BLOG: Thinking of applying for funding from Queen's Green Fund? Here's my advice
"Try to be specific and focused in your idea: think of something that you actually care about and are likely to be inspired by once it takes off."
A blog by Dr Don Duncan, Lecturer in Broadcast Practice, School of Arts, English and Languages, Sonic Arts Research Centre
The Green Fund was a fantastic opportunity for me to fold in a student-led, climate-aware project into my larger work at Queen's. Using the money which I was granted by the Green Fund, I was able to establish a project – Future Green Media – that sat alongside (and drew from) practice-based modules which students were doing on our MA in Media and Broadcast Production.
Our students organised into an editorial team which both commissioned new, environmentally focused work from students and curated existing work from recent alumni. What emerged was a public-facing, engaging website which I coordinated and the students produced and edited. It is, I feel, an authentic expression of concern and solutions vis-à-vis the environment.
Since the creation and launch of the website, it went on to win in the 'Best Website' category in the prestigious, all-island Smedia awards in 2021. Many of the participants in the project graduated and are working in the media field: BBC; Reuters; and others. The website's visitor metrics have been very healthy and displayed an interestingly international audience, reflecting perhaps the social media scope and reach of our sizable cohort of international students.
If you are interested in applying to Queen's Green Fund, my advice would be to try to be specific and focused in your idea: think of something that you actually care about and are likely to be inspired by once it takes off, something which is achievable in your current life situation and with your own workload responsibilities.
