CAT Senior Lecturer and Short Course Tutor Dr Alan Owen explores how our Renewables for Household short courses can help people save time, money and frustration finding out what renewable energy options will work for them.
(more…)Category: Graduate School
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Growing the value of homegrown timber
To address the urgent need for a carbon neutral and economically regenerative future, how we manage woodland systems and value timber desperately needs rethinking. CAT graduate Jemma Ho explores inclusive, holistic and regenerative actions to sustain and develop the use of homegrown timber.
Jemma Ho The area of woodland in the UK is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares – 13% of the total land area. Forest Research breaks this down as 19% in Scotland, 15% in Wales, 10% in England, and 9% in Northern Ireland.
In Wales, two thirds of woodland is on privately owned land, while only a third is publicly owned by the Welsh Government and managed by Natural Resources Wales. This means a large proportion of Welsh woodlands are at risk of being fragmentally managed for wildlife conservation, biodiversity significance, and mitigation of diseases and invasive species. As a result of this fragmentation and a lack of holistic due diligence across the construction industry, the maintenance of a secure supply of homegrown timber for construction is at risk. Today, the UK imports 80% of its timber for the construction industry, making it the second largest net importer of timber in the world.
Delving into woodlands
To discover how the timber supply chain operates, I toured nurseries, woodlands and sawmills. I studied structural timber joinery at the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology. And I enrolled on a 12-week short-course in Timber Technology and Engineering Design for built environment professionals at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Herefordshire.
Through interviews with experienced ‘ground workers’, working with trees from the seed, through to plantation, all the way to felling and grading the tree for timber, I discovered that millions of UK-grown seedlings go unplanted simply because there isn’t a big enough workforce to plant them in the appropriate weather season. One operator at a nursery commented that there is a lack of government investment or subsidies in innovative forestry equipment to plant, maintain and grow trees to what is deemed as maturity.
I also interviewed several millers across Welsh sawmills, ranging from mainstream commercial operations to small cooperatives, and discovered that while various species of trees are measured and graded as to their appropriateness for construction, tonnes of tree thinnings go onto a “pile of waste” or are sold as firewood.
The UK can’t afford to keep throwing away these natural and precious resources. Woodland systems, land ownership, skills training, and innovation in timber development and its uses all urgently need collaborative rethinking.
Space to rethink timber
The findings from both my Master’s research and timber short course were steered not only by my interests in carpentry since a young age, but also from an awareness that in the last century the UK construction industry has been heavily influenced by steel production. This makes a major contribution to the overall impact of the built environment, emitting around 40% of greenhouse gases (GHGs). But this doesn’t have to be the way. It’s time to shift building in a more sustainable direction, where bio-based resources can be used in a regenerative way for the good of both communities and the planet.
In my final year of study on the M.Arch Sustainable Architecture programme at CAT, I was able to develop a project that responds to and reinforces the role of architectural design within the environmental debate. My proposal titled ‘Wood Culture Wales’ is a public centre that provides interdisciplinary learning environments and practical facilities, addressing the fragmentation and inconsistencies in the Welsh and UK timber industries. The aim is to catalyse activities across the timber production cycle that reduce our reliance on imports, boost skills, promote economic growth, and develop a truly sustainable future for Welsh timber production.
A new future for a derelict factory
My final design project includes a design proposal to uplift the derelict Wern Works factory in Briton Ferry, Southwest Wales, which was previously used for aluminium sheet rolling for British Airways Concorde jets, bringing significant economic benefit to this small Welsh town.
The theoretical scheme proposes celebrating and repurposing this historic building, reviving the existing heavyweight industrial steel frame, while ensuring minimal impact to the existing context by introducing innovative hybrid, reused and new-build construction strategies.
The four new-builds and two hybrid interconnected buildings aim to exemplify ways of using timber as a construction material – ranging from traditional timber frame, modern mass timber construction, and lightweight timber frame structures to adaptive reuse of other conventional construction materials. It’s a 21st century approach to industrial production and sustainable regeneration.
The project is driven by the development of six strategic concepts:
- Uplift the economic context
- Address forestry decline
- Increase woodland creation and biodiversity
- Innovate with waste
- Catalyse timber craftsmanship
- Develop and sustain a wood culture for Wales
Key spaces include:
- Three interconnected passively climate-controlled greenhouses to act as a living exhibition on how our trees could behave in future climates
- Makers’ gallery with hireable studios
- Conference centre, break-out spaces, nursery and accommodation
- Cabinet makers’ wood workshop, for adults and children
- Specialist boat-making workshop
- Visitor building for leisure activities, including a café and orientation gallery
- Outdoor exhibition space for various timber interventions
- Sawmill facilities (for local milling services)
- Reclamation yard for timber offcuts and exchange
Each building serves various user groups, ranging from young children to experienced professionals in the construction, timber and forestry industries to create a holistic knowledge-sharing environment.
The aim of this project is to advocate for urgent innovative actions within current Welsh supply chains to increase the industrial value of timber by creating a holistically streamlined supply of structural timber and better use of the ‘waste’ byproducts of production.
The Wood Culture Wales project highlights the pressing need to act now to use the knowledge our timber industries have to drive the development of lowercarbon construction materials. Timber is a resource that not only captures carbon but also creates greener jobs for future generations.
About the author
Jemma Ho is a graduate from CAT’s 2022– 24 Masters of Sustainable Architecture programme. She is an Architectural Designer at Architype, the UK’s leading architecture firm for sustainable buildings, primarily in the education and healthcare sectors.
In 2025, Jemma was recognised in The Architects’ Journal’s AJ100 Emerging New Talent list, recognising her rising influence within UK architecture. She is passionate about promoting the use of timber in construction.
Find out more about our M.Arch in Sustainable Architecture
Find out more about our M.Arch in Sustainable Architecture by looking at the programme description or by joining an upcoming open day.
