Phoebe Archer joins us at an exciting time in the University's journey to net zero carbon. Her focus will be on improving commutes to clinical placement - making journeys easier for our student doctors and better for the planet.
The School is keen to weave sustainability into its strategic objectives and initiatives. A student-staff working group has been set up to bolster efforts in this area, and a group of students have created a Liverpool branch of the national charity Students for Global Health.
An interesting area of opportunity is the commute to clinical placement, with the School having around 1200 student doctors travelling to placement sites across the North West every day, for around 30 weeks per year. A new project will focus on reducing the carbon footprint associated with this, by first looking into factors behind student travel behaviours and potential barriers to change.
Leading this, is Sustainability Project Officer Phoebe Archer.
“Hello! I’m Phoebe and I’ve joined the School of Medicine to run a project as part of the mission to improve commutes to placement by making them more sustainable and easier for you, our student doctors!
I’ve relocated from Birmingham, where I completed my BSc Biochemistry degree, to pursue my passion for sustainability. Outside of the project, you can find me either up in the mountains or curled up with a good book at weekends!
The project relates to the environmental cost of student doctors commuting to clinical placement and allows me to dive deeper into first-hand student experiences of commutes.
The project was formulated by Dr Iain Young and is supported by the University’s Sustainability Fund, with the greater aim being to reduce the University’s Scope 3 emissions and contribute towards the University’s 2035 Net Zero carbon target.
I’m keen to hear your thoughts on travelling to and from placements, and I’ll be using the results to inform my sustainability work and look at changes we can implement to improve your journeys.
Keep an eye out for surveys and focus groups I’ll be running after the Winter Break.
If you have any questions, or would like to get involved in the project, you can contact me at phoebe.archer@liverpool.ac.uk.
Look out for more from me in the New Year!”
Welcome to the School, Phoebe! We’re looking forward to working with you.
Discover more
- Learn more about the sustainability staff-student working group and Students for Global Health Liverpool in this Student Spotlight article (link).
- Head over to the Sustainability web area (link) for a complete overview of the University’s sustainable focus, including lots of opportunities to get involved yourself.