Sarah Warren

Sarah heard about CAT and our postgraduate courses from a former student when she was on holiday and promptly followed this up with a visit to one of our Open Days.

As a parent, the flexibility CAT’s courses offered was attractive to her and the part-time and distance learning were a key part of why she applied. She also describes her time at CAT as ‘life-changing’ and the impact the course had on Sarah prompted her to run for a council election in May 2019.

Before Sarah graduated in the autumn of 2019 from our MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation Planning, she was elected as a Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council. As a climate emergency was declared in the council in March 2019, the cabinet’s objective was to provide leadership to ensure the district achieves carbon neutrality by 2030.

Gaining an understanding, on the course, of the systemic connections between different areas of human activity and the Earth, has allowed Sarah to lead colleagues in the Cabinet to adopt very high aspirations for the environment.

“The wide-ranging nature of the course has been invaluable. It means I have at least some idea of the right direction of travel, and the right questions to ask, in a discussion ranging from building design and insulation, to transport, to waste, to comms and engagement, to food, to biodiversity and land use.”