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Inspiring, informing and enabling Green Careers at CAT
This Green Careers Week, we’re celebrating how CAT inspires, informs and enables impactful green careers.
As the climate and biodiversity emergency continues to shape our world, the need for skilled, passionate people in green careers has never been greater. This Green Careers Week, we’re exploring how the CAT helps people find their path into meaningful work that supports a sustainable future.
From sparking inspiration in young minds to equipping professionals with innovative skills, CAT’s work is rooted in a powerful mission to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate crisis. For more than five decades, CAT has been a place where people come to explore bold ideas, launch meaningful careers, and connect with others working toward a more sustainable future
Inspire: Planting Seeds and New Ideas
Inspiration is often the first step toward a green career. At CAT, it begins the moment someone steps onto the site. Nestled in the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere Reserve in the hills of Mid Wales, CAT’s immersive natural setting is a living example of sustainable living in action set in a stunning wooded valley.
Visitors frequently describe the experience as transformative. Teacher John Ridler from Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall explains that while many students arrive with ambitions to pursue medicine, visits to CAT often broaden their horizons.
“A lot of our pupils come in thinking medicine is their likely path. But experiences like this inspire them to consider engineering – something they might never have thought was for them.”
John Ridler, teacher at Queen Mary’s Grammar School
Queen Mary’s now sees 15–20 students a year inspired to go on to study engineering at university.
Dr Dai Morgan, longstanding lecturer at the University of Cambridge, brings his group to CAT every year. Dai believes that the experience at CAT is a poignant moment of inspiration for his students.
“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.”
Dr Dai Morgan, Lecture at the University of Cambridge
This sense of connection to nature, to community, and to purpose, is echoed in feedback from many young people’s visits. They describe the feeling of being “part of nature” during their time at CAT. That feeling makes them want to protect it.
CAT is more than a learning centre – it’s a community hub, a hive of action where people from all walks of life come together to imagine and create a sustainable future. Whether it’s a school group exploring renewable energy, a youth panel shaping climate action, or a volunteer discovering their passion, CAT helps people see themselves as part of the solution.
Inform: Developing Skills for a Sustainable Future
Inspiration is powerful, but it’s only the beginning. To turn passion into impact, people need knowledge, skills and confidence. That’s where CAT’s educational programmes come in.
CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment offers postgraduate degrees that blend academia with practical learning. Studying on one of seven postgraduate degrees helps students gain knowledge and networks to make a real difference in their chosen specialisms as they go on to have long and impactful green careers.
To date, over 2500 people have completed postgraduate awards at CAT. Students have gone on to make a real difference through a wide variety of careers and opportunities, from architecture and energy management to environmental policy and land management.
Graduates have gone on to launch innovative companies, lead sustainability initiatives, and shape policy across the UK and beyond. Their success stories are a testament to the power of education rooted in real-world application.
Clara Humphries came to CAT to study how she could integrate green building principles into real-world projects and now works as a Retrofit Project Manager at Retrofit West, where she applies the knowledge she learned studying at CAT daily.
“CAT gave me the hope and motivation to tackle complex climate challenges“
Clara Humphries, Graduate of our MSc in Green Building and Retrofit Project Manager
But CAT’s commitment to green careers goes far beyond higher education. Through our short courses, CAT provides hands-on training in everything from green building and renewable energy to woodland management and organic gardening. These courses are open to learners aged 16 and above and increasingly integrate with the Graduate School’s academic modules, creating a pathway from interest to expertise.
CAT also supports volunteers, many of whom describe their time at CAT as life-changing. CAT’s cohorts of 6-month residential volunteers not only work in practical roles managing CAT’s gardens and woodlands, they also undertake various training courses to equip them with essential skills for careers in land management. Through the training, mentorship and valuable experience gained during their time living and working with the CAT community, volunteers gain the confidence and skills to enter green careers, often discovering new passions along the way.
Ella Catherall, who recently finished 6 months of volunteering in CAT’s garden team, has been able to take the next steps in her Green Career thanks to the skills she learned at CAT. She is now embarking on a placement with the Adam Greathead Trust, where she will spend a year training in two renowned UK gardens.
People in careers that aren’t traditionally seen as ‘green’ can become climate leaders too! One of CAT’s most impactful offerings is Carbon Literacy Training, which equips individuals with the tools to become climate leaders in their workplaces and communities. Whether you’re a teacher, builder, policymaker or student, CAT helps you understand the science, communicate the urgency, and take meaningful action.
Engagement with young people remains central to CAT’s mission. The organisation provides curriculum-linked workshops, day and residential visits, and practical sustainability sessions for schools, colleges and youth groups. Within a new funded project at CAT called “Next Generation Earth”, a new Youth Panel is being developed to ensure young voices are embedded in CAT’s work and in community-based climate action.
Enable: Supporting further action across the network
Once people are inspired and informed, the next step is enabling them to make a difference, whether that’s embarking on a new green career or embedding sustainability into their existing career. CAT’s work doesn’t stop at education, it extends into innovation, collaboration and strategic leadership.
The Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab is a prime example. It delivers facilitated innovation processes that help organisations, councils and sectors address the climate and ecological emergencies. Drawing on systems thinking and futures design, the Lab enables collaboration across boundaries and translates sustainability ambitions into practical action.
To date, over 70 organisations and nearly 200 councils have benefited from CAT’s innovation support. Recent projects include:
- Growing into the Future: Supporting the growth of a resilient and economically sustainable horticulture sector in Wales through the LPIP project
- Dyfed Powys Food Resilience Scenarios Lab: Co-developing local responses to food system challenges across the region.
CAT’s membership network is another powerful enabler. It includes people at every stage of their green careers – from those just starting out to seasoned professionals and retirees. The annual Members’ Conference is a space for sharing experiences, learning from each other, and building collective momentum.
As a strategic leader in sustainability education, CAT plays a key role in shaping regional green skills development, working closely with the Regional Learning and Skills Partnership and other stakeholders to ensure Mid Wales is at the forefront of the green transition.
