Outreach
Outreach and Engagement
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Locally our staff and students have been working on a wide range of programmes within our community to embed the SDGs.
Taking direction from our Social Charter we work with a range of community organisations through our Science Shop, bring our students and the community together through our volunteer programmes and host a range of events that engage with our surrounding community.
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Since 2024 The Institute for Global Food Security has been engaging with our agricultural community to support and promote conservation, sustainable utilisation and management of the land.
Staff involved in the EIT Food Grow Project have hosted a range of events focused at promoting 'nature friendly farming' practices, including enhancing soil health.
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As part of the Portaferry Sails and Sounds Festival, Queen's Marine Lab opens its doors annually to the local community.
Queen's Marine Laboratory hosts an annual, free open day on the first Saturday of August every year, attracting over 400 visitors. It is a family-friendly event where you can meet staff and students to learn about what happens within the lab.
The local community can see the wave tank in action and learn about how this is used to assist academics when researching renewable technologies. Individuals can also get close to local marine and freshwater life - this includes starfish, terrapins and lion fish.
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Queen’s researchers are excited to be a partner in “Future Island-Island' Project which aims to create a 'green economy' for Rathlin via community outreach on sustainable tourism and waste management.
Launched in 2023, the project will use co-design, applied design, knowledge exchange and worldbuilding using 3D immersive technology, to shape new design-led green economies on six challenge-based objectives.
A key out come will be protecting Northern Ireland’s only offshore inhabited island, Rathlin, from any negative impacts of tourism by sustainably managing island resources.
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The Marine Lab welcomed 32 kids from the STEAM Summer Scheme enabling them to understand why our marine environment is so important, and what they can do to protect it.
Every summer, the STEAM Summer Scheme is hosted in collaboration with Queen's Communities and Place (QCAP) and Market Development Association. This scheme creates an immersive learning experience, introducing (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) STEAM subjects while nurturing their creativity and curiosity.
In July they visited Queen’s Marine Lab on Strangford Lough to explore our local biodiversity and learn how to protect it.
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Queen’s researchers have joined up with an international team of experts, Belfast City Council and a local community group to develop nature based solutions to tackle global challenges.
An underused green space in the city's Lower Botanic Gardens is being regenerated with community, research, and climate-resilient gardens to enable local users to engage with nature conservation and food production.
The project launched in May 2023, with the research and community garden continuing to flourish.
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The Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action published a report in June 2024 titled 'Paradise Lost' highlighting the emotional and personal impact of the Lough Neagh crisis.
The report focuses on interviews with 12 local people affected by the environmental crisis in Lough Neagh, detailing the emotional, mental and psychological impacts it has had on them.
Every year in May, Queen’s researchers and professional service teams inform and educate the public about our leading research.
In 2023 academics and technician's from Portaferry Marine Lab attended The Balmoral Show, an agriculture show that attracts over 100,000 visitors over four days. They discussed a range of marine topics: sustainable management of fisheries, overfishing, marine conservation and good aquatic stewardship.
Queen's Student Union has provided our students with the opportunity to engage with local primary school children via the SU Volunteer homework club.
Since 2020, a total of 435 students have volunteered in over 17 different homework clubs.
The Homework Clubs Programme gives Queen’s student volunteers the chance to provide homework support to children and young people who live in areas of educational underachievement. These pupils may not have the opportunity to complete their homework at home which can lead to underachieving in school, low confidence and limited future opportunities.
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Students from Queen’s University are partnering with Fighting Words NI to help local primary school children create their own stories.
Launched in 2023, the ongoing project, hosted by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s, trains student volunteers to work together with the children in workshops, helping them express their creativity through story making.
Story topics are wide ranging, covering a number of the key themes within the Sustainable Development Goals.
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A range of volunteering opportunities are available to staff and students to ensure they are part of the wider community.
Lennoxvale Tree Nursery | Cleaning the Streets of South Belfast | SU Volunteer