Free schools home, sustainability and green skills workshops in Wales
MOBIE has launched free workshops in home design, sustainable development and green skills for schools in South and West Wales.
The workshops are open to primary and secondary schools in the Swansea Bay City Deal area, which comprises Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. They are offered through the Swansea Bay City Deal ‘Homes as Power Stations’ (HAPS) project, and provide an opportunity for young people to think about how we can deliver our future housing needs whilst protecting our planet. They are being made possible through the generous support of the MCS Charitable Foundation.
Part of securing a greener future for Wales rests with how well we design, construct and then manage our homes and other buildings. 40% of carbon emissions come from the built environment – 11% from how we build them and 28% from how we heat and power them – so it is critical that buildings of the future use less energy, less raw materials and create less waste.
The workshops use practical exercises to help students appreciate key design principles and emphasise the importance of homes and buildings in helping us to address climate change and other environmental challenges. They can introduce young people to the range of roles in housing, the built environment and green industries and technologies that we need to deliver the homes, buildings and communities of tomorrow.
MOBIE founder and Trustee George Clarke said: “Home is the most important piece of architecture in our lives. It crafts the way we live, and how we grow as families and communities. The built environment accounts for 40% of our carbon emissions and we have around 27 million homes in the UK that need to be retrofitted by 2050 if we are to achieve our net zero obligations and avoid 1.5 degrees of warming. We must make buildings, new and old, more energy efficient for people and the planet. This requires new thinking and new skills.
“MOBIE’s workshops are a great way to introduce sustainable development - through home we can inform young people about our environmental challenges and explore design solutions that can help us live more sustainably in the future. The workshops have been well received in England and Scotland so I am really excited that they are now coming to Wales.”
Wyn Prichard, Sustainability and Net Zero Consultant and chair of the WJEC Qualification group, said “We are really pleased to be working with MOBIE on their first project in Wales. The materials that have been jointly created for these sustainability and green skills workshops will engage and inspire pupils, students and staff about our green challenges and stimulate thinking and designs for ‘Homes as Power Stations’ and what the Welsh homes of the future should look like. The workshops complement the ‘Sustainability in Action’ qualification that was recently launched by the WJEC.”
Jayne Jones, Head of Business Development at NPTC Group of Colleges said “With MOBIE as a key partner of our Net Zero Skills Academy, we look forward to supporting the workshops and developing further programmes with George, the MOBIE team and our other partners in the Academy to help inspire and train the workforce of the future to deliver low carbon housing, buildings and communities.”
Nicola Pearce, Director of Environment and Regeneration for Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and Senior Responsible Officer for HAPS said, “one of the objectives of HAPS is to increase the skills associated with the technologies needed to create homes that are cleaner, greener and that reduce fuel poverty. It’s essential we engage and support learning of all ages from school age up to the diversification of the current workforce. Funding from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) has enabled us to begin this exciting journey and we look forward to working with MOBIE and our partners to progress this work and make a positive impact.
The workshops support STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) learning and other curriculum. They help to promote awareness and understanding of the environmental and societal issues that face young people and their future lives and lifestyles, including the UN Sustainable Development Global Goals.
They include topics such as what is a home, climate change, zero carbon homes, housing innovation and technology, sustainable building materials and renewable energy. By participating, learners can develop skills in teamwork and team building, design, communication and presentation.