A Place Where Green Careers Begin
This Green Careers Week, we’re celebrating the many people who’ve found their way into green careers through CAT – students, volunteers, professionals, and changemakers. Their stories show that green careers aren’t just about jobs, they’re about making a difference, finding purpose, and helping shape a better future.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take the next step, CAT is here to support you. From hands-on learning to strategic innovation, we’re proud to be part of the journey.
Want to learn more about CAT?
Explore our postgraduate courses, volunteering opportunities, or sign up to our emails to keep up-to-date with all the latest from CAT.
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Living architecture
Programme Leader Dr Carl Meddings shares a selection of our M.Arch Sustainable Architecture students’ final design projects showcasing regenerative design in a changing world.
Architecture matters. The ways we design, construct and adapt our homes, public spaces and infrastructure have deep environmental, social and cultural impacts. They shape lives, ecologies, landscapes and futures.
More than a qualification
The M.Arch Sustainable Architecture course at CAT is a challenge to the business-as-usual model of architectural practice. As an ARB-accredited Part 2 programme, it is a key step towards becoming a registered architect in the UK. But unlike conventional courses, it places the climate emergency, biodiversity loss and regenerative futures at its core. Our students learn not only how to build, but how to care, question and lead.
To build sustainably is not simply to reduce harm, but to actively do good; to repair, restore and regenerate. Students arrive with difficult, often radical, questions and leave with proposals that push boundaries. There is no token ‘eco-wash’ here; each project critically examines how humans (and more-thanhumans) can co-exist in inclusive and transformative ways.
We ask:
- What does it mean to design for uncertain futures?
- How do we retrofit not just buildings but mindsets?
- How can architecture support community, resilience, biodiversity and beauty?
- Who are we designing for?
The responses are ambitious: from low-impact, community-led retrofit to speculative visions of architecture as a catalyst for resilience. Students work with natural materials, circular economies, local craft and global systems thinking. Designs are rooted in place, culture and climate, yet speak to a world in need of repair.
Exploring how we must live, build and thrive
Each month, we gather at our spiritual home in the hills above Machynlleth for an immersive week of collaborative study. Students, staff and visiting tutors share a rhythm of inquiry, discussion, creativity and mutual support. We eat, build and learn together; from each other and from the place. CAT becomes, for that week, a microcosm of the types of communities we hope to inspire. The setting is both retreat and testing ground.
The dramatic landscape and shifting weather create a backdrop for exploration and shared purpose. In a world dominated by digital and dispersed learning, our time together is essential, giving texture to ideas and humanity to projects.
This year’s cohort has shown passion, intelligence and generosity. Their work is rigorous, imaginative and hopeful, rooted in research and sustained by solidarity. Architecture is inherently collaborative, and the students have demonstrated that community and care are vital tools of the profession.
In these projects, you will find technical skill, innovation and critical reflection, but also an ethic of care, a drive for justice, and a vision for a more balanced way of living. This is not an ending but a beginning, a contribution to the urgent conversation about how we must live, build and thrive in a time of profound ecological and societal challenge.
Student projects
Amelia Maddox – West Shore Kelp Desk, Llandudno, UK
The West Shore Kelp Desk is a coastal regeneration project in Llandudno, North Wales, combining seaweed cultivation with public education and environmental stewardship. Spanning two sites along the West Shore promenade, the scheme connects them through ecologically sensitive landscape interventions.
Central to the project is the cultivation of kelp and seagrass, species vital for biodiversity, carbon capture and coastal resilience, which are made visible and accessible as tools for climate education. Architecturally, it blends adaptive reuse with new-build structures. The West Shore Kelp Desk serves as a blueprint for sustainable coastal development.
Hannah Maxey – Holbeck Small Press Library, Leeds, UK
The Holbeck Small Press Library is a community-focused project situated between Holbeck and Holbeck Urban Village, just south of Leeds city centre. The project responds to the area’s poverty, poor living conditions and disconnection from the more affluent city centre by reimagining a disused library building as a grassroots cultural hub.
Rather than mirroring the British Library’s nearby expansion, which is geared toward research and business, the Small Press Library proposes a space centred on self-publishing, creativity and community participation. By questioning who regeneration truly serves, the Holbeck Small Press Library positions itself as a site of resistance, imagination and hope in the face of exclusion, inequality and environmental crisis.
Callum Lawlor – Acle Bridge Visitor Centre, Norfolk, UK
Located in the Norfolk Broads National Park, this project proposes a visitor and research centre that directly responds to the area’s pressing ecological challenges, including nutrient pollution, peatland degradation and biodiversity loss.
The centre supports habitat restoration, nutrient neutrality and public awareness of the Broads’ unique ecological and cultural value. The building is sensitively integrated into the landscape and ecological features are woven into the architecture, encouraging wildlife through nesting habitats and biodiverse planting schemes.
Functionally, the centre combines public education with scientific research, acting as a hub for learning, collaboration and long-term ecological care rooted in local knowledge and holistic systems thinking.
Millie Bush – Dowr Kernow, Water, Wellness and Knowledge, Cornwall, UK
Dowr Kernow (meaning ‘Water Cornwall’) is a project that reimagines our relationship with water in a world increasingly disconnected from natural rhythms. It challenges the narrative of pollution, industrial harm and ecological neglect, proposing instead a story of renewal, care and reconnection.
Dowr Kernow creates spaces where people can interact meaningfully with water: clean wild swimming spots; places of rest and convalescence; and learning environments focused on ecological awareness, water safety and self-care. The project advocates for a future in which water is treated with reverence, protected, shared and celebrated.
Thea Brooman – The Centre for Environment and Humanity, Kodaikanal, India
This project is situated in the high-altitude hill town of Kodaikanal in South India and is conceived as a catalyst for sustainable development for the town, its local community and the surrounding landscape.
