The National Centre for Climate Learning

In 2020, we embarked on a journey to make climate change accessible for communities all over the world. through our partner organisation, Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd. We started with schools and education and then evolved to develop bespoke exhibitions for heritage sites and wild spaces.

It was during the summer of 2022 that we realised we weren’t thinking broadly enough.

‘HEAT’ - A National Centre for Climate Learning, is simply a unique opportunity.

A chance to provide communities with agency and knowledge to tackle a seemingly enormous global crisis. To connect people with the natural world, inclusively, with lasting learning legacy, empowering people of all backgrounds, faiths and cultures to embrace this crisis head on, with practical climate action. The time has arrived to design a learning solution with permanency for the contemporary world.

We want to bring together scientists, environmentalists, educators, businesses and community leaders to form a national hub where we inspire a sense of wonder, urgency and equity. If not now...then when?

Motivation - my two young daughters who like everyone else’s children, will inherit the problem. We owe it to them to give them the tools to take action.

Anxiety and inaction are slowing our rate of progress against climate variation and are having an immeasurable impact on on our physical health and sense of well-being. HEAT will serve its community and beyond, to engage, inspire and bond people to the natural world.

66% of people on average would like to know more about climate change in the UK (Source - Peretia & Kings College London)

The climate crisis is an enormous global challenge that has yet to be conquered.

As climate experts and educators, we have created a concept to help tackle the climate crisis head on... with the inception of ‘HEAT’.

‘HEAT’ will be a National Centre for Climate Learning. An immersive, adaptable and inclusive environment where the community, schools, academics and businesses will be able to learn, together, enabling them to take climate action in their own community or work place.

We believe in giving the community agency and equity in the climate crisis to assist in changing minds, evolving peoples understanding of the climate issue and exploring a solution based approach through learning opportunities and creating engaging and inspiring opportunities to make a difference, both locally and internationally.

‘HEAT’ will be built on forging effective partnerships to develop and deliver impactful and lasting climate learning for the United Kingdom and beyond.

‘HEAT’ will be a multi-purpose visitor facility, grounded in community exploration through a climate change centre articulated into four key learning zones - AIR, H20, LAND and LAB.

Each zone will present an opportunity to explore and engage through immersive learning opportunities. Exhibitions and the arts will be integral to the visitor experiences enhancing a sense of well-being and reducing climate anxiety.

Each learning zone will provide a unique learning experience which will enable visitors to become digital tourists, exploring the world and its related climate issues through Virtual Reality. Each zone will also promote achievable climate action that visitors can undertake in their local community. We will explore sustainability, conservation and the most contemporary methods of climate mititgation.

Through organic learning, we envisage reconnecting communities to their environment, as custodians of change, armed with agency to make informed choices to live sustainably within their environment.

We will assist communities in navigating complex scientific theory by debunking complex terminology within a localised context.

‘HEAT’ will engage communities onsite as part of a visitor learning offer as well as explore outreach organisations across the West Midlands and beyond.

We will seek to engage all aspects of the community, inclusively, promoting access amongst minority groups and hard to reach aspects of the local community. A targeted marketing campaign will seek to make climate learning relevant and develop engagement by exploring localised learning alongside national and international issues. We will take communities to the heart of the problem and inspire achievable personalised climate action.

Our exhibits and learning content will be available in over sixty languages to welcome a diverse community. As educationalists, we will explore a range of access strategies to engage community members who may have an educational need or social and emotional difficulty through use of sensory environments, quiet zones, reflection spaces and physical and emotional therapeutic offers that are significant linked to climate learning.

We will engage with all schools and institutions across the region and beyond as part of an onsite offer, welcoming young people to learn about their environmental future in an affordable way. Aspiring to inspire.

Over 6 in 10 (64%) adults in Great Britain reported that they had made some changes to help tackle climate change, and a further 7% had made a lot of changes.

