This year, our members’ conference will look back at five decades of environmental innovation and education at CAT, and forward to the next chapter as we work together on solutions to the climate and nature emergency.

Join fellow CAT members, students, graduates, staff and volunteers for a weekend filled with inspiration, insight and practical actions.

Join us from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th November

CAT is a unique community created by and for people like you

For 50 years we have been sharing environmental solutions. Together, we are helping create a safer, healthier and fairer world – and we’d like you to celebrate this with us at our members conference.

Book your ticket now

Bringing people and ideas together

CAT brings people from all walks of life together to help create a safer, fairer and healthier world.

Like an ecosystem, we are a diverse community. From environmentalists and entrepreneurs to volunteers and engineers. From nature-lovers and academics to researchers and community groups.

We are a community strengthened by a common goal, working together to build and share solutions to the climate and nature crisis.

We’d like you to be part of this.

Please join us at this year’s conference to celebrate everything our CAT community is achieving and planning.

Meals and refreshments

Your conference ticket includes lunches, dinners and refreshments.

Meals are vegetarian, seasonal and inspired by what’s available in our gardens – with many of the ingredients grown locally or even at CAT itself.

We’re sure you’ll love the nutritious and tasty meals that will be prepared for you on site by our café staff.

A festival of ideas

• Journey back through time to CAT’s humble beginnings with the help of some storytelling, and explore our special 50th photography exhibition.
• Join a Q&A with Co-CEO Eileen Kinsman, to get a behind-the-scenes look at our exciting development plans and where’s next for CAT, at our 50th year.
• Identify key problems and co-create solutions for a Zero Carbon Britain in our ‘mini’ Innovation Lab with Dr Anna Bullen and Dr Ruth Stevenson. This is the first time we’ve ran this for members and it’s a great chance to experience our Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab processes and explore how you can use them when taking action in your local community.
• Hear from inspiring local projects working to combat waste and share experience from your own community projects:
  • Change way you think about food, with Aber Food Surplus, who will talk about their journey to redistributing surplus food within their community, from beginnings at school, to studying at CAT.
  • Dive into the soil and community composting, with Criw Compostio, a community group engaged in collecting and composting biodegradable wastes to support local food growing and holding conversations about soil care practices.
• Join experienced Head of Learning and Education, Amanda Smith, to learn about where’s next for our retrofitting masterclasses, and get a taste of the skills needed for whole home retrofit.
• Explore what it means to ‘design for deconstruction’ with Programme Leader Tim Coleridge, through an in-depth tour of our green buildings and learn how we can design buildings with the circular economy in mind.
• Join Dr Carl Meddings, from our MArch in Sustainable Architecture course to reflect on the importance of place making in building sustainable, healthy, resilient, liveable towns and cities. Work alongside some of CAT’s MArch students and guest facilitator Mark Drane of Urban Habitats. Get a taste of CAT’s architecture school and how it continues to adapt its focus to our changing world.
• Share your own projects, knowledge, and ideas with fellow attendees, volunteers and staff.
• Take time out to explore the trails, woodlands and meadows of CAT, immersing yourself in the beauty of Mid Wales.
• We’ll be joined by special guest Bruce Parry, who will:
  • Share insights from his unique experiences from visiting and working with communities from across the world.
  • Explore what can we learn from living in a way that is deeply connected with nature, each other, and our community.
  • We’re also very lucky that Bruce will introduce a screening of his film Tawai, which both inspires and speaks to parts of us that grieve for our loss of connection to a changing natural world.
• Sit back and listen to our panel of graduates and alumni, on their time at CAT, sowing seeds that led to innovation and real-world change.

Not a CAT member? Don’t worry!

Whilst our conference is for current CAT members, if you have not yet joined – or if you’ve let your membership lapse – it’s easy to become a member today.

For 50 years, people like you have been sharing the means and the inspiration to make transformational changes for a better future. We’re proud of our work – and we hope you are too.

To join or renew today, simply add a £30 membership fee when you book your conference ticket.

More details

Arrive from 3pm Friday, the conference closes at lunchtime on Sunday.

Tickets include all workshops, talks and activities, as well as lunches, dinners and refreshments. Breakfasts are included with accommodation bookings, or can be purchased separately at our café.

If you are unable to book accommodation at CAT, there are many other great places to stay locally.

• • The campsite next door, Llwyngwern Farm, has closed it’s toilet and shower facilities for the season but is still offering water, electricity and space for tents or campervans / motorhomes. Please call them on 07765 160 708 to book or for more information.
    
  • Alternatively please see the Visit Wales website for other local accommodation options.

Conference programme

The full programme for the weekend is now available and can be viewed here: 2023 CAT conference programme (pdf)

Book your ticket now