Lifestyle and behaviour changes during lockdown including reduced travel and lower consumption could, if sustained, aid a green recovery, according to environmental experts. Anna Hawkins, lecturer in environmental social science at Sheffield Hallam University, told Sheffield Live! that individual changes such as eating less meat and travelling less can benefit the environment but structural changes are also needed by large organisations. Beth Gavaghan reports.
A grassroots science festival for Sheffield is in planning for Science Week in March 2020 with the aim to place science projects into public and abandoned buildings. Festival founder and science teacher Hassan Al Zaffar hopes the free festival will engage younger audiences from local communities and show them that science can be fun. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield firefighter, George Smallwood of Crookes, has won the national Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition for his eco-friendly shed which offers a haven for wildlife. Built over two months the shed features a self-watering roof top garden with beehives, a bug hotel and a hedgehog house. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield doctors say stem cell transplants could be a game changer for many patients with multiple sclerosis following international trials including at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Results showed the treatment was able to stop the disease and improve symptoms. It involves wiping out a patient’s immune system using cancer drugs and then rebooting it with a stem cell transplant. Multiple sclerosis affects one in 600 people in the UK, with over 100,000 people diagnosed between the ages of 20 to 40, some with conditions becoming very severe. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Emma Reid, group coordinator for the MS society.
Anti-fracking campaigners organised a theatrical demonstration outside Sheffield Hall, to highlight dangers of fracking through costume and story-telling. Fracking to extract shale gas through hydraulic fracturing of rocks deep underground has faced strong opposition with some councils already pledged to be frack free and campaigners pressing the government to slow down the issue of fracking licences until the risks are fully understood. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Cameron Hall of Friends of the Earth.
Hundreds took part in a march from Devonshire Green to Sheffield Town Hall as part of a national day of action to celebrate diversity and the contribution of migrants to British society. The “1 Day Without Us” campaign grew from an idea posted on social media by Sheffield author and journalist Matt Carr in response to the rise of xenophobia after the Brexit vote. It has grown into a national and international solidarity campaign with action groups in towns and cities across the UK. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield Students Union Development Officer, Megan Mcgrath, is leading a campaign to abandon single use plastic in order to reduce harm to the environment. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
A report by Healthwatch Sheffield has found that people who are deaf or hard of hearing face multiple barriers leading to discrimination in accessing health or social care services. The Not Equal report, based on consultations with 75 Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing people indicated that many had experienced a poor level of service in places like hospitals and surgeries due to a lack of communications support. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Margaret Kilner, chief officer for Healthwatch Sheffield.
Sheffield-based near space balloon specialists, Sent Into Space, marked halloween with a trick of their own, floating a pumpkin into the upper atmosphere. The team, known for sending weird and wonderful items into the sky told Sheffield Live! that the pumpkin reached a height of 49.9km, well into the mesosphere. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
Anti-fracking campaigners gathered in their hundreds for a rally at Barkers Pool to call for a ban on fracking and for fossil fuels to be kept in the ground. Organisers say fracking is incompatible with the government’s commitment to tackle climate change. Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to create fissures that enable extraction of oil or gas. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!