When asked about the specific actions they had taken to help tackle climate change in the past 12 months, the most frequently reported actions among adults in Great Britain included making changes to their:

• shopping habits (46%)
• travel (37%)
• diet (33%)
• garden (29%)

The most common reasons reported among people not making any changes included:

• feeling that large polluters should make changes before individuals (37%)
• that their changes will have no effect (33%)
• that it is too expensive to make changes (30%)
  

Of people who had taken actions to tackle climate change in the past 12 months, around 4 in 10 (41%) agreed or strongly agreed that the changes have had a positive impact on their life.

Located at the very heart of England, the West Midlands’ world-class, internationally significant economy and thriving business eco-system, underpinned by the UK’s youngest and most diverse population.

Home to 4.7m people and with an economic output similar to that of Slovakia, the West Midlands is one of Europe’s most dynamic, forward-looking and ambitious metropolitan regions.

Fed by nine world-class institutions producing 60,000 graduates each year, the West Midlands is the perfect hub to home connect with key delivery partners to establish the countries first centre for climate learning.

The West Midlands is home to an UNESCO Geopark located in the Black Country.

With the completion of HS2 alongside an already advantageous transport network, the West Midlands will be the home of ‘HEAT’.

The West Midlands is the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution, ingenuity and progress. We will harness that spirit in developing a solution focused approach to the issue of climate change, working in collaboration with ambitious partners who share our philosophy in developing a healthier planet.

Concern about climate change

The latest estimates from our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) from 14 June to 9 July 2023 show that around two-thirds (64%) of adults in Great Britain said that in the past 12 months they had been worried (very or somewhat) about the impact of climate change (the same as in the previous period 5 April to 1 May 2023).

Groups of the population more likely to report having been worried about climate change include:

• those living in the least deprived areas of England (72%) compared with those living in the most deprived areas (50%)

• those living in the East of England (70%) compared with those living in the North East (53%)

• women (68%) compared with men (60%).

Adults living in the least deprived areas of England were more likely to report having made some changes to their lifestyle to tackle climate change (70%) than those in the most deprived areas (55%) and appeared more likely to have made changes to their home (16% compared with 9%), garden (34% compared with 19%) or shopping habits (47% compared with 38%).

‘HEAT’ will occupy a physical space that will need to be dynamic and flexible to house a range of digital exhibits, physical exhibits, learning spaces and conference space.

However, ‘HEAT’ doesn’t require endless square footage. We are seeking to be resourceful in the transformation of space in a sustainable way. We will develop a bespoke Net Zero plan from inception to operation to ensure that the impact of learning practises are mitigated.

We have imagined a space that is inspiring, contemporary and efficient and digital media will play a significant role in exhibiting learning material to reduce raw material use. Fixtures and fittings will be co-designed with sustainable materials. We aim to tell the climate story of our building and its contents. This will be an integral feature of our learning offer

We will engage with commercial partners who champion sustainable materials and processes.

Our visitor experience will be focused on our four key learning zones, at the heart of which will sit our ‘Tree of life’, a permanent exhibition to champion the preservation of our native woodlands and explore the plight of deforestation. This will be a central interactive learning area which will also feature as our place of reflection.

People across the world, and the political spectrum, underestimate levels of support for climate action.

This “perception gap” matters. Governments will change policy if they think they have strong public backing. Companies need to know that consumers want to see low-carbon products and changes in business practices. We’re all more likely to make changes if we think others will do the same.

If governments, companies, innovators, and our neighbours know that most people are worried about the climate and want to see change, they’ll be more willing to drive it.

On the flip side, if we systematically underestimate widespread support, we’ll keep quiet for fear of “rocking the boat”.

This matters not only within each country but also in how we cooperate internationally. No country can solve climate change on its own. If we think that people in other countries don’t care and won’t act, we’re more likely to sit back as we consider our efforts hopeless.

Hannah Ritchie (2024) - “More people care about climate change than you think” Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/climate-change-support' [Online Resource]

Concept Impression 2023 - Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd

As part of the four learning zones that make up ‘HEAT’, our learning content will focus on key areas of climate learning, in context, as part of a narrative journey. We will address key issues such as:

• global warming and climate variance
  
• the greenhouse effect
  
• the climate crisis both domestically and internationally
  
• environmental change and conservation
  
• the impact on the planets ecosystems
• clean energy and technology
  
• alternative energy or renewable energy
  
• making key scientific terms accessible and relatable
• the plight of our oceans in light of climate change
• carbon storage
• tackling climate anxiety through a therapeutic offer
• regenerative farming and the origins of our food
• a tale of the Amazon
• the impact of our homes.

