Monday, 20 May 2024
Expert volunteers are being sought to join the East Midlands hub of the government’s national climate education programme, being hosted by Nottingham’s two universities.
The Climate Ambassador Scheme is a £2 million Department for Education programme which will provide nurseries, schools, colleges and universities across England with free access to local experts who can help turn their climate and sustainability ambitions into action.
Regional hubs in each of England’s education regions have been established, with the East Midlands Hub being hosted by the both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University working in collaboration as part of the pioneering Universities for Nottingham partnership.
Today (Monday 20 May) at the Education World Forum, the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, is calling for 1,000 expert volunteers to join the Climate Ambassadors programme.
Volunteer experts from across England are needed to support the roll-out of the scheme, which, in the first two years, aims to support 2,500 education settings on their sustainability journey.
The Climate Ambassadors Scheme provides an exciting opportunity for anyone wanting to share their knowledge, skills and passion for supporting sustainability and climate action to inspire meaningful change within local communities, education settings and young people across the East Midlands.
Matilda added: "By working closely with our universities networks, and beyond, we can draw upon a variety of essential skills and experiences to drive impactful, long-lasting and community-focused change towards a more sustainable future.”
The scheme was originally launched in April 2022, by the University of Reading and STEM Learning, with support from UKRI. In December 2023, the Department for Education partnered with the University and EAUC to expand the Scheme to all 30,000 education settings across England. A key aim of the extended programme, as part of the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, is for all education settings to have a climate action plan in place by 2025.
Across the East Midlands, nurseries, schools and colleges will have the opportunity to receive free support from volunteer Climate Ambassadors to progress their climate action plans, wherever they are on their sustainability journey.
The regional Hub will bring together a community of Climate Ambassadors from a range of backgrounds, including the private, public, charity and university sectors, supporting education settings to take ownership of their climate action by creating or progressing climate action plans.
Our region boasts a diverse range of expert skills within the sustainability and climate change sector, particularly across the universities and research centres within the region, as well as a plethora of technical industry partnerships and innovative businesses.
We are in a unique position to support education settings across the East Midlands to take bold action on climate change, by offering them the collective sustainability expertise of both Nottingham universities as well as that of our regional partners, supply chains and wider community through the Hub.
Sign up now
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.
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
Climate change and Sustainability is a key strand of the Universities for Nottingham partnership, a pioneering collaboration that sees the city’s two world-class universities with local partners working to improve levels of economic prosperity, educational opportunity, sustainability and the health and wellbeing of residents and the communities of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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