“By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan. This includes early years settings, schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges, and universities.”
– The Department for Education
Taking action together
Young people are demanding that we take more direct action to address the climate emergency. With over 2000 schools across Greater Manchester and with countless pupils and student leaders eager to be part of the challenge.
Schools provide a significant opportunity to contribute to zero carbon ambitions. We can offer support and guidance to help you to reduce your school’s carbon emissions, develop green sector skills, raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire community action.
Take a look at the support on offer, from doing more within the classroom, tackling the fabric and the outside of school buildings and guiding young people into the green work sector after high school.
Let’s make a big difference today, tomorrow and together.
Current Funding Opportunities for Schools
Apply to the Eco Grants for School Programme
Bring your eco ideas to life, reducing waste, developing skills, and increasing understanding of how making small changes can really help the environment. Grants of up to £2,000, can be used on sustainability projects that benefit the school community in one of three priority areas: Waste reduction and circular economy; Climate education focused on sustainable lifestyles; and Sustainable food and tackling food waste.
Find out more about the fund hereClimate Action Plans and Measuring your Carbon
Schools Climate Action Planner
Greater Manchester Combined Authority has worked closely with Transform Our World and environmental charity Global Action Plan to develop a free, online, easy-to-use action planning tool to help teachers and students prioritise the actions their school can take to reduce its environmental impact.
Count Your carbon
Count Your Carbon is a free, full scope carbon emissions tool built for and in collaboration with nurseries, schools and colleges. The free and easy to use digital tool will help you to calculate the carbon footprint of your educational setting and understand areas of greatest carbon consumption.
Get started today
Education, Learning and classroom resources
MANCHESTER ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION NETWORK (MEEN)
Dedicated to supporting teachers, organisations and individuals to promote environmental education and Education for Sustainability. MEEN run projects with schools, organise networking events, provide a termly newsletter and pool various free curriculum resources. Take a look at what they can offer.
HYSCHOOLS AT MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Developing skills in schools – The Hydrogen In Schools (HySchools) offers a range of educational and online resources for use in secondary schools , aimed at providing teachers with increased confidence to teach students about Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology (HFCT).
The Great Science Share
An award-winning campaign supported by the University of Manchester that invites 5-14 year olds to take the lead in asking, investigating and sharing scientific questions. The campaign this year is focused on how to inspire pupils to ask-investigate and share scientific questions using the theme of ‘Sustainable Science’.
Your School Building and grounds
Powering Our Schools
Solar power is a source of renewable energy that has the potential to lower your electricity bills, protect against future price increases and reduce your school’s carbon footprint. It can be a valuable curriculum aide, bringing STEM and climate action to life for your pupils. GMCA’s Powering Our School’s campaign offers information and support to help your school switch to solar including how to join forces with other schools to buy solar power.
Nature-based solutions in your school grounds
The GMCA IGNITION project offers evidence and insights, business cases and tools to help you justify, develop and implement nature-based solutions across your school buildings and land. From green roofs, to greenspaces to rain gardens – there’s lots of opportunities available. Take a look at the support on offer.
Creating educational green spaces
School grounds have the potential to be adapted and improved in ways that enhance and increase the natural green space. Take at look at the benefits this will bring to wildlife, nature, pupil well-being, staff and the wider community. Plus the support and resources available to help you create educational green spaces at your school.
Trees for Learning
City of Trees work with schools across Greater Manchester greening school grounds by supplying free trees and organising a ‘how to plant a tree’ day with pupils. They can provide trees, tools, and the expertise. All they need from you is permission, space to plant and enthusiastic kids! This scheme is open to all schools within Greater Manchester.
Sow The City
Sow the City has 15 years’ experience creating green spaces in school grounds and running forest school and outdoor education sessions. They can help you with the design and construction of school allotment and wildlife gardens, nature and environmental sessions, and support improving the sustainability of the school estate and operations and developing carbon reduction plans.
Groundwork Greater Manchester
Groundwork’s Landscape Architects design school grounds which maximise learning potential and utilize nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk and improve air quality. They can deliver forest schools to educate and connect young people with nature and climate, provide careers advice on the emerging green economy and help schools to reduce energy, water and waste.
RHS Garden Bridgewater
RHS Garden Bridgewater is a spectacular 154-acre garden, set within the historic grounds of Worsley New Hall in Salford. They offer educational workshops for schools and visits that educate and inspire.