Learning opportunities will be digitally derived, exploring virtual travel using Virtual Reality... bringing the world to the community's fingertips. Visitors will have access to a range of learning opportunities via their mobile device, as well as engaging with practical solutions within ‘HEAT’.

Our schools offer will be driven by practical learning, linked to National Curriculum outcomes via our flagship ‘Hot Topic’ programme.

Learning and knowledge is agency.

We will utilise a thematic approach to learning, encouraging the community to explore the interconnected nature of systems that all impact upon climate change.

Our learning approach will be inclusive, including supporting people who have a special educational need or physical impairment.

Our learning content will be available in over sixty languages to support a multi-cultural approach involving all members of a diverse society.

Our learning model allows for exploration of key topics, engagement with STEM knowledge and application and develop a personalised response to climate change. Learning will be family orientated and present climate issues in a positive way, focusing on action and engagement.

Our approach supports a diverse range of curriculum delivery models within schools and colleges which will support life long learning for young people.

We are focused on developing an empathetic approach to knowledge acquisition whilst also removing barriers to learning surrounding climate in terms of complexity of terminology and the anxiety this creates.

Part of the task ahead is the government’s plan to create thousands of ‘green jobs’ - jobs that focus on reducing carbon emissions, restoring nature or making similar environmental improvements.

The low carbon sector and supply chain already provides over 460,000 jobs in the UK, but the government’s ambition is to grow this to two million green jobs by 2030. Sounds great – but how realistic is this target and are we prepared to meet the challenge?

“In the ten years I have been researching sustainable business, public awareness about sustainability and the role that business plays in solving our climate emergency has shifted dramatically,” says Dr Fred Paterson, Associate Professor of Sustainable Business and Clean Growth at the University of Derby and Low Carbon Business Network Lead. “And as we begin our ‘green recovery’ from the pandemic, this shift will increasingly impact on our jobs, communities and family life.

“The UK government’s taskforce was launched to support the drive to create more green jobs by 2030. In its report to Government, Industry and the Skills Sector (2021), the Green Jobs Taskforce says that “every job of the future will be directly or indirectly shaped by the transition to net zero”.

However in its Sixth Carbon Budget, the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned that it is likely to take 10 years or more to secure the appropriate skills, capacity and supply chains in key sectors like building and transport.

We believe in in engaging immersive digital technology to tell our climate story.

We see two key benefits of this. Firstly, being that we can develop, evolve and rotate learning content in a cost effective and sustainable way.

Secondly being that we want to engage whole communities, via Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 360 panoramic immersion, video based content and engagement materials that can be accessed on personal digital devices globally.

Our digital approach will form a significant aspect of our hybrid offer which will also encompass physical experiences and engagement with nature and its beauty which can only be achieved through a physical lens.

We will work in partnership with content creators to work alongside our Learning Team to create amazing digital experiences to harnesses a sense of wonder.

We also want to support and develop opportunities to develop visual media and podcasting media to tell the climate narrative for specific audiences. Aspiring film makers will form an integral function in the story of ‘HEAT’.

The climate crisis has brought science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects to the fore amongst younger generations .

‘HEAT’ will champion pioneering STEM projects for young people to engage in to inspire climate engagement through a practical lens.

We will work with external partners, schools and colleges to promote STEM learning as part of our global offer.

Our internal programmes and outreach opportunities will give young people a feeling of valued, contextualised and applicable agency to affect legacy learning within their own educational settings.

Each learning zone will provide a STEM learning project which will advocate a climate solution that could be developed externally.

Will also work with academics and professionals from the private sector to develop content that will support future and knowledge skills necessary to be equipped to work within the green sector, ensuring engagement with processional qualification routes and igniting an interest and passion in sustainable employment.

