Sign up as a climate ambassador

Climate education is one of our most powerful tools in addressing climate change. It is essential that we all understand the challenges we face, and that the next generation is equipped with knowledge and skills to face the future with confidence.

Taking action on fundamental threats to the planet and contributing to solutions is something we stand for as a University. I am therefore pleased to tell you about a new scheme soon to be launched by the University of Reading and STEM Learning that will support and empower teachers to integrate climate change and sustainability into their classes.

Teaming with other universities and research centres across the UK, the Climate Ambassador Scheme will connect climate experts with teachers, school leaders and all those involved within our education system to deliver the latest knowledge on climate change and sustainability from our campuses into schools, nurseries and colleges.

And that’s where you come in. We hope that the scheme provides an opportunity for our University community to live up to our shared goal of ‘doing something about it’ when it comes to global challenges. Being a Climate Ambassador involves devoting as little as one or two days a year to make a big change in schools, colleges or nurseries. It could involve delivering training to teachers, informing, assessing or recommending climate teaching resources, or helping a school reduce its carbon footprint.

Crucially, this scheme extends beyond science. It is intended to support the teaching of all subjects – from Economics to Art – and wider institutional sustainability efforts, recognising that climate change will affect very many aspects of our lives and will require the development of knowledge and skills across a broad range of disciplines. Anyone with expertise relating to climate change or sustainability can become an ambassador and I encourage you to do so.

Sign up as a Climate Ambassador here (please note: after registering you must add ‘Climate Ambassadors’ as a scheme in the Skills and Qualifications section of your profile).

The University of Reading-led Climate Ambassador Scheme has been adopted as a core part of the Department for Education’s strategy on sustainability and climate change, due to be published this month and with a vision to make the UK’s education sector world-leading on this issue by 2030. The strategy forms part of the University’s own National Climate Education Action Plan, borne out of our major Climate Education Summit held in September 2021. This Action Plan will be delivered collaboratively by Reading, summit partners and the Government.

For more information or any questions, please feel free to email me or the scheme coordinator Andrew Charlton-Perez on a.j.charlton-perez@reading.ac.uk.

Thanks,

Robert

Professor Robert Van de Noort

This message was emailed to all colleagues on Wednesday 6 April.