavenger Hunt
The inaugural sustainability scavenger hunt helped students discover our key sustainability initiatives across Bedford Park campus. Using a map which showed the location of these initiatives, students collected stamps from all 8 locations including the Grow, Eat and Learn Market Garden, solar array, electric vehicles and chargers, battery recycling unit, waste management system, water refill station, Oasis, and the bike station. Once completed, participants were able to win an instant eco prize and go in the draw to win the grand prize
Scavenger hunt stamp station
Which Bin Game
Most of the waste from our four main waste streams:
1. 10c deposit recycling,
2. Organics
3. General and 4. Paper and cardboard are recycled and diverted from landfill
The Which Bin game helps people to learn more about the bin systems used at Bedford Park and City campuses. It’s a fun, informative, hands-on activity requiring participants to correctly sort various items into our main waste streams and help to reduce contamination.
Congratulations Jay Peter Sunu for winning the Scavenger Hunt grand prize!
In Which Bin Game
Meet our 2025 FUSA Environment Officer, Karthik Kamaraj
What motivated you to become the FUSA Environment Officer? What motivated me to become the FUSA Environment Officer is my previous experience volunteering with the Go Green Club back in India, where I actively participated in planting saplings in remote areas and promoting eco-awareness in local communities. Those hands-on experiences made me realize the impact we can create when we work together for the environment. Now, as a student at Flinders University, I want to continue that journey and contribute to making our campus more sustainable. I’m passionate about taking real action and inspiring others to care for our planet.
What initiatives or projects do you have coming up for this year and how can students get involved?
This year, I plan to launch sustainability workshops, and campus clean-up events to promote ecofriendly habits and raise environmental awareness. Students can get involved by volunteering for these activities, sharing ideas, and joining a team committed to making our campus greener and more sustainable.
What are some personal practices or habits you’ve adopted to live more sustainably?
To live more sustainably, I’ve adopted habits like carrying a reusable water bottle and bag, minimising single-use plastics, and walking whenever possible. I also make sure to sort waste into the correct garbage bins and personally take recyclable bottles to the 10c refund depot. Planning meals to reduce food waste is another simple yet effective habit I follow. These small actions help me stay mindful of my environmental impact and encourage a more sustainable lifestyle.
Which Sustainable Development Goal matters most to you, and why?
I believe every sustainable development goals play a crucial role, but climate action (Goal 13) stands out to me the most. Back in India, I volunteered with the Go Green Club where we planted saplings in remote areas and raised awareness about environmental issues. That experience showed me how even small actions can make a big difference. Climate change impacts us all, and I feel it’s our responsibility to act now to protect the planet for future generations.
Get in touch with FUSA’s Environment Officer by email environment.officer@flinders.edu.au
Karthik Kamaraj
Learn About Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global objectives established by the United Nations in 2015, providing a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future.
The SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
More on the SDGs: sdgs.un.org/goals
2025 Student Sustainability Survey
Sustainability has never been more critical as the world faces escalating challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, health crises, freshwater scarcity, and rising living costs.
This year, we conducted a sustainability survey to better understand which Sustainable Development Goals resonated most with students, identify their concerns about sustainability challenges, and to gain insights into their understanding of key sustainability concepts.
More than 1,200 students took part in the survey, with these SDGs being most frequently highlighted:
• SDG 1
• SDG 3
• SDG 6
• SDG 13
A big thank you to all the students who took part in the survey. These results will be used to inform the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives and programs across our teaching, research and operations.
Congratulations to our survey winners Jessica Cruz, Sarita Prabhakaran and Riley Kevitt (pictured) who won a $100 VISA gift card for taking part.
Zero Waste Display in the Central Library
Global waste production is expected to soar to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050. Continuing down this path is unsustainable as we are running out of landfill space, producing excessive pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and depleting finite natural resources.
International Zero Waste Day held on 30 March each year aims to raise awareness of responsible consumption. It encourages us all to embrace the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mindset to minimise waste as part of a broader shift toward a circular economy.
Did you know?
Each year the world generated 2.1 billion tonnes of waste. That’s the approximate weight of 13,000 Sydney Opera Houses.
To support International Zero Waste Day, the Central Library created a zero-waste display to help raise awareness and encourage action.
Students and staff can explore practical tips on easy eco-friendly swaps, learn about zerowaste living, understand how to use our bin systems correctly, and discover what happens to waste generated on campus.
Visit the display and learn more by visiting the Flinders resource recovery webpage:
Sustainability Hacks on Campus
At Flinders, there’s many initiatives underway that support the SDGS. Here are seven quick sustainability hacks that you should know about when you’re on campus.
Flinders Community Market
Access free and low-cost foods at the Flinders Community Market. The market is held on every Thursday during semester from 11am – 1pm at the Oasis Student Wellbeing Centre.
For more information visit the Oasis webpage
BYO reusable cup and save!
Receive a 20 to 50c discount by bringing your own reusable cup (such as a travel cup, mug or keep cup) when purchasing a beverage from retailers at Bedford Park campus.
Health services
Flinders provides a confidential health service to all currently enrolled students and staff at our fully equipped and accredited Medical Centre. SA Pathology is also available on campus. All eligible consultations are bulk billed. For more information, visit Flinders Health Services webpage.
Zero waste display at Central Library
Battery Recycling
Drop off your used batteries for recycling at:
- Central Library – level 1 (next to photocopiers)
- Sturt Library – level 3 (next to vending machine)
- Tonsley Library (entrance)
Better U – supporting wellbeing
Better U connects you with wellbeing resources, programs, and support to enhance your physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health.
Get on your bike!
If you’re cycling to Bedford Park and Sturt campuses, you can lock-up your bikes in one of two secure cages equipped with charging points for e-bikes, end-of-trip facilities and repair stations.
For more information, visit the cycling webpage.
Grow, Eat, Learn
Grow and harvest fresh fruits, herbs and veggies for FREE at our Grow, Eat and Learn community garden located alongside the McHughs building at South Ridge.
Sustainability Advisory Group
The Sustainability Advisory Group (SAG) consists of academics, staff, and students who meet twice a year to provide strategic guidance and oversight on the implementation of actions and initiatives from the 2030 Sustainability Strategy, ensuring that informed decisions are made.
If you’re passionate about advancing sustainability on campus and are interested in joining SAG, please contact sustainability@flinders.edu.au .
Virtual Sustainability Tour
Take a virtual tour to learn about our various sustainability initiatives across Bedford and Tonsley campuses.
You can navigate the map by scrolling or clicking on the different points of interest. Once you’ve had a virtual tour, you might like to take a stroll and visit our initiatives in person.
Check it out on the Flinders sustainability webpage.
We welcome your feedback
If you have any feedback about the newsletter, ideas for articles or would like to contribute to the Sustainability Buzz, we’d love to hear from you. Don’t bee shy! Drop us a line in touch by emailing us at sustainability@flinders.edu.au