Climate change is clearly bad for the planet. But could it also be detrimental to your career – or do new green job opportunities await?

The push to put a brake on climate change and to cut emissions is certainly sobering news for the fossil fuel industries.

The global oil, gas and coal sectors currently employ almost 18 million people but more than 5 million jobs could be lost by 2030 if the world is to meet its net-zero target by 2050

This sounds calamitous. But the bigger picture is much brighter as new opportunities in clean energy easily outweigh job losses in fossil fuels. According to the same IEA report, more than 17 million additional jobs could be created on a net basis by 2030 in areas such as electric vehicle and wind turbine manufacturing, solar panel installation, and in the construction of clean energy plants.

“The transition to a net-zero future will create new industries, new jobs and revitalize local economies,” says Linda Freiner, Chief Sustainability Officer at Zurich Insurance Group. “Approached in the right way, it can forge a path to a more resilient future encompassing new growth opportunities for businesses, which leads to new jobs being created. But what excites me, is that these new careers will be truly fulfilling as they will help to protect both our planet and our futures.”

As the goal of achieving net-zero powers an ever-increasing share of the global economy, here are five green careers likely to play a pivotal role:

Developing effective partnerships will be key to the success of ‘HEAT’.

We will seek to engage with a range of partners who have a common interest in the development of climate change learning. This will harness unique opportunities to develop the learning offer, engage a range of views from stakeholders and collaborate with expertise in a range of academic fields.

We will also seek to work with specialists in inclusive engagement and social mobility to maximise our reach to key groups within society.

Partners in the arts, culture, heritage and STEM will be of particular importance to maximise learning outcomes and we will pursue effective partnership working from early development of the project.

Media partnerships will offer the perfect outlet to maximise opportunities for community engagement and we will utilise social and digital media to share our key message and promote a message of inclusivity around attendance and active participation within our learning programmes.

We will be a key destination for conferences, shared experiences, networking and collective action.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) concluded that climate risks are appearing faster and will become more severe sooner than previously expected, and it will be harder to adapt with increased global heating.

It further reveals that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, low-income countries and small island developing states (SIDS) endure the harshest health impacts. In vulnerable regions, the death rate from extreme weather events in the last decade was 15 times higher than in less vulnerable ones.

Furthermore, climate change is undermining many of the social determinants for good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to health care and social support structures. These climate-sensitive health risks are disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, including women, children, ethnic minorities, poor communities, migrants or displaced persons, older populations, and those with underlying health conditions.

In the short- to medium-term, the health impacts of climate change will be determined mainly by the vulnerability of populations, their resilience to the current rate of climate change and the extent and pace of adaptation. In the longer-term, the effects will increasingly depend on the extent to which transformational action is taken now to reduce emissions and avoid the breaching of dangerous temperature thresholds and potential irreversible tipping points.

‘HEAT’ will act as a panacea for a range of other activities that will serve to benefit the local community and beyond.

We will explore opportunities to:

• Engage in climate anxiety support and therapeutic advocacy, developing programmes of support, knowledge sharing and well being development
  
• Engage with film makers to work on a variety of digital projects to showcase amazing climate action work that is underway around the world
• Undertake touring climate exhibitions in partnership with heritage sites and galleries across Europe to share our learning platforms
• Our national outreach work will support Schools and Colleges across the Country to access environmental learning to address significant gaps within the National Curriculum and support the launch of a new Environmental Studies GCSE in 2025
• Host climate and environmental conferences for the community, business and academics to share best practice and undertake exploratory partnerships
• Establish key partnerships with digital technology developers to maximise learning and engagement potential.
• Commission studies into climate change and culture - exploring the cultural perceptions of climate change within key social groups across the West Midlands.
  

People are fairly positive about tackling climate change. 48% of people in the UK disagree that climate change is beyond our control and that it’s too late to

do anything about it, rising to 65% in Ireland.

66% of people on average would like to know more about climate change.

There is support for many of the actions to address climate change. 73% of people on average say that they walk, cycle or use public transport rather than a car, whilst only 3% of people on average say that they would never recycle.

