Blog: Inspire the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders with Climate Ambassadors

Education is paramount as the climate crisis looms large. Following International Zoo and Aquarium Educators Day, Charlotte Bonner and Jane Dickson outline their work on the Climate Ambassadors scheme:

Across professionals, employers and professional bodies, those in the BIAZA network need little persuading of the need to act with urgency, ambition, and impact in the face of the climate, nature, and societal crises we face.  Whilst tackling these immediate challenges, we also need to be looking to the future: ensuring that the generations after ours are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and determination to continue the work we have started. This is where the Climate Ambassadors programme comes in, matching volunteer climate experts with education settings to develop climate action plans in nurseries, schools and colleges.

Why Education Matters

Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to drive meaningful change. By influencing the minds of young people today, we can instil the values, knowledge, and behaviours they will need to navigate their futures and contribute positively to sustainability through their lives and careers.

Additionally, the education sector itself has a significant environmental impact, with a collective estate twice the size of Birmingham. This vast network of buildings, grounds, resources, and activities means that the sector's choices can have a profound effect on biodiversity and reducing carbon footprints..

Nearly everyone in society has some connection to an education setting—whether they live near a school, nursery or college, have friends or family members working in one, or have children attending. This creates a unique opportunity for community-wide engagement in sustainability efforts, amplifying the impact far beyond the school, nursery or college gates.

Turning Climate Ambition into Climate Action

In 2021, the Department for Education published their inaugural Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy. As part of implementing this strategy, they commissioned the University of Reading, working alongside the EAUC, to lead a consortium of partners in delivering Climate Ambassadors.

The scheme supports education settings across England—from nurseries through to further education colleges— in developing and implementing meaningful climate action plans (CAPs). The ABCD of Climate Action Plans focus on four key areas:

1. Adaptation and resilience
2. Biodiversity and nature 
3. Climate education and green skills and careers 
4. Decarbonisation 

Support is provided by harnessing the expertise. Interest and enthusiasm of sustainability professionals, connecting them with education settings to inspire and guide meaningful climate action. As such, it presents a unique opportunity for sustainability professionals to extend their impact beyond their immediate work and into their local communities.

Climate Ambassadors take many guises and have diverse skillsets. Some inspire leadership teams, others help sustainability leads navigate the support available, and others provide specific technical advice on one element of a climate action plan. Depending on their task, they work with different parts of an education setting’s community: educators, learners, senior managers, or professional support staff. As such, anyone with knowledge and skills related to (one of) the four CAP areas who is passionate and motivated to offer support to education settings can be a Climate Ambassador.

Reflecting the varied and wide-ranging nature of the BIAZA network, the scheme takes a cross-disciplinary approach and aims to connect volunteers of all backgrounds. Full DBS checks and training are part of the sign-up process, helping ensure that volunteers are well-versed in the expectations of the scheme, the context of the programme, and how to best work with education settings.

Why Get Involved?

Climate Ambassadors offers a unique avenue to:

• Make your knowledge and skills count in tackling real-world sustainability and climate challenges.
   
• Make a genuine difference to your community by supporting education settings that need and value your contribution.
   
• Develop sustainability and climate leadership skills—for yourself and those you work with—with training on climate essentials, systems change, and working with education settings.
   
• Experience personal fulfilment, gaining a sense of achievement as you see your advice and ideas put into practice.

As well as working with individual volunteers, the scheme seeks partnerships with professional bodies and both public and private sector organisations who can contribute to the programme to demonstrate their social value.

Take Action Today

To get started as a volunteer, register as a STEM Ambassador and select "Climate Ambassadors" as your scheme of choice.  If you are already a STEM Ambassador, you can easily add Climate Ambassadors to your profile as a scheme.

To signal your interest in developing an organisational partnership with the Climate Ambassadors scheme, get in touch via the form on the Climate Ambassadors website.

Whether you're an individual looking to volunteer or represent an organisation interested in partnering with us, your involvement can make a lasting impact.

- Charlotte Bonner (she/her) – Climate Ambassadors Co-Lead and CEO, EAUC - the leading body for sustainability in the post-16 education sector in the UK and Republic of Ireland

- Jane Dickson (she/her) – Climate Ambassadors Partnerships Manager and EAUC, [email protected]

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions