UWE Bristol becomes South West Regional Hub lead for national Climate Ambassadors scheme

UWE Bristol is the new South West Regional Hub lead for the Climate Ambassadors scheme, a national initiative helping to drive the development of climate action plans in education settings across England.

Climate Ambassadors was originally founded by the University of Reading in 2022 and is led jointly with the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC). The scheme links nurseries, schools and colleges across England with free access to local experts, who can provide tailored advice and guidance to help them develop their own climate plans.

There are nine regional hubs across England supporting the initiative, matching climate experts with education providers in their area. Since its launch, the scheme’s 1,200 Climate Ambassadors have already engaged with more than 2,900 individual education settings across England.

UWE Bristol takes over the South West Regional Hub from the Met Office, which has been leading the hub since the scheme began, with Nicki Schantz continuing as the regional hub manager. Dr Laura Fogg Rogers, Associate Professor for Engineering in Society at UWE Bristol, will become the regional hub lead, supported by her academic colleague Enda Hayes, Professor of Air Quality & Carbon Management

As the lead for the regional hub, UWE Bristol will work closely with education providers across the south west to provide free support to both develop and implement climate action plans across their organisations. The support will guide education providers to consider decarbonisation, adaptation and resilience, biodiversity, climate education and green careers as part of their action plans.

The university will also be responsible for recruiting and training volunteers with sustainability and climate expertise who will give their time to education providers. The hub will also feed into national networks on climate action planning.

Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers said: “We are delighted to support the Climate Ambassadors programme – continuing the fantastic work pioneered by the Met Office and accelerating this through our community and civic engagement work in the south west of England.

"UWE Bristol is committed to Education for Sustainable Development in higher education, evidenced through our ranking as one of the UK’s most sustainability-focused universities. We have an extensive track record for engagement supporting schools and colleges in the region, and we are looking forward to building on those partnerships, enhancing education for young people, and supporting climate resilience in education settings.

“The Climate Ambassadors programme is an exciting opportunity to amplify UWE Bristol’s role as a Civic University – taking forward a place-based approach to accelerate climate and nature action in the south west.”