Waste prevention and reducing consumption
Plastic Free GM
PlasticFreeGM offers lots of practical advice on how to reduce avoidable single-use plastics. The campaign has worked through some of the ‘worst offenders’ like straws, stirrers, takeaway containers, hot and cold drink cups, and cutlery and offers advice and guidance on how to make more sustainable, low carbon choices.
Eco Refill Schools Project
We are on a mission to help schools and the wider community to be more sustainable by promoting refill and refuse. Our Eco-Refill pilot teaches pupils how to set up and operate an Eco refill shop selling refills of household products such as body wash and hand wash. Ten GM schools are currently piloting Eco Refill Shops.
Recycle for Greater Manchester
The Education team at Recycle for Greater Manchester can support you with educating and engaging students and residents of all ages in the Greater Manchester area. They can provide site visit opportunities, online sessions, resources, games and films that encourage residents to waste less and recycle more.
Promoting Active Travel
Boss the School Run – BeeActive
Transport for Greater Manchester has plenty of schemes available to help students, parents and schools to walk, wheel or cycle more in their daily lives. From Own the Ride courses for high school pupils, to School Streets to Youth Travel Ambassadors. Take a look at the support on offer for schools.
Bikeability
The government’s national cycle training programme teaches pupils to not only learn to cycle, they gain independence, social skills and a sense of wellbeing. As well as Bikeability training, there is a toolkit of curriculum-linked resources for EYFS, KS1 and KS2. to help you embed active travel in your school
School Streets in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is helping transform the school run, putting measures in place that promote cycling, scooting and walking and restricting access to vehicles. If you’re a GM-based school interested in getting involved, please contact your local council to register your interest.
Green Sector jobs, skills and more
Green Sector Jobs and Skills
Take a look at some of the popular jobs in the Green Sector from improving the energy efficiency of homes, developing low carbon transport, creating clean energy locally, to increasing biodiversity and protecting nature. There’s lots of opportunities and training available.
GMACS
GMACS is a GMCA online platform aimed at helping young people explore and design their next steps before leaving school, including advice on careers in the green sector.
Start Small Dream Big
Primary Careers Programme, delivered with the Careers and Enterprise Company – GMCA’s trusted partner. It aims to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to dream big about their future careers by bringing learning alive.
Add your youth voice
The Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority gives young people in Greater Manchester the opportunity to have their voices heard and influence GMCA policy and decision making. They now have a recently established Environmental working group and are always looking for interested young people to join.
National Campaigns
Eco Schools
Millions of pupils at thousands of schools around the UK are already taking action on climate change thanks to Eco-School’s simple seven-step programme. The programme is designed to be pupil-led, delivering impactful environmental actions that have been completed by innovative young people. Don’t forget to check out their Healthy Summer Toolkit too.
Let’s Go Zero
Let’s Go Zero is the national campaign uniting teachers, pupils, parents and schools as they all work together to be zero carbon by 2030. Driving change and sparking climate action in communities, reducing emissions, increasing biodiversity and safeguarding our planet for future generations.
Join other schools taking on climate change
Clean Air Day
Global Action plan is an environmental charity working towards a green and thriving planet. The annual Clean Air Day has resources to support your school to tackle air pollution at the school gate and beyond. Create a tailored clean air action plan for your school with the Clean Air For Schools Framework or challenge your students to be Clean Air Detectives.
Food for Life schools
Making sure children are eating healthy, nutritious food is really important to their health and learning. The Food For Life school programme can help your school to provide healthy, fresh and sustainably sourced food, whilst supporting children to learn about the food they eat.
Plastic Free Schools
This ground breaking programme from Surfers Against Sewage equips and empowers young activists with the tools to create positive, lasting environmental change. Get your school to sign up to Plastic Free Schools and start your journey as an ocean activist with this system shaking, change making programme!
National Education Nature Park and Climate Awards
The National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Awards empower children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature’s future. They offer free programmes providing educators with the resources, support and guidance needed to put nature at the heart of education.
Living Streets
The UK charity for everyday walking. Offering initiatives to support early years, primary, and secondary schools to increase active travel on the school run.
Modeshift
Modeshift is UK’s leading sustainable travel organisation. STARS is online platform to support schools in developing travel plans and rewarding sustainability though accreditation.
RHS School Gardening and Awards
Giving children and young people, from two to 18 years old, opportunities to grow and connect with nature. This campaign supports school staff, home educators and youth group leaders with training, resources and advice.
Road Safety Week, Brake
A road safety charity working to make streets and communities safer. Free resources for schools and teacher to promote safety on the roads for parents and pupils.
Sustrans
The charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle. With national campaigns such as Big Walk and Wheel, Bike to School Week, and much more.