Samuel Kirby-Bray

Samuel completed a Postgraduate Diploma at CAT in 2015. Having previously read Electronics and Communications Engineering (BEng) at Bath University he went on to work in the aerospace industry and after a career change motivated by community and sustainability, he moved into conservation volunteering in Cornwall prior to working as a freelance ICT technician for 10 years.  This period cultivated problem-solving and ‘soft skill-sets’, laying a solid foundation for the process of evaluating engineering solutions in renewable energy.

Samuel is now the Climate and Carbon Support Officer at Shropshire Council where he focuses on buildings efficiency, implementing energy efficiency and renewable generation in both rural and built environments (primarily public-owned buildings) throughout the county. He has worked on numerous projects including a retrofit programme installing innovative interventions such as solid wall installation, solar photo-voltaic’s and efficient LED luminaries. SEPuBu (Sustainable Energy in Public Buildings) provides an excellent opportunity to establish a rolling programme of improvements, reducing the running costs and the carbon footprint of public buildings, one of these buildings being Shrewsbury Market Hall.

In addition to this, he has drafted the Corporate Climate Change Strategy to bring the council in line with the recent 2030 Climate Emergency Commitments as pledged by other town and county councils and he hopes to continue his work to help bring the County of Shropshire to zero carbon by 2030, through working with communities and the organisational system within local Government.

“CAT is where it is at. – Since 60’s/70’s the hub of the movement and a community– which has evolved into a fully-fledged research-based science led establishment. When I first visited at the age of 9 and stayed at Corris Youth Hostel– something triggered then – sadly I didn’t take the opportunity early in life for work experience pre or post my first university degree. Attractive salaries drew me in the wrong direction from university. However, life events led me back to CAT 29 years later and I realised it was my destiny all along combining Geography A-Level, (which was always secretly favourite subject) with physics maths and engineering – and renewable energy made total sense and I finally understood the electrical degree did the first-time round. So, it’s the perfect setting for engineering, people, the natural environment and a way of life.”