National education scheme calls for sustainability experts 

A regional network of climate ambassadors will be supported by Manchester Met to help provide nurseries, schools and colleges turn their climate and sustainability ambitions into action. 

As part of a national scheme, backed by £2 million of funding from the Department for Education (DfE) and Manchester Met expertise, volunteer experts can now sign up to support the roll-out, which, in the first two years, aims to support 2,500 education settings on their sustainability journey.  

The project has established nine regional hubs across England, hosted by 12 universities and organisations with expertise in sustainability who will support the volunteer ‘Climate Ambassadors’. 

Manchester Met will be the regional hub for the North West and will build on its extensive experience in delivering Carbon Literacy training, which helps people and organisations understand how to cut their carbon footprint. 

Dr Rachel Dunk, Principal Lecturer and project lead at Manchester Met, said: “We are very excited to work with Climate Ambassadors and education settings to make a genuine and lasting difference in the North West. 

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved to embed sustainability and Carbon Literacy in the DNA of our University, and we look forward to working with partners around the region to mobilise climate action and build a zero carbon culture.” 

Climate Ambassadors will be able to develop action plans to boost climate education, promote green careers, reduce carbon emissions, increase biodiversity and allow them to become more resilient to climate extremes. 

In a speech at the Education World Forum, the Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan said: “Today, I am announcing the extension of the Climate Ambassadors scheme, which provides education settings with access to a network of regional climate ambassadors.  

“The scheme provides local expert support and peer to peer learning opportunities, with Ambassadors helping nurseries, schools and colleges turn their climate ambition into meaningful climate action.”  

Experts can make a critical difference to the ability of nurseries, schools and colleges to reduce their carbon emissions, improve biodiversity and young people’s connection with nature, while also helping them adapt to climate risks and provide a world-leading education in sustainability and climate change critical for their future lives.  

Laura Tobin, ITV weather presenter and Climate Ambassador champion said: “If you have a great knowledge of climate change, biodiversity or sustainability, Climate Ambassadors is perfect for you.  

“Young children have a lot of questions — they want to learn so much more about the world around us. If you want to go into schools and colleges to give talks, if you want to help education settings learn more about places they can find great resources, or you want to help the places and people in our education system become greener and more sustainable, become a Climate Ambassador.”  

Anyone interested in becoming a Climate Ambassador can sign up to the scheme now to be provided with free training and support, and be matched to a local nursery, school or college that needs help building a climate action plan.  

All Climate Ambassadors will be supported by a national network of regional hubs, based at organisations such as Manchester Met with a strong commitment to sustainability and climate action.   

Organisations large and small, across England, who would like to make the Climate Ambassador scheme part of their corporate volunteering programmes can sign up as partners of the programme.  

By becoming a partner, organisations will have access to a structured, relevant and meaningful volunteer option for their employees, while also supporting the organisation’s community engagement and social value goals. 

The Climate Ambassador scheme links with other parts of the Department for Education’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy and its funded initiatives.  

This includes the National Education Nature Park, of which Manchester Met is the official university partner and sees young people leading the way in forming a vast network of green spaces across England to improve their schools, colleges and nurseries for people and wildlife. 

This Wednesday (May 23), on Outdoor Classroom day, the National Education Nature Park is encouraging all teachers and pupils to discover habitats in their school, college or nursery as part of Habitat Heroes day. This is a great way for all young people to connect to the natural world and for education settings to begin their climate action journey.   

Commitment to sustainability 

In December, Manchester Met celebrated 11 years as a top three UK sustainable university in the People and Planet University League. 

The University has also extended its sustainability commitment to colleagues and students by promising to embed climate change education and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across all courses by 2026. 

The University’s Carbon Literacy team – which teaches people and organisations the knowledge on how to cut their carbon footprint – is working with over 150 departmental Carbon Literacy champions to embed this in education, with approximately 2,176 University colleagues and students receiving their Carbon Literacy Certification to date. 

While in the 2022/23 student enrolment survey, nearly 80% of returning students said they are gaining knowledge and skills for sustainable development as part of their course. 

Manchester Met has also made a firm commitment to supporting Manchester’s city-region on its journey to net zero carbon before 2038. Plans to decarbonise the Birley Fields Energy Centre are already underway, reducing gas use by 27% and delivering an estimated carbon emission saving of 800 tonnes in the first year.   

Read more about Manchester Metropolitan’s Sustainability work.