Meet ‘Sussex on Ecosia’, the Sussex students saving the world with a search engine

Students as Sussex University are urging everyone to swap their online search engines in an attempt to save the planet.

Rather than using Google, these students want you to switch to Ecosia, so every time you search for more amazing articles on The Tab Sussex, you can have a positive impact on the environment.

With every search you make on Ecosia, money made through ad revenue is donated to conservationist organisations — 80 per cent of all money they make, in fact. They estimate that a tree is planted per 45 searches.

I spoke to Fred, Amber and Erin from Sussex on Ecosia, a group of three second-year Anthropology students, to find out why this matters and how all of us at Sussex can make a difference.

Download Ecosia here: ecosia.co/UniversityofSussex

In their own words, what is Ecosia?

Ecosia is an ethical way to make the online searches that you would be making anyway. When we do so many things that damage the environment, Ecosia is such a simple way to make a positive change without any effort. It's Google but ethical.

Most people who know about Ecosia are more than happy to become a part of the campaign — the word just needs to spread!

How did the campaign start?

The group had the idea at the end of last term. Amber noticed Fred using it on his laptop and they thought it would be a great idea to get the whole university on board.

As the IT representative for the School of Global Studies, Fred was able to contact IT Services (ITS), who called them in for a meeting. At first, ITS wanted to go ahead with it straight away, making Ecosia the default browser across Sussex. However, they decided they'd need to get more people on board first.

It is essential to build a community base of students at Sussex, so that when the change is made, people are already used to it.

How can you get involved?

This is where you come in.

Whether or not you already use Ecosia, ITS can only see how many students are on board if you follow this link.

The link shows how many students at Sussex are using Ecosia, and the number is growing.

ITS would like to make the switch to Ecosia across campus, but they can't do this without the evidence of student support that the link shows and support from the top.

Sussex on Ecosia are meeting with Vice-Chancellor Adam Tickell on Thursday to request his support and are hoping to get Andrea Cornwall, head of Global Studies at Sussex, to encourage people to make the switch.

What is the end goal?

To get people to use the link on their laptops, so that Ecosia can then be made the default browser across campus computers, and so that people across Sussex will be using it.

The group have created a video made to help spread the word, and have contacted people in charge of all the screens across campus to have their banner displayed. It's already displayed in Shawcross, and hopefully you'll start seeing it in the library.

Ultimately, Sussex on Ecosia want to reach as many people who would be interested as possible. With enough support, every online search made at Sussex could help plant trees, making a positive change without any commitment.

All made with recycled paper, of course

Speaking to the team behind Sussex on Ecosia made me realise just how easy it is to make a difference. Using Ecosia needs no effort, yet with an entire campus using it we can do our part to help keep the world green.

Find them on Facebook here, and get started with Ecosia here.