The aim is to reconnect people with their local environment and promote stewardship of biodiversity. Developed on a site owned by a local international school, the proposal forms part of a broader initiative to transform an existing campus into a centre for ecological education, conservation and community engagement. Central to the vision is the restoration of the native Shola ecosystem, a unique and endangered montane forest that once thrived in the region.
Find out more about our M.Arch in Sustainable Architecture
More student projects can be viewed in our 2025 M.Arch Student yearbook.
Find out more about our M.Arch in Sustainable Architecture by looking at the programme description or by joining an upcoming open day.
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Inspiring Global Solutions Through International Study
Here at CAT, we offer a range of postgraduate degrees in sustainability and our flexible learning options allow students to study with us internationally. From Canada to Bermuda, the Netherlands to Lithuania, our students come from all over the globe and form a vital part of a growing network of changemakers.
Our international Graduate School students come to the courses with their own wealth of knowledge and experience. Whether this relates to politics or policy, ecosystems, the built environment or anything in between, when paired with the academic skills and understandings gained at CAT, they go on to make a real difference across the globe.
If you’re considering postgraduate study at CAT and live abroad, read on to find out why studying with us can be a unique and enriching educational experience.
Implementing positive solutions in real time
Studying internationally has allowed countless CAT students to work alongside their studies. In many cases this means that they can begin implementing the concepts and techniques they’re learning about in real time. For Ananya Jauhari, who has been studying our MSc in Green Building alongside her work as an architect in India, this has been one of the many positive aspects of studying from afar.
“Because I’m studying via distance learning I have been able to work alongside. That has been an amazing advantage because I’ve been trying to implement the concepts that I’ve been learning about to real world projects in my job. Being from India, I see that there is a lot of scope and potential for change in the built environment, and I’m trying to align my career in such a way that I’m able to contribute meaningfully through real world projects to attain sustainability in the built environment.”
Ananya Jauhari
Become part of a Global Community
Joining CAT’s Graduate School as an international student puts you at the heart of a global network working to enact change on different scales in a multitude of ways, across multiple sectors. It provides students with the skills and knowledge to bring a better future into being. For Gemma Young, who studied our MSc in Sustainability and Behaviour Change from abroad, her studies at CAT provided an uplifting experience that solidified her place within a larger network of change makers.
“CAT merged theory with real world action, connecting me to a global community and giving me the confidence – and tools – to turn ambitious sustainability ideas into practice. On a personal level, the experience reenergised my sense of purpose: rather than feeling I’m pushing against the tide, I now see a growing international network committed to systemic reform and I feel equipped to contribute meaningfully to it.”
Gemma Young
CAT’s global community is also multifaceted and includes not only our fantastic international students but also staff, spin-out businesses and graduates. The award-winning company Dulas Ltd was founded at CAT and now supplies solar powered vaccine fridges to remote locations all over the globe, providing communities with lifesaving medicines. The company’s Executive Managing Director, Ruth Chapman, is also a CAT graduate.
Lecturers and guest speakers also join us from over the ocean, including Senior Lecturer Bryce Gilroy-Scott, who is based in British Columbia, Canada. His location and specialist knowledge as a consultant and educator in the fields of sustainable communities, construction and energy brings a unique and enriching perspective to our courses. CAT graduates also go on to work in communities all over the world such as Peter O’Toole who is currently working on a sustainable practices project in Kenya with a Maasai community.
Flexible learning options
Most international students study with us via distance learning, and with round-the-clock access to all teaching resources via Microsoft Teams, students can join us from wherever they’re based. Flexible teaching hours and availability of staff like Bryce, who works from the Pacific Standard timezone, means that students can meet with graduate school staff at a time that works for them, and hands-on activities are tailored for both distance and on-site learners so that those learning from afar can also immerse themselves in hands-on practical teaching activities. With support from lecturers, including Bryce, students can be supported at times that suit them.
“Studying at CAT sitting thousands of miles away in Muscat… I’ve never been away from the tutors, and regular seminars allow me to have clarity on matters instantly. Seminars planned at different times allow me to select the time that suits me. Doing distance study helps me to continue working and studying at the same time. I would strongly recommend studying by distance at CAT.”
Sarath from Muscat
Inspiring global solutions through dissertation research
Recent graduate Anna Hartley studied with us from her home in France and as part of her dissertation, she developed a digital programme called CELESTE. The prototype provides French citizens with the specific information needed to visualise how small-scale renewable energy could work for their own regions.
The programme works by harnessing publicly available data such as the current population and electrical demand of a region, how feasible different renewable technologies might be for a geographic location, recommendations for consultants and much more. It then compiles and communicates this data giving users access to the specialised information they need to imagine how small-scale renewable energy might work in their communities.
Anna has since gone on to put CELESTE under a Creative Commons licence meaning that it could be adapted for communities all over the world; a heartening reminder that studying internationally at CAT can lead to global solutions.
Growing international demand for green careers
Factors such as global sustainability targets, policy changes and transitions towards renewable energy means that there is currently a rapid increase in international demand for a greener workforce. Studying at CAT allows students to gain highly desired skills and advance their careers whilst making meaningful changes. A growing understanding of the climate and biodiversity crisis is also evoking those already working across a variety of sectors to rethink how they are operating, as was the case for Roshan Nageena Sabeer, CAT graduate and Principal Architect at Ávása Architects in Kerela, India:
“Before joining CAT, I was struggling to run my firm as I felt I was doing more damage to the planet without understanding ways to change popular mindsets about the indiscriminate use of energy in buildings. My passion for influencing a sustainable lifestyle and search for solutions led me to CAT. I now intend to use the knowledge gained to further shift my firm to a more sustainable model and to share these ideas to influence others through sustainability consultant work in the future.”
Roshan Nageena Sabeer
Join us: Study sustainability at CAT
If you’re a prospective international student inspired to join a global classroom for climate action, why not explore our diverse range of postgraduate courses, join us online on one of our virtual open days or get in touch with our Admissions Team to make an enquiry today.
