Category: Education

Our recent chat with UCL Lecturer Nick Hughes, who brought some of his students on a visit to CAT in November, was a great reminder of the important work our education team does, inspiring visitors to act for a more sustainable future.

Here at the Centre for Alternative Technology, we are always delighted to welcome visiting University Groups to our home in the heart of Mid Wales.  

Visiting students bring their own backgrounds and interests with them, whether they are future engineers, prospective natural scientists, creative practitioners or anywhere in between. For our team here at CAT, being able to share what we have learnt about sustainability and hopefully inspire action is why we do what we do, and we treasure the opportunity to make sustainability a part of visiting students’ learning journey. 

Nick Hughes, a lecturer at UCL, has consistently visited CAT over the years and recently brought some Masters students on a residential field trip so that they could compliment their studies with holistic examples of sustainability in action, up close and in real-time. 

A Holistic Approach to Sustainability

“In just a few days the students see and experience sustainable natural building techniques, ecological management, conservation agriculture, sustainable water and waste management, and various kinds of renewable energy technologies. It’s an inspiring and invigorating experience.” 

Enriched learning leads to enriched solutions and being a place where students can build on their own knowledge and progress in their educational journey is a heartening experience for us all at CAT. Being able to offer these holistic and hands-on insights into the many facets of sustainability means that we can place emphasis on the integrated approach needed to tackle the climate crisis.  

Hands on experiences that compliment learning

“CAT’s holistic approach to sustainable directly complements the key learning objectives of our programme but further gives students the opportunity for up close and hands on experiences. We wanted a place where students would feel comfortable and enjoy being together but also would have the chance to engage in practical learning activities of direct relevance, but also complementary to, the modules that we teach them as part of our own programme.” 

The CAT site is home to a host of sustainable solutions in action, from renewable energy to sustainably constructed buildings, Zero Carbon Britain research, sustainable resource management and beyond. The variety of these examples has the capacity to appeal to different student interests and harness their imagination as they proceed in their studies. 

“The students consistently give us excellent feedback on the field trip. They really appreciate the activities, the expert guidance and the welcoming atmosphere, which makes them feel wholly at home.”  

Getting to be part of the learning journey of future changemakers is a real privilege, no matter how big or small, and it is always a pleasure to hear back from those who visit!  

If you have a CAT story that you would like to share, we would love to hear it…share your story today. 

Bring your University to CAT 

To learn more about CAT’s group-visit offer and to make an enquiry, please visit cat.org.uk/groups-learning or email education@cat.org.uk.

We recently talked to tutor Rhian Sherrington about a new immersive course planned at CAT that aims to empower women working in sustainability to lead on creating change. 

This July, CAT will host Leading with Nature: Regenerative Leadership for Women, a new three‑day immersive course created in partnership with leadership trainer and executive coach Rhian Sherrington, founder of the Women in Sustainability Network. 

At a time when the world urgently needs leaders who can navigate complexity with empathy, clarity and courage, many women working in sustainability and impact-focused roles are feeling the strain. Their work is deeply meaningful, but the systems around them often make that work far harder than it should be. 

Q: How did this course come about? 

For over twelve years, I’ve worked closely with women who are dedicating their careers to sustainability, climate action, environmental protection and social impact. Across that time, I’ve witnessed something striking, women are profoundly driven to create change, yet the systems they work within often make that change far harder than it needs to be. 

Leadership, despite progress, is still a gendered experience. Women encounter barriers that are both visible and invisible, from balancing workload and caring demands to navigating unconscious bias and a persistent authority gap. What I see, again and again, is that women working to advance sustainability frequently do so with low budgets, limited resources and high expectations. Much of their influence comes not from positional power but from persuasion,  relationship building and emotional labour. 

At the same time, these women carry a deep awareness of the climate and biodiversity crises unfolding around us. They understand the urgency. They feel the weight of it. This combination of responsibility, urgency and limited resourcing creates a unique toll, one that often goes unrecognised. 

Q: How can we change our understanding of what leadership looks like? 

Much of the struggles faced by women in leadership stem from the leadership models we’ve inherited. Many of our dominant approaches to leadership have been shaped by extractive thinking, with an emphasis on competition, hierarchy, speed and control. These approaches are increasingly misaligned with the challenges we now face. 

Research shows what many of us intuitively understand, that the leadership qualities needed for a thriving, resilient future includes empathy, compassion, agility, deep listening and systems thinking. These are human skills, not gendered ones, but many women have developed them through lived experience and socialisation. 

