Working with young people on climate is one of the most important and fulfilling things we do at Speak Carbon.
So many more companies are interested in developing low carbon strategies now. When these young people leave college, it’s really important for them to have that knowledge and motivation. Whether they’re going into further education or the workplace, being Carbon Literate enables them to contribute meaningfully to the low carbon culture of that organisation.
Speak Carbon and Sir John Deane’s
In April 2023, we delivered Carbon Literacy training to a group of sixth form students at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. Using the CL for FE course developed by Manchester Met, we delivered the training over two half days, with one trainer in the room (supported by the teacher) and one facilitating via video link. Read the full case study for that project here.
Following the success of that project we were keen to do more. Having spent a few months talking to teachers from different schools and colleges around the country, the same two barriers to rolling this training out came up again and again – money and time.
It won’t surprise many of us to learn that schools in the UK are under huge budgetary pressure, and so finding funding for extra-curricular learning like Carbon Literacy is extremely difficult.
The work we did with both Sir Henry Floyd and Sir John Deane’s was part-funded by our community pot, so that solved at least one problem.
In order to work with Sir John Deane’s, we also needed to find space within the students’ busy timetables for what is a full day of learning.
To do this we adapted MMU’s Carbon Literacy for FE course so that it could be delivered in one-hour lessons over a six week period. Students at Sir John Deane’s sixth form have access to a one-hour enhancement lesson each week, where they can choose from a range of subjects to study. At the start of the autumn term of 2023, Carbon Literacy was offered as one of the options and students with an interest in climate learning signed up.
Staff and students at Sir John Deane’s were already very engaged with low carbon activities before we started working together. The eco group within the college is very active and has already contributed to the development of the college’s low carbon strategy. The college has made great strides in lowering their carbon footprint & this project was part of that strategy.
The training
The course was delivered via Zoom across six, hourly sessions, once a week during one half term. The students were all in a room together with the trainers – Joey Coombs and Sarah Coppack – connected via Zoom and shown on a large screen at the front of the room. There was a microphone at the front of the room so trainers could hear student’s comments and questions throughout the course.
Speak Carbon Collective worked with Tracy Foy (Deputy Principal – People and Culture) to organise the sessions and devise the best and most engaging way to deliver the learning. A key part of the peer-led element of Carbon Literacy, is that someone from within the organisation presents internal data on the institution’s carbon footprint and decarbonisation strategy. For this project, one of the students stepped up to deliver this portion of the course, detailing the college’s carbon baseline. This data had been calculated by the school’s student eco-group as part of a previous project.
Teams were established in the first session, and students picked their own team names, with the groups remaining the same throughout the six weeks. A running total of scores from the activities and quizzes were kept all the way through, with the ‘winning’ team receiving a small prize at the end of the course.
Each session had a learning objective, with discussions, quizzes and activities throughout. The students were also given homework each week in preparation for the next session. The course centred on group work, allowing students to discuss the topics covered and be creative and imaginative in their ideas and solutions.
One of the most engaging activities was exploring the carbon footprints of different countries. Students were each allocated a ‘country card’, displaying that country’s carbon footprint on one side and their vulnerability on the other. The students stood in a row and reordered themselves based on the carbon footprints from highest to lowest. They then discussed the reasons for the differing footprints and how those related to the differing climate vulnerabilities. Getting participants up on their feet and moving around is a great way to maintain energy levels and engagement…no matter what age the group!
We designed the delivery so that the learning required for the full Carbon Literacy course was covered in the first five sessions, along with the homework the students completed each week. This meant the students could spend the final week creating their climate action pledges. First the students worked alone on their individual pledges – those they could implement on their own. Many students opted to take action to reduce their carbon footprints at home. For their group pledges, the students came back together in their teams and discussed ideas for actions they could take to reduce emissions at school and in their communities. Each group then presented their group pledges to the rest of the cohort and the trainers to receive feedback and enhance their ideas further.
The results
Every student attending the course submitted their pledges and received their Carbon Literacy certificate. These certificates will give the students a globally recognised accreditation to include on UCAS forms, CVs and job applications, showing their future institutions and employers that they are ready to be an active part of building a low carbon future.
That all students received certificates is not only a testament to their commitment to the course, but also to the approach we took to pledge-writing in this project and all of our workshops.
Quite often, Carbon Literacy participants are asked to complete their assessment evidence forms (which include writing their pledges) after attending a course. In our experience, participants can find it very difficult to make time to do this. We therefore always ensure participants are given time to create their pledges, discuss them with our trainers and submit them within the course.
Here are some examples of the individual pledges made by Sir John Deane’s students:
‘…cycling to the gym instead of driving, as well as visiting my sister in Liverpool by train instead of driving.’
‘Cooking and eating more plant based meals with less meat products , air drying my clothes and not using my dryer, taking public transport [more].’
‘Improving energy saving practices within my home…This will include washing clothes at a lower temperature, to reduce the energy consumed by heating water…I will turn off the radiators of rooms which no one is using.’
And some of the group pledges:
‘Creating a car sharing initiative’
‘Campaign for installation of renewable energy sources, especially solar panels on the roof of the college’
‘Changes within the canteen: Meat-free Monday and Compost bin within the canteen.’
Speak Carbon’s Sarah Coppack had this to say about working with the school:
‘I loved working with this very enthusiastic group of sixth form students…The hour-long sessions were focussed and purposeful and the students had time to reflect on the content between each week’s learning.
I think this pioneering method of delivery will work well for schools and colleges who have to fit learning into their existing timetable.’
Carbon Literacy for 12-18 year olds
Following the success of this project, our education circle set about discussing how we can get Carbon Literacy to more school students. MMU’s CL for FE course is great for sixth form, college and university students, but we wanted to find a way to get Carbon Literacy to younger students as well. Over the next few months we set about developing a Carbon Literacy course for secondary students and in summer 2024 our Carbon Literacy course for 12-18 years olds was accredited.
Using a similar modular approach, this course can be delivered via video link to classes of students in lesson-length sessions over one half term. PSHE is the best fit for the learning and students will gain a recognised accreditation from completing the course.
We are currently working with our corporate clients to design a funding framework to get this vital learning into more schools.
If you are an interested school or potential funder please get in touch.