Note: If you would normally require a student visa to study in the UK, you can study our courses via distance learning (except MArch Sustainable Architecture) or alternatively, you can choose a mixture of residential (usually under 6 months) and distance learning if you are eligible. Check the UK Government website for your eligibility to see if you require a visa to study here in the UK.
We do not currently have a licence to sponsor students who would usually require a visa, which unfortunately means we can’t enrol students from outside the UK for full-time residential study. From September 2021 new students who previously would have been considered as EEA students will now be considered as Overseas students and will not be able to take full-time residential study at CAT and will need to study via distance learning or through the mixture of residential and distance learning as above if eligible.
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Farming in crisis: PhD research project explores solutions
PhD researcher Bethan John is inviting farmers across West Wales to take part in a community-led research project that tackles the complex challenges facing rural communities today — from economic uncertainty and food security to climate change.
Through creative storytelling and filmmaking workshops, Bethan aims to bring farmers and environmentalists together to share lived experiences and co-create solutions that reflect the realities of farming in a time of overlapping crises.
In running the workshops, Bethan’s aim is to create space and time to explore a diversity of views and experiences, building on common ground and collective problem-solving.
The outcome of the project will be the co-creation of a community-made film or series of films, which capture the voices and vision of farmers and environmentalists, in all the complexity, nuance and richness of real-life experiences.
A Collaborative Approach to Rural Resilience
The research project, which aims to explore the issues that are impacting rural communities in West Wales, is a partnership between CAT’s Graduate School, Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The project will be using co-production and creative methods to gain insights into the issues that are most relevant to the participants, with the aim of creating policy impact.
The collaborative element of this project will start this autumn, when Bethan will be running a series of storytelling and filmmaking workshops with farmers in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.
Storytelling and Filmmaking: Tools for Change
There’s a wealth of academic research that demonstrates the importance of storytelling and creative expression, as a way of reflecting on and engaging with complex issues that can help solve real-world problems.
CAT Senior Lecturer and project supervisor, Dr Cathy Cole says “collective storytelling can act as a bridge to enable cooperative solutions to emerge. This may be particularly important in the context of farming, where media narratives are often divisive. Participants in this study care deeply about the land, and this is powerful common ground.”
The storytelling and filmmaking workshops will be made up of a small group and they will be facilitated in Welsh and English. The group will be guided through a variety of activities that will generate ideas and discussions, while being trained in storytelling and filmmaking skills. No prior experience is needed, as participants will receive full training during the workshops.
The first set of workshops are:
- Bancyfelin Village Hall, Wednesday 1st October 2025, 5.30-8.30pm
- Crymych Market Hall, Thursday 2nd October 2025, 5.30-8.30pm
The benefits of joining the workshops include:
- Free training in filmmaking so that you can tell your story
- A chance to meet other farmers to discuss ideas
- Space and time to share your views, knowledge and experiences on issues that are important to you
Bethan is looking for people from farming backgrounds to get involved in the workshops and is collecting interest via this short online form.
Rooted in Rural Wales
Having grown up in a rural farming community near Carmarthen, Bethan now lives in North Pembrokeshire. She’s spent her career capturing the stories of communities and the complex social, cultural, economic and political issues that they face, while trying to navigate and adapt to the ecological and climate crisis. She is interested in how community-based knowledge and grassroots action can drive change.
“There is a wealth of expertise within the rural communities where I live. One of the aims of this project is to capture and value this knowledge, while exploring a diversity of views and lived experiences to see if solutions emerge”, Bethan explains.
So far, she has completed a series of interviews with farmers and environmentalists to explore opportunities, challenges and tensions, especially in relation to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
The interviews gave participants the opportunity to share their views on the issues anonymously and in a private one-to-one setting. The themes that emerged from the interviews inform the development of the workshops’ group work and are a part of the project’s multi-method approach, with the purpose of undertaking triangulation to strength validity claims and to overcome weaknesses with relying on one method.
If you would like to participate in the project but are unable to make the workshops, get in touch with Bethan (email bsj3@aber.ac.uk or phone 07495999579) to discuss other options that would suit you.
Find out more about CAT’s Graduate School
CAT’s Graduate School is one of the foremost providers of postgraduate education in sustainability and offers a number of Masters level courses which allow students to gain knowledge, inspiration and networks to make a real difference.
Find out more about postgraduate study at CAT by joining an upcoming open day or get in touch with our Admissions Team email study@cat.org.uk or phone 01654 705974
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Transforming community energy decision making
To move from fossil fuel use to local renewables, communities need the right knowledge, skills and tools. CAT graduate Anna Hartley introduces CELESTE, a new system that enables anyone to explore the potential for renewable energy projects in their local area.
It is widely acknowledged that to meet global net-zero carbon goals and mitigate the worst effects of climate change, fossil fuels must be replaced as much as possible by renewable energy. While we hear a lot about large-scale multi-million dollar solar and wind farms owned and managed by corporations and states, small-scale renewable energy communities (RECs), in which citizens come together to produce, exchange and use renewable energy, have also been identified as a key component in this transition.
No two RECs are exactly the same, but the EU describes them as legal entities that combine both non-commercial economic aims with environmental and social community aims. They share open and voluntary governance, shared ownership and control by members (who are also consumers), and have as a main purpose creating social and environmental benefits instead of financial profits.
Sounds fantastic, right? Yet in France, where I live, RECs are little known and poorly understood. What if there was a programme that could fast-track the development of RECs while also raising awareness about energy systems more broadly? That’s the question I investigated during the dissertation period of my MSc Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management at CAT.
Bridging the knowledge gap
Assessing a site for its suitability for a renewable energy project is not overly complex, but it does require some specialised knowledge. If we want thousands of small communities all over the world to start building them, it seems evident that there should be more tools available that can provide this.
I felt sure that by pulling together a range of freely available online datasets I could produce a program designed for non-expert users that would do simplified feasibility assessments for RECs. This should only require the users’ geographic location and their willingness to engage in some energy futuring to operate.