Too often, these strengths have been dismissed as ‘soft skills’ or seen as less valuable than more traditional command-and-control styles. Yet they are precisely the skills required to navigate uncertainty, build trust, and lead transformative change. 

When women are able to lead as themselves, not squeezing into a mould that was never designed for them, and when leadership teams are genuinely diverse, organisations listen better, collaborate better and avoid the pitfalls of groupthink. 

This is not about pitching women against men. It is about recognising that our current structures were designed under a narrow worldview, and that we now need leadership that reflects the complexity of the systems we’re working to transform.

Q: Why Regenerative Leadership? 

To move forward, we need to shift from extractive to regenerative leadership – leadership that renews rather than depletes, that supports long-term impact rather than short-term wins. 

Regenerative leadership asks us to recognise ourselves as part of living systems. It invites us to pay attention to patterns, relationships and interdependence. It encourages us to lead in ways that are sustainable not just for our organisations but for ourselves. 

One of the most damaging leadership myths we still carry is the idea that nature is ultimately competitive. But when we look closely at ecological systems, we find that competition is only one small part of the story, and mostly visible in early stages of succession. Healthy ecosystems are defined by collaboration, diversity and connectivity. 

A forest does not thrive because one tree dominates; it thrives because each tree finds its niche within a wider web of relationships. 

This is the inspiration behind Leading with Nature. It is an invitation to reimagine leadership by learning from nature’s own regenerative intelligence. 

Q: Why is this course only aimed at women? 

Systemic change will not be driven by women alone. Meaningful transformation requires leadership from all genders. But women-only spaces remain essential because they create psychological safety. They allow women to explore lived experiences, examine internalised patterns, build confidence and develop new language for their leadership, free from scrutiny or judgement. 

Over the past twelve years, I have seen how transformative this can be. When women come together in supportive, purposeful environments, they leave with a stronger sense of clarity, courage and direction. They return to their workplaces better equipped to influence culture, find allies and create change from within. 

What to Expect from the Course 

Leading with Nature: Regenerative Leadership for Women, developed with CAT, is designed for mid-senior and senior women working in sustainability, climate, environment and social impact. 

Over three days, we will: 

• immerse ourselves in nature to reconnect with our own inner resources 
• explore in practical ways what regenerative leadership looks like 
• unpack challenges relating to authority, urgency, invisible labour and over-responsibility 
• use systems-thinking tools such as TetraMap to understand patterns in ourselves and our teams 
• work with real situations brought by participants 
• build community with peers who share similar pressures and purpose 

The intention is for each woman to leave with renewed energy, greater clarity, and practical tools to influence their organisational cultures more effectively,  while resourcing themselves more sustainably. 

This course brings together more than a decade of insights from the Women in Sustainability Network, alongside regenerative business approaches from my contributing tutor, Janine Barron. Together, we will explore what it means to create leadership that is future-fit, rooted in nature, and aligned with who we truly are. 

This is an inclusive course, open to anyone who identifies as a woman.  

Join Us 

If you are a woman working in sustainability, climate, environment or social impact, and you feel the strain of leading within systems that aren’t designed for the future we need, this course is for you. 

The course runs from 3 to the 5 July and a monthly payment plan option is available. 

Click here for more details 

Amanda Smith, Head of Learning and Education, explores some of the challenges young people face today and how CAT is taking action.

In Wales, we’re lucky to have a national commitment to longterm thinking. The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act puts the needs of tomorrow at the heart of decisions made today. It’s a powerful reminder that the world we’re shaping now, environmentally, culturally and politically, is the one young people will inherit.

At CAT, we believe the next generation deserves more than a seat at the table. They deserve to be heard, supported and given the tools to help shape the future themselves.

Reality for young people today

Today’s young people are growing up in a time of rapid change and uncertainty. The effects of climate breakdown are being felt around the globe, and things are projected to get much worse.

Climate anxiety is now widely recognised as a serious issue. A growing number of children and teenagers report feeling overwhelmed by the scale of environmental problems and powerless to make a difference. This emotional burden can affect their mental health, education and even career choices.

But alongside the worry and distraction, there’s also energy, passion and a strong desire to make a difference. More than ever, young people are deeply engaged. They’re asking questions, demanding action, and imagining new ways of living. From school climate strikes to community projects, they’re showing they care and are ready to lead the conversation.

But young people can’t do it alone. They need support to make their voices heard and prepare for their future careers and lives.

Supporting young people at CAT

CAT has always been about practical solutions and positive change. Our work with young people builds on that foundation, helping them explore ideas, develop skills and find hope in action.

