People across the West Midlands with a passion for sustainability and a desire to tackle the climate crisis are being urged to volunteer for a national climate education programme run by the Department for Education (DfE).

Keele University is hosting the West Midlands Hub – one of nine across the country – for the DfE's Climate Ambassadors Scheme, which, in the first two years, aims to support 2,500 education settings on their sustainability journey.

Chosen for its leading sustainability and climate expertise, Keele is helping the DfE to recruit expert volunteers from across the region's public and private sectors to the Government scheme. They will support the rollout of the project that will offer every nursery, school, college and university in England free access to expert support, to become greener and more climate resilient.

Emma Baines, who is based at Keele and is the West Midlands Regional Hub Manager, said: "We are proud to be leading the West Midlands region to deliver the Department for Education's ambitions for driving climate change action in education settings. We want to engage ambassadors from across the region, from public and private organisations, as well as with a breadth and depth of experience.

"Even if your knowledge is niche to a specific element, we want to hear from you. Education settings will vary in their needs for support and delivery of climate action plans, so it's important that we engage a vast network of ambassadors with a range of expertise who can help settings become more sustainable."

The Climate Ambassador Scheme is a £2 million Department for Education programme, launched in partnership with the University of Reading and EAUC (the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education), with support from STEM Learning.

The scheme was originally launched in April 2022 by the University of Reading and STEM Learning, with support from UKRI. In December 2023, the Department for Education partnered with the University and EAUC to expand the Scheme to all 30,000 education settings across England. A key aim of the extended programme, as part of the Department for Education's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, is for all education settings to have a climate action plan in place by the end of 2025. 

To support the expansion, regional hubs in each of England's education regions have been set up so that experts can be matched with education settings in their area.

Experts can make a critical difference to the ability of nurseries, schools and colleges to reduce their carbon emissions, improve biodiversity and young people's connection with nature, while also helping them adapt to climate risks and provide a world-leading education in sustainability and climate change critical for their future lives. Free training and support will be provided.

To sign up or for more information on the scheme, email climate-ambassadors.wm@keele.ac.uk