Harnessing digital tools
As the research progressed, my conviction that a tool like this was necessary and useful grew. Almost all the research and discussion around RECs focuses on their technical, economic and policy dimensions, with little attention paid to involving the broader public, who are the very people responsible for creating and running RECs.
Secondly, digital tools concerning renewable energy development are overwhelmingly aimed at expert users, very limited in scope, and often expensive to access.
By the completion of my dissertation period, I had created a prototype program known as the CELESTE Decision Support System. CELESTE stands for Créons des Énergies Locales, Écologiques, Solidaires et Transformatrices Ensemble (Creating Local, Ecological, Supportive and Transformative Energy Together).
CELESTE functions as an educational tool that uses the wealth of publicly available data, repackaging it in a useful way, rather than developing new complex systems. It is also modular and expandable, meaning that what is currently available is just the beginning and there is no limit to the number and type of modules that could be added.
Whether the user takes action after using CELESTE is up to them, but I hope they will at least feel more informed and engaged in the conversation around renewable energy. In this way, CELESTE is just as important as an engagement and educational tool as a systems modelling tool.
How does CELESTE work?
CELESTE has a simple interface and is designed to walk the user through four key stages, much like a carbon footprint calculator.
1. Start here: The user enters the name of their commune in France to view data such as the commune’s population, total energy consumption for the most recent year available (in this case, 2021), and the portion of that consumption that corresponds to the residential sector.
2. Adjust variables: Here, the user begins imagining their energy future, toggling different variables to see how these impact upon the commune’s electricity demand, such as the year (up to 2060), population predictions, climate change scenarios, and consumption patterns like electric vehicles and air conditioner usage. A bar chart clearly shows the actual electricity demand against the future demand as per what the user has inputted.
3. What’s possible?: At this stage, the user gets to start designing a new energy system. They are presented with a basic feasibility assessment for a solar PV or onshore wind farm in their commune. The user can toggle the size of the installation and see how this impacts physical size, what percentage of the commune’s electricity need this would meet, costing and payback time, and CO2 emissions reduction.
4. Next steps: Finally, the user is shown recommendations about ways to reduce their energy consumption, local and national organisations that support RECs, EC consultants who can begin advising them on their REC journey, and a list of RECs already functioning in their geographic area that they can visit and investigate.
What’s next?
CELESTE is still a prototype, built in Google Sheets and using predownloaded datasets for a limited number of communes. Many of the calculations applied to the data are quite rough, using rule-of-thumb estimates when trusted, peer-review data is missing. However, as better information becomes available, it can easily be integrated, improving the quality of the outputs.
Who can use CELESTE?
I have registered CELESTE under a Creative Commons licence so that it can be shared, adapted, and remixed by any non-commercial entity that wants to take it further.
While CELESTE is only currently crunching data for France, there is no reason why it can’t be adapted to anywhere in the world. Countries could substitute communes with their own administrative divisions, plug in their local electrical and population datasets, and adjust calculations – for example about typical electrical demand of an electric vehicle per annum, and the cost of renewable technologies – according to the most up-to-date information for their area.
No two countries will have the exact same kind of data, so it is exciting to consider the range of additional modules that could be designed and incorporated into CELESTE. Hydroelectricity potential, battery storage and grid flexibility, thermo-sensibility metrics, and access to local grants and subsidies are just a handful of the modules that could be added, given access to the right data and with the right minds on the job.
Furthermore, CELESTE could be used by existing RECs to see how their installations would perform under different climate, temporal and behavioural conditions, or by schools and institutions as an educational tool to improve understanding of the topic.
Explore CELESTE
About the author
Anna Hartley is an Australian writer who has lived in Paris and Beijing since 2011. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, France 24, Forbes Travel Guide, The Houston Chronicle, The New Zealand Herald, The Vancouver Sun, the Beijinger, and Babbel Magazine. She graduated from CAT’s Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management in 2024.
CAT student dissertations
During their final year of study on a Masters in Sustainability at CAT, students explore a relevant topic in-depth by completing a final dissertation. This involves designing, investigating, and presenting an extended and independently conceived piece of research within their field of study. Equally important, the dissertation enables students to showcase the skills in critical thinking, data collection and analysis that they have developed throughout their degree.
The dissertation builds upon the current state of knowledge and some dissertations go on to be published in scientific journals or become the basis of further research. Students have also used the dissertation to explore the viability of a business idea or product that has a positive impact.
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CAT Conversations with Andy Baylis
Andy Baylis is a graduate of CAT’s MSc Green Building course, founding director of Jengo Sustainable Design, and a recently appointed CAT trustee.
We are thrilled to chat to him about his company’s pioneering sustainable construction practices and how postgraduate study at CAT influenced his approach to sustainable design.
Q: Lovely to chat with you Andy. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to pursue a career in sustainable design and engineering?
I am a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer, and I’ve worked in construction for nearly 30 years mostly in mainstream engineering consultancy firms in senior project delivery roles, people management and business development. I’ve had a passion for sustainability for decades but, apart from my self-build straw bale, had not managed to convince my employers to work in a sustainable fashion, so I decided to pursue the MSc in Green Building to delve into a new career in sustainable design and engineering.
Q: How has your MSc in Green Building from CAT influenced your approach to sustainable design?
Although I was an experienced Structural Engineer what I learnt at CAT transformed my confidence in delivering low impact design projects. Postgraduate study allowed me to apply my knowledge of climate and environmental impacts on the built environment to my new consultancy.
It was an amazing experience studying on-site at CAT during the teaching weeks, meeting wonderful fellow students and learning from inspirational and knowledgeable staff. It was a liberating change from working in a highly stressful mainstream construction profession.
Q: Can you describe some of the key projects Jengo has undertaken, and the sustainable materials and methods used?
