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Photo credit: Lancashire Wildlife Trust

At The Carbon Literacy Project, we’re constantly inspired by the transformative journeys of organisations that embrace Carbon Literacy. In this guest blog, Hannah Stevenson, Marketing Manager at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, tells the story of an ambitious plan to deliver Carbon Literacy training to the Trust’s entire team of staff and volunteers – in a single day.

What started as a spark of inspiration turned into a milestone moment for Lancashire Wildlife Trust, showcasing how passion, teamwork, and determination can drive meaningful climate action. Read on to discover how they made it happen and the lasting impact it’s already having on their organisation.

How It All Began

Six months ago, along with a few colleagues, I attended Carbon Literacy training organised by the wonderful Daveen Wallis, Director of Nature and Wellbeing at Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

We were so moved and inspired by our day of training that we came up with an ambitious idea: what if we delivered this training to everyone at Lancashire Wildlife Trust? Not just a handful. Not a department. Everyone. On the same day.

Timing our pitch to CEO Tom Burditt just before lunch was a genius move. With his support, we had the green light for a full-staff training day. All that remained was to get accredited as course leaders and design the entire course. No big deal, right?

Building the Foundations

Creating the training was a team effort. Karen Williams spearheaded the task of crafting over 100 slides of content, with support from myself, Fiona Whitfield, Cheryl Ashton, and Hayley Blackwell – as well as the team at The Carbon Literacy Project.

Over the last couple of weeks, we got the course accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project. Then came the logistics of delivering it to over 100 people. At times, it felt like we’d been too ambitious —what were we thinking, choosing to do so much in such a short space of time?

But we pressed on, driven by the belief that this was worth it.

The Big Day

On the 19th November 2024, our vision became reality. We successfully delivered Carbon Literacy training to 127 members of staff and volunteers.

There was a moment when groups were passionately discussing their ideas for organisational change and I took a minute to feel the emotions of the day. Relief that I had delivered my section, definitely! But also, immense pride that we had made this happen. It was exactly what we had hoped for – such a huge chunk of our organisation getting together to discuss how we want to drive carbon reductions across the Trust. It felt like more than just a training day; it was a turning point.

What’s Next?

My hope is that we’ve sparked something in our attendees—empowering them to take action, both in their personal lives and as part of the Trust.

The passion, knowledge, and skills within this organisation are a constant source of inspiration for me. Carbon Literacy training has helped us to harness this to address climate change – a challenge often seen as separate from, but critical to, our commitment to creating a better future for the people and wildlife of Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

I’m grateful to my colleagues and The Carbon Literacy Project for supporting this journey. But this is just the beginning. We want to deliver our course to as many people as possible, and we hope our approach will be replicated across other Wildlife Trusts and environmental organisations. So, watch this space!

Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s commitment to Carbon Literacy exemplifies the ripple effect that this training can have, transforming organisations and inspiring action. Are you ready to start your journey? Get in touch info@carbonliteracy.com.