A government minister has become the 1,000th “climate ambassador” as part of a Keele-backed national scheme to help the next generation tackle the climate crisis. 

The Climate Ambassadors programme, created by the University of Reading and funded by the government, links experts working on climate and sustainability with education professionals to provide them with free advice on making a Climate Action Plan for their school, college, or nursery. The programme has regional hubs across the country, with Keele leading the programme’s regional hub in the West Midlands. 

This week, the Minister for Early Years, Stephen Morgan MP, who leads on sustainability at the Department for Education, has become the UK’s 1,000th Climate Ambassador after completing his training with the scheme, and will now be working with a school on their Climate Action Plan. 

Minister Morgan said: "The Climate Ambassadors programme is a vital part of our strategy to empower schools and educators in tackling the climate crisis, and I’m proud to be joining over 1,000 volunteers to support schools in developing and delivering their climate action plans." 

Professor Zoe Robinson leads the West Midlands hub based at Keele University, and hosted the region’s latest outreach event at the University of Birmingham on the same day that Minister Morgan became an ambassador. 

Among the guests at Keele’s event (pictured) were partners from the Department for Education, and colleagues from nurseries, schools, and colleges from across the region who wanted to learn more about the scheme. 

Professor Robinson said: “Education is a powerful lever to create a more sustainable future. The Climate Ambassador programme supports education settings in responding to the climate emergency, leveraging specialist expertise in different aspects of sustainability to help settings with decarbonisation, climate adaptation measures, and nature recovery, as well as embedding climate change and sustainability into the curriculum and ensuring learners develop green skills and learn about the green careers that await them.” 

Education providers in the West Midlands who would like to get support from a Climate Ambassador to help them on their climate journey, as well as people with sustainability expertise who would like to support education settings, should get in touch with the Climate Ambassadors Regional Hub via climate-ambassadors.wm@keele.ac.uk