After five successful rounds with 33 schools, the Climate Action Teacher Champions (CATCh) programme has now concluded. But don’t worry if you missed it – the support you need is available:
Let’s Go Zero
Climate Action Advisors offer free expert advice for schools, colleges, and nurseries. They support schools to understand their impact, make effective plans, and find funding and resources.
Sustainability Support
Sustainability Support for Education is a goverment funded hub for resources on school sustainability, climate action planning and best practice.
Climate Ambassadors
The Climate Ambassadors scheme matches volunteer climate experts with education settings to develop climate action plans in nurseries, schools and colleges.
Education Nature Park
Providing educators with the resources, support and guidance to embed climate and nature into learning in a way that suits your setting and learners.
About the CATCH programme
Launched in the spring of 2023 as a pilot scheme, the Climate Action Teacher Champion programme ran for five cohorts.
The scheme offered training and one-to-one mentoring for teachers as they looked at setting climate goals for their school. It was run by Luton Council, along with Groundwork East, Youth Network, and Zero Carbon Luton.
All schools, primary and secondary, were invited to nominate a climate action champion from the school staff who developed the school’s climate action plan.
What we covered:
– Buildings and energy
– Transport
– Food and waste
– Biodiversity
– Curriculum and more
What schools received:
– Online workshops
– One-to-one support from experts
– A community of like-minded teachers
– Practical climate actions tailored to your school
– £1,000 grant for participating schools
Alex Martin
Denbigh High School
“When I was starting with sustainability it felt massive – where do I start? This is a great programme to make you realise what you can achieve now, what you can achieve in the medium term, and how you can make sustainable systems for the future.”
Grietje Reid
Ramridge Primary School
“What I’ve learned from the CATCh programme is that it’s achievable. It’s doable. I’ve also learned that positive action leads to more positive action. So we started very small, and our eco-friendly actions are now cascading through the school.”
Samantha Thompson
Warden Hill School
“I’ve always had a bit of an interest in sustainability, but didn’t know how to apply it or where to take it. A lot of the stuff we’ve done already I wouldn’t have done without the CATCh programme”
Raheela Saleem
Challney High School for Girls
“CATCh was completely different to what we expected. We thought it was going to be an expert coming in and telling us what to do! It wasn’t. It was very much the girls coming up with ideas and us actually thinking about how we can make an impact within the school”
Caroline Room
Putteridge High School
“In previous years there were times when I felt like I was the only person working on climate change – not only in my own school, but across Luton in other schools. So it’s been such a pleasure to find other people who are like-minded, who are working on similar projects, to exchange ideas with, and just to have that positivity about what we’re doing.”
Participating CATCh schools
Zero Carbon Luton 