Our new Green Skills Academy aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue careers in the growing field of sustainability and environmentalism. This academy will offer a range of courses and programs focused on topics such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, eco-friendly building and design, and environmental policy and advocacy.
By partnering with local and national businesses and organizations, the Green Skills Academy will provide students with real-world experience and opportunities for work experience and employment. The academy will also foster a culture of innovation, forward-thinking, and sustainability within the college and surrounding community, encouraging adopting environmentally friendly practices and behaviours.
The Green Skills Academy is an exciting opportunity for us to meet the demand for skilled professionals in these emerging fields, prepare students for success in the rapidly changing job market, and positively impact the environment.
The academy has formed an employer advisory group with significant expertise across all sectors and vocations.
Curriculum Offer
Green skills are related to the environment, sustainability, and the management of natural resources. As concerns about climate change and environmental degradation continue to grow, there is an increasing demand for professionals with these skills. These green skills, including forestry and engineering, are expected to be in high demand in the coming years. The Green Skills Academy will offer a range of courses and programs focused on meeting these demands.
Projects
Getting precious about plastics
How do we make the most of the college’s plastic waste? That’s the sustainability challenge being tackled by level 4 HTQ Manufacturing, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering learners as part of their Production Engineering unit.
They are working together to commission an on-campus recycling centre based on the principles of Precious Plastic, an open hardware plastic recycling project.
Precious Plastic allows individuals or organisations to effectively set up their own “miniature recycling company" by using machines and tools that grind, melt, and inject recycled plastic to create new products from waste. It’s a brilliant initiative, and the Precious Plastic website has lots of helpful information: https://www.preciousplastic.com/.
Going into production
Over the next couple of years, our implementation of Precious Plastic will give dozens of learners invaluable experience in setting up and running their entire production facility, from design concepts to production.
Our small-scale Precious Plastic facility, within the Engineering Department at the Milnthorpe Road Campus, will:
- Recycle plastic waste, including single-use plastic bottles, from collection points located all around the campus.
- Manufacture new products that can be sold to raise money for charity or distributed to promote awareness of plastics recycling and the circular economy.
Sharing knowledge
Learners will also investigate how recycling principles and the circular economy can be applied in local industrial settings.
This project has links with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular:
- SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth)
- SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure)
- SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production)
Putting energy to good use
With about a third of UK electricity generated from wind turbines, many located off the Cumbrian coast, people might wonder, ‘What happens when the wind doesn’t blow?’
More often than not, we have the opposite problem. On windy nights when electricity demand is low, wind turbines are often just switched off. It’s called curtailment, and it's a wasteful and costly approach.
EnergyCloud, an Irish charity, has a clever solution. It’s running a pilot scheme to harness the excess electrical energy from turbines to heat domestic hot water tanks in social housing overnight. This not only uses otherwise wasted energy but also helps to tackle energy poverty.
Learners on the level 4 Mechanical Engineering HNC have been investigating the feasibility of rolling out the EnergyCloud approach across the UK. By calculating the energy curtailed for different scenarios, they have estimated the number of hot water tanks heated and hence the number of households that could be supported by a scaled-up scheme.
For houses without hot water tanks, learners have also looked at charging “heat batteries,” which store electrical energy in phase-change materials. Imagine a much bigger version of those pocket-sized hand warmers that transition between solid and liquid states to absorb or emit heat.
This is just one example of how the principles and practices of sustainability are being embedded within the teaching and learning activities of our Green Skills Academy.
This project has links with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular:
- SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy)
- SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)
- SDG 13 (Climate action)
Partnerships
The Green Skills Academy will establish partnerships with local and national businesses and organizations to provide students with real-world experience and opportunities for work experience and employment. Potential partners will include industries such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, sustainable agriculture, forestry, eco-tourism, waste management, and water management. It will also include industries that are not directly related to sustainability but significantly impact the environment, such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation.
Employer Advisory Group Profiles
Andrew Wallace
Production Coordinator
Anord Mardix
Garry Sharples
Senior Project Manager – Renewables
National Trust
Ian Morrall
Managing Director
Dyson Energy Services
James Dickinson
John Kelly
John Mansergh
Director of Business Improvement
South Lakes Housing
Kate Houlden
[Picture pending]
Managing Director
like technologies
Rachel Tyson
[Picture pending]
Head of Partnerships & Projects
Cumbria Tourism
Richard Hayes
Stuart Lovell
Plumbing Lecturer
Kendal College