Over the last four years I have progressed from standard residential construction to a majority of design in timber frame and retrofit projects. Key projects include the new Passivhaus home for fellow CAT graduate Janna Lann Lomas alongside several other Passivhaus timber frame buildings and I undertake the majority of timber frame design work for Broadaxe Timber Frames. Another increasing part of my work is with historic stone buildings in retrofit and conversion projects.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in promoting sustainable construction practices?
Some architects, clients and contractors are not interested in non-conventional materials and ignore or resist alternative lower carbon solutions. I increasingly now refuse to take on projects that I deem are wasteful or highly impactful. However, there is a gradual improvement in knowledge through the work of organisations such as the IStructE and ACAN and I believe that CAT MSc courses would certainly be transformational for many designers and consultants.
Q: How do you see the construction industry evolving to meet the challenges of climate change, biodiversity, and pollution?
Although the solutions exist there are huge barriers to change as described in my dissertation on Sustainable Design of Foundations and Ground Floors. These range from skills, supply chains, procurement issues, code and regulation compliance, insurance, lack of a circular approach and a general lack of motivation and unwillingness to change or manage risks differently. To rise to these challenges, I’m hoping to continue to deliver less impactful building solutions, teach more within the industry and make an impact as a CAT trustee.
Q: You recently rejoined us as a CAT trustee; how do you envision your role at CAT contributing to a more sustainable future?
I now get to work with likeminded designers and clients on progressive low carbon projects, and I hope that my knowledge of design and development can assist CAT’s forthcoming development, retrofit plans and the Graduate School of the Environment on a strategic level.
Q: And lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring engineers and designers who want to focus on sustainability?
Studying at CAT was a liberating and inspirational experience that has led to a transformation in my career and lifestyle. Do an MSc in Green Building at CAT!
Study at CAT
Inspired by Andy’s story? Find out more about our Masters in Green Building or other courses on one of our next Graduate School open days or get in touch with our Admissions Team study@cat.org.uk 01654 705974.
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CAT at the Triumph of Art
As part of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary celebrations, The Triumph of Art – a nationwide project by artist Jeremy Deller – brought together institutions from across the UK to celebrate the role of art, culture, and civic life in shaping our communities. The Centre for Alternative Technology was proud to be a collaborator and exhibiting partner in this extraordinary event.
In Trafalgar Square, CAT’s presence was marked by a powerful architectural installation and a series of hands-on workshops, all rooted in sustainability, creativity, and community. The event offered a unique opportunity to showcase CAT’s ethos and the work of its students on a national stage.
“CAT were delighted to collaborate with Jeremy Deller on the Triumph of Art commission for the bicentenary of the National Gallery over the last year culminating in the day-long spectacular in Trafalgar Square. It was inspiring to see the CAT students’ pavilion “Gorsedd”, bringing a palette of earth and Welsh slate from Llwyngwern Quarry to the city and to see the many hours of craft by the students and volunteers weaving willow come to fruition. We also enjoyed facilitating charcoal drawing and earth building workshops and having the opportunity to talk with members of the public about CAT’s vital work providing skills for the future.” - Eileen Kinsman, Co-CEO of CAT
CAT Supporters Gathering
The day began with a morning gathering for some of CAT’s most longstanding supporters, offering a chance to connect, share updates on CAT’s work, and celebrate the occasion together. After a summary of the ‘Gorsedd’ build by students Jordan Hau and Brandon Roberts, guests were then escorted to the CAT exhibit in Trafalgar Square to explore the student build and workshops firsthand.
This special event was a moment to thank CAT’s supporters and showcase the impact of their contributions in enabling transformative educational experiences and public engagement.
“It was wonderful to see the variety of activities and people of all ages just having fun but learning at the same time from CAT’s activities. It was a highly entertaining, enriching and lively encounter with each and all CAT staff on the ground too. So encouraging to see so many young enthusiastic people too.” – CAT supporter
Procession
CAT students joined other collaborators in the Triumph of Art event for the Bacchanalian procession through Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, carrying the banner created for CAT by banner maker Ed Hall.
Sharing Skills and Inspiring Futures
Alongside the Gorsedd installation, CAT’s students and teaching staff hosted a workshop showcasing Rammed Earth as a sustainable building material and CAT’s education team facilitated a creative drawing space to imagine a sustainable future.
CAT’s education work is so impactful because we believe in the importance of seeing, developing and using practical solutions first hand. Inspiring people through hands-on work with materials or through imagining what a green future might look like is a key part of CAT’s group visits, volunteering and training.
Alongside our workshops, we were able to talk to attendees about CAT and our work sharing solutions to the climate crisis. It was a pleasure to talk with so many interested and enthusiastic people, many of whom were already aware of CAT or had visited in the past.
Rammed Earth Plinths
Inspired by the plinths of Trafalgar Square, visitors were invited to create miniature versions using rammed earth—a traditional and sustainable building technique used extensively at CAT. The activity was supported by Rescued Clay who are based in Park Royal in London, and supplied the clay used on the day.
“It was wonderful to be invited to be part of the day and supply CAT with clay for the rammed earth workshops. The clay was reclaimed from local construction sites, demonstrating how waste materials can be reimagined and reused “
Prashant Patel— Rescued ClayCharcoal Visioning Workshop
Participants also took part in a visioning workshop, using charcoal made from willow offcuts from the Gorsedd build. The activity encouraged people of all ages to draw their visions of a positive future—one where humanity has risen to the challenges of the climate and biodiversity crises.
Simple drawing prompts and visual guides to the charcoal-making process helped make the activity accessible to all.
Gorsedd
At the heart of CAT’s contribution was Gorsedd—a striking architectural installation designed and built by students from CAT’s ARB-accredited Part II Master’s in Sustainable Architecture. Developed during their Build module, in collaboration with Jeremy Deller, Mostyn Gallery in Llandudno, and the National Gallery.
“This has been an exciting, challenging and inspiring project to be a part of. The opportunity to get hands-on in such a supportive environment is exactly what I wanted from my Master’s at CAT.”