There are widespread misperceptions of scientists’ views on climate change. Across all six countries engaged, the average estimate for the proportion of scientists who have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening is 68% – far lower than the reality, of 99.9%.

There is also some doubt over the causes of climate change. Three quarters of people (74%) on average say that climate change is mainly caused by human activities.

Notably, women exhibit greater concern (77%) compared to men (71%). Educational background also plays a role; those with higher education (83% among degree holders) express more concern than those without qualifications (62%).

These disparities suggest that personal experiences and levels of understanding about climate change may vary across different groups.

Concept Impression 2023 - Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd

Concept Impression 2023 - Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd

Our Leadership Team team is experienced in delivering multi million pound projects and programmes, including estate management within the education sector.

We are learning specialists, familiar with heritage curation, learning development and digital learning development.

As Environmental Scientists and Geographers, we are specialists in climate science, mitigation and engagement.

Through our founding organisation, Elysium Environmental Learning, we have worked with a variety of organisations, clients and stakeholders to deliver climate projects on a large scale.

We have worked with International partners to develop growth opportunities and charitable outcomes.

We also acknowledge that we need to harness effective collaborations to develop the long term sustainability of this project. We are engaging with a range of professionals from a variety of backgrounds including design, technology, site and asset management and Human Resources.

We are seeking to enhance our team of climate specialists who share our passion in promoting inclusive learning.

Our climate legacy plan is designed around central community outcomes:

• Communities feel empowered to enact personalised climate action in their own lives
  
• Communities have a safe space to engage with the climate crisis and develop an empathetic environment
• Young people are prepared and equipped with a necessary grounding in climate knowledge to enable them to engage with the evolving employment market, particularly ahead of the Environmental Studies GCSE in 2025
• Climate anxiety is significantly reduced in local communities due to enhanced understanding of the their environment and are able to make informed decisions about their own lifestyle
• Visitors feel a sense of deeper connection to the natural environment both domestically and internationally
• Communities can educate each other to appreciate cause and effect.
• HEAT will be the first centre for climate change learning in the UK. We envisage launching similar centres in North and South of England as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Facilitating support and learning for communities around the world that are most at risk of the effects of climate change.
  

Concept Impression 2023 - Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd

‘HEAT’ will work not only to enhance climate change and sustainability learning in the UK but will focus on working with global organisations to support communities who are at imminent risk of changing environmental conditions.

We have identified the South Pacific as a region that needs significant support to help combat land loss, flooding, health care and mitigation.

One of the key features of our approach to learning involves making international climate issues accessible to our domestic community. Comprehending the global impact of climate change can be daunting, that’s why our digital approach will bring the world to the community. We want visitors to engage with the physical impact of climatic variance in far reaching regions of the world such as the Arctic, the Amazon, the remote Islands of the South Pacific as well as exploring what climate change looks like in our back gardens - virtual tourists.

We will also collaborate on outreach projects with other institutions who are passionate about developing climate change learning, sharing expertise and knowledge as well connecting global communities who share a common passion in preserving our natural earth for future generations.

Conservation of eco-systems around the world will be an integral focus of our work and education at ‘HEAT’.

Our collaborations with charitable foundations, animal rights organisations and environmentalists will develop over the initial three years of our project.

We aim to:

• Develop a wider knowledge of the loss of habitats and threats to wildlife as a consequence of climate change.
  
• Support communities to develop an empathetic approach to wildlife protection.
• Increase focused awareness on species that are most at risk as a result of human activity.
• We will develop a sharper focus on the impacts of climate change on our global oceans and its subsequent impact of life on land.

Our learning offer will strive to deliver digital field-trips for the community to embark upon to experience the plight of endangered and threatened species first hand. We believe that action starts with discovery and understanding and we will promote this approach across all of our content.

The preservation and sustainability of natural life is a collective responsibility and we aim to resharpen our focus.

General Enquiries, Collaboration & Partnership Enquiries

info@imaginelabeducation.com

Media and Press Enquiries

media@imaginelabeducation.com

Registered Office

Elysium Environmental Learning Ltd, 16 Church Hill, Penn, Wolverhampton, WV4 5PW, United Kingdom