4
300 native trees around the woodland
and lakes near Keele Hall, as part of
an initiative run by the Woodland Trust
in the fight against the climate crisis.
The planting sessions were held
as part of Tree Charter Week and
the Woodland Trust’s Big Climate
Fightback, a campaign designed
to combat the climate crisis by
encouraging people to plant trees to
help mitigate the adverse impacts.
President of Keele Wildlife Society,
Alana Wheat, said: “Thank you to
those who came along and planted a
tree. We really appreciate it and we
hope you enjoyed the experience as
much as we did.”
and Keele’s success this year is a
testament to the University’s ethos of
embedding sustainability in all that we
do, with the University being named
as a finalist in all six categories that it
entered this year.
Professor Mark Ormerod, Deputy
Vice-Chancellor and Provost and the
Institutional Lead for Sustainability,
said: “Sustainability is a key
overarching priority for the University,
and is embedded in all aspects of
our activities across our campus,
community and external engagement,
as well as research and education.
“Our continued success in the
sector’s Green Gown Awards is a
reflection of our sector-leading work
in sustainability. I would particularly
like to congratulate Tom on his superb
achievement in winning the Student
Sustainability Champion Award, as well
as the very well deserved recognition
for CLOCK.”
Professor Susan Bruce, Keele’s
Institutional Lead for Gender Equality,
highlighted Keele’s commitment to
advance equality in this area.
Professor Alison Brammer, Head of the
School of Law, said: “The evening was
organised to mark the centenary of
women’s entry to the legal profession.
“However, it was also an opportunity
for a broader celebration of the
contributions and influence of women
in the law within legal professions
and academia, and indeed the impact
of those contributions for women
experiencing the law.
“It was a privilege to be joined by
Christina Blacklaws who until recently,
and during this centenary year, was
President of the Law Society of
England and Wales.”
Success for Keele at annual awards
celebrating sustainability in higher
education
Keele University is celebrating success
at this year’s prestigious Green Gown
Awards which honour sustainability in
higher education.
Keele’s biggest success of the night
went to Tom Bedford, a 3rd-year
Environment and Sustainability
student, who won the Student
Sustainability Champion Award for
his involvement with the climate
movement, which included attending
the UN Summit, working with UK Youth
Climate Coalition, and organising a UK
climate conference.
Keele was also highly commended
in the Benefiting Society award
category, for which the Community
Legal Outreach Collaboration, Keele
(CLOCK) initiative was nominated for
providing 9,000 volunteering hours
to provide access to justice to 4,000
people.
Established in 2004, the Green Gown
Awards recognise the exceptional
sustainability initiatives being
undertaken by universities and
colleges across the UK and Ireland.
With sustainability moving up the
agenda, the Awards have become
established as the most prestigious
recognition of best practice within the
further and higher education sector,
Keele celebrates a century of
women in the legal profession
An event was organised by Keele’s
School of Law recently to celebrate
100 years of women working in the
legal profession.
Marking a century since the 1919 Sex
Disqualification (Removal) Act, which
allowed women in the UK to enter the
legal profession for the first time, the
‘Women in the Law: Reflections’ event
was hosted at Keele Hall by members
of the Law School, with a number of
guests delivering special addresses.
Celebrating the contributions and
influence of women working in the law,
the keynote presentation was delivered
by Christina Blacklaws, in which she
explored the power of gender equality
to transform the business of law.
The event was also held to
commemorate the achievements of
women at Keele’s School of Law itself,
with contributions from Professor Fiona
Cownie, Principal Fellow of the Higher
Education Academy, and Dr Jane
Krishnadas, founder of the Community
Legal Outreach Collaboration, Keele
(CLOCK). Closing remarks from
Keele academic editing new
compilation of historic author’s
letters
A literature academic from Keele
University is helping to preserve the
legacy of one of history’s most famous
authors by editing a compendium of his
personal letters.
The 17-18th century author Daniel
Defoe, who is best known for his novel
Robinson Crusoe, led a long and
varied life which also saw him working
as a political writer employed by the
Government, as well as a spy.
One of his most difficult tasks was an
assignment in Scotland around the
time of the Act of Union, which was
introduced to unite the Scottish and
English parliaments.
Defoe travelled to Scotland in 1706
to promote the Union, which was
passed the following year. During
this time Defoe infiltrated various
groups to lobby in favour of the Union
and maintained a steady stream of
propaganda. He sent letters back
to England to give the Government
in London information it could use
to ensure the Act passed, despite
the widespread hostility towards it in
Scotland.