Every year, CAT welcomes school and university students to our Visitor Centre in Mid Wales. These visits are immersive learning experiences that show practical solutions in real life. Students explore renewable energy systems, green buildings, organic gardens and sustainably managed woodland. They learn about climate science, low-carbon technologies and ecologically conscious design. All this learning happens within a living, breathing ecosystem where they are surrounded by nature, practical examples of sustainable solutions, and the evidence of 50 years of environmental innovation.

For many, it’s a transformative experience. They leave with new knowledge, fresh ideas and a renewed sense of hope. They see that solutions exist and that they can be part of making them happen.

A visiting teacher from Solefield School in Kent described how, “One student came back to me years after this trip to say it had inspired him to pursue sustainable engineering.” He’s since gone on to study Sustainable Engineering at university and is now fully qualified and doing well in the field.

Bold Futures: Imagining what’s possible

One of CAT’s most impactful programmes for young people is Bold Futures, a workshop designed to help participants imagine a sustainable future and understand the role they can play in bringing it about.

The workshop takes young people through a creative and reflective process. They explore what a zero-carbon world might look like, consider the changes needed to get there, and identify the skills and actions that could help make it a reality.

It’s wonderful to see how full of hope children are about the future of their homes, schools and communities. They imagine green spaces, full of play and thriving with nature.

The Bold Futures programme is not about telling young people what to think, it’s about giving them space to think for themselves. The emphasis is on agency, imagination and possibility. Participants often leave feeling more empowered, more connected, and more motivated to take action in their own lives and communities.

POP25: Reaching a wider audience

In November, CAT hosted POP25 (Protecting Our Planet Day), a major partnership event with STEM Learning, the UK and European space agencies and other organisations. Broadcast live from CAT to over 200,000 school-aged students and teachers across the UK, the event showcased practical solutions to climate change and celebrated the role of young people in building a better future.

POP25 brought together educators, scientists, activists and students to share ideas, spark conversations and inspire action. Alongside a live broadcast from CAT, the event also went live to an environmental research vessel in the Arctic and other incredible areas of cutting-edge research. It was a wonderful example of what can happen when organisations work together to support climate education and youth engagement.

Hosting POP25 was a chance to amplify CAT’s message and reach a wider audience while being part of something truly inspirational for young people.

Skills for the future

As the world moves towards a zero carbon future, the demand for green skills is growing. Young people will need to be equipped not just with knowledge, but with practical abilities, from sustainable construction and renewable energy to ecological design and systems thinking.

CAT is playing an important role in this transition. Through our postgraduate programmes, short courses, residential volunteering programmes and partnerships with schools and colleges, we are helping young people develop the skills they’ll need to thrive in a changing world.

This isn’t just about jobs, it’s about purpose. Many young people want to work in ways that align with their values and contribute to positive change. CAT’s education programmes help them do just that.

CAT’s unique blend of teaching and physical examples of solutions in action provides an inspirational learning experience. Dr Dai Morgan brings his students from the University of Cambridge to CAT every year to become inspired describes that “CAT offers something unique. It’s immersive and integrative-a real example of sustainability being worked out in real time. Being in that environment, around people who are doing things differently and showing what’s possible, creates space to reflect and reconnect with what really matters.”

Listening and learning together

We believe young people’s voices matter. We’re not just here to teach but to listen, learn and be inspired by the young people we welcome to CAT.

Whether it’s through workshops, site visits, youth panels or national events, we’re committed to creating spaces where young people can explore, connect and grow. We know a better future is possible. And we know young people are key to making it happen.

How you can help

The climate crisis is a generational issue that affects us all. By supporting CAT, you’re helping to give young people hope, connection and direction, so they can make change happen today and tomorrow. You’re investing in education, empowerment and a better future for everyone.

If you are part of a school or youth group, could you bring them to CAT for an immersive and impactful experience? Learn more about group visits to CAT at cat.org.uk/groupslearning.

About the author

Amanda Smith – Head of Learning and Education is passionate about the power of education to change lives and outcomes for both children and adults, encouraging them to understand that the choices they make in their everyday lives, as individuals, policymakers or businesspeople.

Amanda has over 20 years’ experience in teaching, school leadership, adult training and organisational improvement. She is a highly qualified and experienced educator, with Qualified Teacher status and the National Professional Qualification for Head Teachers and is a Specialist Leader of Education. Her expertise includes the design and development of high-quality education materials, assessment of impact on learners, and provision of an environment to support learning and retention of key skills, as well as monitoring and quality assurance of programmes.