— Hannah Maxey, CAT studentGorsedd (meaning “throne” in Welsh) draws on Celtic mythology, Druidic rituals, and the National Gallery’s wartime history. Constructed using Welsh timber, Somerset willow, slate from CAT’s Llwyngwern Quarry, and reclaimed plywood from ReCollective, the structure is a celebration of natural materials and collective effort. Students were supported by tutors, CAT graduates, and collaborators, including Momentum Engineering.
“We have been providing engineering support to the design of structures created during Build week for over 20 years and the Triumph of Art is one of the largest projects undertaken.”
— Richard Heath, Momentum EngineeringThe build itself was a performative act, echoing traditional barn-raising techniques. The frame was raised entirely by hand in a choreographed display of teamwork and simplicity.
The Gorsedd structure and the workshops in Trafalgar Square were more than a one-day event—they were a celebration of what’s possible when we build together. The students behind the project have since formed Studio CLAASH, a design and build collective that will carry this momentum forward.
Plans are already underway to bring Gorsedd back to CAT for an event, continuing to share a message of sustainable, community-driven change.
Visit CAT at Welsh events this summer
This summer, we will also be attending other festivals and events in Wales, sharing our work and connecting with attendees.
Come visit us 2 to 9 August at WCVA’s Voluntary Sector Hub at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham or if you attending Green Man Festival 15 to 18 August come say hello to us in Einstein’s Garden
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CAT Graduates Celebrate Their 2025 Graduation
On Saturday 19 July, the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) welcomed graduates, friends, families, and staff to a joyful celebration of achievement, community, and hope for the future.
The 2025 Graduation Ceremony marked a significant milestone for over 220 students who completed postgraduate degrees in sustainability at CAT’s Graduate School. Set against the stunning backdrop of CAT’s eco-centre in mid-Wales, the event was filled with sunshine, smiles, and stories of transformation.
A Celebration of Changemakers
CAT graduates from across the UK and beyond came together to celebrate their achievements in fields such as sustainability and adaptation, renewable energy, sustainable architecture, food, and ecology. Many of this year’s graduates have already begun applying their learning in impactful ways — from launching green businesses to influencing policy and leading community projects.
Chair of CAT’s Board of Trustees, Ben Summers, began the ceremony by highlighting some of these stories.
“While each of you has taken your own path to get here, shaped by different places, professions, passions, and experiences, today, you stand together as part of something bigger: the CAT community.
What makes CAT graduates special is what happens after your studies and research here. The real impact of our work is carried forward by you — in the projects you lead, the communities you support, and the systems you help transform.”
Ben Summers – Chair of Trustees talks at our Graduation ceremony Some of the students graduating on Saturday include:
- Justina Raggett, who recently presented her dissertation at the Culinary Institute of America, is now working to scale sustainable, healthy menus in university catering.
- Fran Graham, who is an Outreach Manager at the Woodland Trust, uses the knowledge from her MSc to implement social change, communicate politics, and focus on group work and facilitation.
- Liam Rickard, whose music many students have enjoyed at CAT during the on-site study weeks, now uses his performances and platforms to share climate solutions in multiple languages.
- Rocey Belandria’s role as Climate Change and Natural Environment Officer at Cherwell District Council sees her working towards supporting the enhancement of nature from a strategic point of view through on-site initiatives to protect, defend and enhance the natural environment.
- Peter O’Toole is a founder member of the Milton Keynes Climate Action Network, working on engagement between the community and the council on local climate change issues, sustainability, environment, and equality, whilst also working on a sustainable practices project in Kenya with a Maasai community.
- And here at CAT, Rachel Tuckett studied while working at UK government in green policy and now leads CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Labs.
Two of our graduates have also recently joined CAT’s Board of Trustees:
- Megan McGrattan is pioneering research into low-cost, scalable housing using 3D printing and traditional cob materials.
- And Andy Baylis is applying knowledge from CAT’s Green Building course to reduce the environmental impact of construction through his company Jenga Design and is supporting strategically with CAT’s redevelopment projects.
Their stories are a powerful reminder of the role the skills and knowledge students gain on our postgraduate courses play in equipping people to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.
Rachel Tuckett graduating Inspiring Words from Judy Ling Wong
This year’s guest speaker was the inspirational Judy Ling Wong, Honorary President of the Black Environment Network and a lifelong advocate for environmental justice and inclusion. Her address was both moving and motivating, empowering graduates to think about how they can create a better future together and the importance of climate justice in shaping this.
“Sustainability depends on the relationship of people to nature, and the relationship of people to each other – people are the ultimate force for change; through the coming together of thinking, feeling and action.
Social Justice, Environmental Justice and Racial Justice come together to make up Climate Justice and governments, organisations, community groups, and individuals can work together across different sectors and at different levels using knowledge, skills and passion to shape our future.”
Judy Ling Wong, Honorary President of the Black Environment Network Her presentation and address also encouraged our graduates to carry forward their passion and purpose, and to continue building a more just and sustainable world.
A Day to Remember
The ceremony also included speeches from CAT staff, the presentation of certificates, and plenty of time for celebration and connection. Graduates and their guests enjoyed a delicious plant-based meal, live music, and the chance to explore CAT’s beautiful site — a living example of sustainable solutions in action.
During the ceremony, we also celebrated longstanding Graduate School lecturer Dr Frances Hill, who retired in April after 15 years supporting CAT students with their studies.
Dr Frances Hill recieving flowers Looking Ahead
As the Class of 2025 steps into the next chapter of their journeys, we are filled with pride and hope. Their dedication, creativity, and commitment to positive action and change are exactly what the world needs right now.
Congratulations to all our graduates — we can’t wait to see what you do next!
Inspired to find out more about studying at Graduate School course at CAT?
There is still time to apply for our September 2025 entry. Get in touch or sign up to view a recording of our latest virtual open day.
Photos from the Graduation Ceremony by Celfach photography
