Forever Keele 21
to manage, especially with all of their
other essential grounds maintenance
work. Thankfully the trees were saved
when we were able to negotiate with
the tree supplier to come and collect
the unused tree stock so that it could
be stored appropriately and cared for
during the lockdown period. Staff at
KeeleSU and the University are hoping
that lockdown restrictions will continue
to lift in time for the new academic
year, and that tree-planting activities
can be resumed. After months of
being apart, the planting of these trees
will enable the Keele community to
come together in a safe and socially
distanced way to celebrate student
democracy, make a difference to our
environment and enjoy the beauty of
our campus!
two issues that “Vote Leaves” was
born.
The idea behind “Vote Leaves” was
that KeeleSU would plant a tree on
campus for every student that voted
in the officer elections. We were lucky
enough to receive a £5000 grant from
Keele Key Fund thanks to generous
alumni donors, as well as £100 from a
private company. This was enough to
buy 4000 native trees, biodegradable
guards and stakes as well as setting
aside money for refreshments
during planting events. Staff at the
SU had great fun coming up with a
‘treemendous’ and pun-tastic campaign
to engage students and staff across
the university!
The plan was to have a number of
tree-planting events following the
election, including exam de-stress
events, volunteering opportunities
and collaborations with local schools
through the university outreach
programme. A whopping 2270
students voted in the election, an
increase of 48 votes compared to the
previous year! KeeleSU is incredibly
proud of this achievement, especially
considering the voting period coincided
with the UCU strikes.
However, timing could not have been
worse for the planting part of the
project. The trees arrived on campus
on 13th March ready for the first
planting event on 18th. By 16th March,
the university had started to wind down
physical teaching and advised all none
essential gatherings be cancelled as
a result of Covid-19. The trees had
arrived on campus with no volunteers
to plant them.
That last week at KeeleSU was an
emotional rollercoaster, especially
for those involved in the Vote Leaves
project. It was very distressing to
think that the tress may die and go
unplanted after all the hard work and
student engagement. Despite this, staff
from the SU and the university came
up with an action plan to save the trees
and get as many planted
as possible, and we
were able to mobilise a
small team of students,
grounds staff and SU
staff before campus
closed on Friday 20th
March. The Covid-19
crisis has been scary
and unsettling for all
staff and officers and
after an emotional week,
it seemed fitting that
the last thing staff and
officers did together on
the final day on campus
was plant trees together
on a sunny day. This
was a cathartic and
distracting activity and
all staff and officers
involved reported feeling
calmer following the
tree planting. Between
150 and 200 trees were
planted as a result of
their efforts!
The announcement of
a nationwide lockdown
on the 23rd March
prevented any further
student planting, and
there were far too many
for the grounds team