A project aimed at helping classrooms become hubs for locally-driven climate action will run additional work in three schools this academic year, thanks to BEC’s Megawatt Community Energy Fund. Green Schools Project’s Zero Carbon Schools Programme works nationwide to turn climate education into pupil-powered action. It does this by providing training and resources for teachers to help students design their own projects and also supports schools to work with their community to reduce their carbon footprint. This could include things like composting and food waste, or transport. One previous project was a bike bus scheme, where parents got together to organise a cycling ‘bus’ to get children to and from school.
The Megawatt grant is funding Community Climate Action Manager, Loz Hennessy, to support three schools with the community engagement element of the programme. Her job is to help amplify what students are doing for their climate action projects. The projects funded through BEC will be completed at the end of the academic year. Loz’s work will also be informed by her research into education for climate justice as part of her ongoing PhD at the University of Bristol.
“I’m providing the work that teachers just don’t have time to do,” she said. “I’m there to join the dots, arrange visits to external organisations, chat to parents at the school gates, and that kind of thing. Every school has different needs, I’m there to meet those needs.”
Cathy Wentworth, Head of Development at Green Schools Project, said: “Our Zero Carbon Schools programme already helps pupils cut their school’s carbon footprint. However, schools often lack the staff capacity to connect and engage with the wider community – families, local businesses, and environmental partners. This fund, through supporting our Community Climate Action Manager role, directly enables that connection, supporting young people to lead positive action beyond the school gates.”
Helping students at our host site Knowle DGE
We are also working with the Green Schools Project to deliver the Zero Carbon Schools programme to one of our newest solar rooftop sites, Knowle DGE Academy, which caters for a wide range of young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). Our 160 kWp array, which came online this year, is expected to save the school around £3,500 a year on energy bills. One training workshop for teachers has already taken place, including a special section about community energy and BEC, with another session and a pupil workshop scheduled for next year. The programme has been rolled out to all pupils in the middle school through a slightly adapted version which caters to the needs of the pupils at KnowleDGE. They will be completing the Act stage of the programme in the summer term when they will design and lead projects to reduce their school’s carbon footprint.
“The ethos of community energy, and Bristol Energy Cooperative aligns closely with Green Schools Project’s work, and our belief that young people and schools are vital community hubs for local climate action,” Cathy said.
“We are also grateful to have additional support from the Bristol Energy Coop for delivering our Zero Carbon Schools programme at Knowle DGE Academy this year,” she added. “We are looking forward to working with you on both projects this year and sharing the impact that this work will have for young people and communities in Bristol.”
Read more about The Green Schools Project here. You can find more details about our Megawatt Community Energy Fund on our website.
