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Minister is Climate Ambassador number 1,000

Date
Minister is Climate Ambassador number 1,000

The Minister for Early Years, Stephen Morgan MP, who leads on sustainability at the Department for Education, has become the UK’s 1,000th Climate Ambassador.

The Climate Ambassadors programme, regionally hosted by the University of Leeds and funded by the government, links experts working on climate and sustainability with education professionals to provide them with free advice on making and action on a Climate Action Plan.

Stephen Morgan MP completed his training in early April to officially become the 1,000th person to sign up to the scheme since 2022.

Minister Morgan said: “The Climate Ambassadors programme is a vital part of our strategy to empower schools and educators in tackling the climate crisis, and I’m proud to be joining over 1,000 volunteers to support schools in developing and delivering their climate action plans."

“Nurseries, schools and colleges are beginning their planning for the next academic year. Now is the perfect time to sign up to become a Climate Ambassador and help your local school plan for a sustainable future.”

Climate Action Plan

Following the completion of his training, Minister Morgan will be working with a school on their Climate Action Plan.

As part of the government’s sustainability and climate change strategy, all education settings have been asked to produce climate action plans that will help reduce their community’s environmental impact.

Plans cover the ABCD of climate action: Adaptation to climate risk, nurturing and measuring Biodiversity, improving Climate Education and Green Careers teaching and Decarbonisation of the education estate.

Free support is available from a range of sources to help build these plans, including Education Nature Park, the Sustainability Support for Education Hub and the Let’s Go Zero programme.

Local impact

Stephanie Gilliver, who is the Head of Responsible Investing at Virgin Money, signed up to become a Climate Ambassador to have a positive impact on her community. She said: “It is enriching and rewarding, it teaches you stuff and provides a different perspective, and it has a positive impact in lots of different ways.

"For me I wanted to help with local impact in responding to the climate emergency. When I heard about the Climate Ambassadors programme operating though STEM Learning my hand shot up, I am in.”

Katie Parsons, Research Fellow, Loughborough University, has worked with various schools since become a Climate Ambassador. She said: “Working with the Climate Ambassadors Programme has given us the opportunity to connect with so many diverse and inspiring schools. Just a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of supporting the Bradgate Education Partnership, who work with 18 academies in developing their climate action plans.

“It has also enabled us to engage with the fantastic work being led by the National Education Nature Park. Collaboration is key to addressing the climate crisis, and initiatives like the Climate Ambassadors Programme allow us to come together to support schools in deepening their understanding and taking meaningful action on environmental education and climate goals.”

Further information

Climate Ambassadors is delivered by a national consortium of the following organisations led by the University of Reading and the EAUC. It is backed by £2m of Department of Education funding. Each region in England has a regional hub which provides free support to education settings in their area:

  • Manchester Metropolitan University (North West Hub)
  • University of Newcastle (North East Hub)
  • University of Leeds (Yorkshire and the Humber Hub)
  • Keele University (West Midlands Hub)
  • Universities for Nottingham (East Midlands Hub)
  • University of East Anglia (East of England Hub)
  • Met Office (South West Hub)
  • University College London (London Hub)
  • University of Reading (South East Hub)

The national team also involves Change Agents who lead on training and mentoring and STEM Learning who provide the digital infrastructure through the STEM Ambassador programme.

The 1,000 Climate Ambassadors have already engaged with more than 1,600 education settings more than 1 in 15 of all the education settings in England.