Our Sustainability Work

Fircroft's sustainability pledge

Although we are a small college, we have big ambitions in our commitment to social and climate/environmental justice which we see as fundamentally interlinked and inter-related. We were the first college in England to declare a climate emergency and our ambitions are manifested in our college-wide Green Pledge, launched in the summer of 2023, which is a culmination of many years’ commitment to social and climate/environmental justice which is now explicit in our mission statement and strategy.

Our Climate Action Plan reflects our four Green Pledge areas and our cross-college Green Team, which includes staff, students and governors ensures our plans and actions are understood across the college. Our 2024-2030 college strategy “Towards 2030 and Just Transitions” is based on our Green Pledge areas. Take a look at our Green Pledge here and you can read our strategy here.

Fircroft College – our Green Pledge

The Green Pledge tells the world what we are committed to delivering under the areas of:

Recognising our local and global connections, we pledge to work with people, partners and communities in the transition to a more sustainable world:

  • We work with people and partners at both a local and global level. In Birmingham these include over 200 local and community partners. We have strong links with local universities such as Birmingham Newman, University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, University College Birmingham, Aston University and the University of Wolverhampton and Coventry University. We have a number of key global partners through our links with the Global Folk High School Movement. These include University of South Norway, Highlander in USA, Hojskolerne and the International Peoples College in Denmark.
  • The college links with several partners in its work to plan, design, manufacture and construct a new eco classroom. These include its lead architecture firm Architype who are leaders in sustainable planning and design. Wikihouse whose model promotes sustainable, modular building practices.
  • We use community partners in the grounds of the college, encouraging green volunteering. These include a local community payback scheme, Datus charity and their SeeChange volunteer programme, Birmingham Bee Association and Spring to Life, supporting their Mother Garden community project.

We pledge to ensure learning that will enable understanding of our own impact and how to live in a sustainable world:

  • All our tutors receive regular and ongoing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) about how to embed green skills and sustainability in their teaching. 90% of teaching staff now incorporate outdoor/sustainability activities in all of their courses.
  • 100% of our teachers have noted changes in student engagement, motivation and achievement of learning outcomes.
  • 20% of our curriculum offer is themed around green skills and sustainability and this is growing.
  • Our bespoke impact framework developed in 2023 gives us data on the impact on students.
  • In our 22/23 impact survey, across all our courses 55% of learners identify Sustainability and Outdoors as explicit learning gains.
  • All staff have a sustainability objective which is set and reviewed as part of our annual review process. This can be attached to a personal learning objective as well as delivering the college’s strategic plan.
  • Our links with the international folk high school movement have resulted in the college being involved in global sustainability adult education projects. A third of our teaching team will be publishing research on the impact of these projects.
  • Enrichment activities offer students different activities and learning opportunities to explore nature and climate action outside of classroom learning.
  • Our student union is an active part of the college wide green team and work alongside the enrichment team to support peer to peer learning in sustainability.
  • Our green changemakers teacher development programme (developed from the Fircroft CPD model) is funded through the West Midlands and Warwickshire LSIF and trained 40 teachers from 15 different colleges in the West Midlands and Warwickshire between November 2023 and March 2024.

As custodians of a unique educational space, we pledge to reduce our carbon impact whilst improving our biodiversity and responding to new opportunities as they arise:

  • Ambition – To reduce the college’s carbon emission consumption from 135 tnCO2e in 2023 to zero by 2030.
  • Targets – Reduce mains water consumption by 20% in 3 years
  • Improve recycling processes with the aim to reducing general waste and the amount of waste sent to landfill. Currently 62% of rubbish waste is sent to recycle, aim to increase to 80% by 2026, 90% by 2028
  • Design, manufacture and construction of a new Eco Classroom. Upfront carbon production target of 228.43 (kgCO2e/m2) Embodied carbon production target of 391.28 (kgCO2e/m2)
  • Composting currently 80L per month, target 100L per month by 2026. 200L by 2030
  • Increase the volume of wild flower meadows/areas in the grounds of the college by 10% and increase the range of wild flowers by 20% by 2026
  • Make regular use of celebration nature themed activities such as planting trees in National Tree Week.
  • Our Building The Future project will also use Innovate UK funding to support the green skills and ambitions of SME’s in construction in Birmingham.

Recognising the impact and benefits sustainable living provides to both the individual and the wider climate, we pledge to promote and support a healthy body, healthy mind and healthy community approach across our college:

  • We have developed a college-wide well-being wheel which visually describes how the college supports the mental health and well-being of our staff and students
  • We have run a green learning week for the past three years. Our 2023 green learning week offered over 100 different activities to students and staff.
  • We offer a mainly plant based menu and produce vegetables within our grounds which are used in our catering offer. We won a Green Gown award in the Campus, Food and Health category in 2022.
  • In our November 2023 Health and well-being survey, 88% of staff agreed that they are well supported by the college
  • 75% of students self-assess as having a disability or health problem, 37% of them a mental health problem specifically. 47% of students say their health and wellbeing improved as a result of coming to Fircroft.

Green Changemakers Panel

Green Changemakers Programme

Originally funded by the West Midlands and Warwickshire Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), this programme is for anyone working in any capacity in any kind of education or training and aims to elevate the knowledge and skills of green and sustainable issues and solutions within training and education.

West Midlands and Warwickshire LSIF logo

The programme is anchored by three frameworks, each of which is underpinned by research and practice-evidence:

  • AimHi Earth‘s ’15 Green Skills, Clearly Explained’ (enabling students to identify and extend their Green Skills skillset)
  • FE Constellation’s ‘Four Seasons of Changemaking‘ (enabling students to identify and extend their Changemaking skillset)
  • The Thinking Environment (enabling students to build pause into busy working environments)

Classroom attendees in the garden

After successfully completing this course, students are able to implement workplace application – cooperatively lead systems, processes and culture change in their organisation as a second operating system which drives momentum and change.

We realise all organisations are unique and have different sustainability ambitions, remits, objectives and plans and we have now developed this course so that it can be adapted to suit individual needs.  We are also now flexible on delivery so we have the potential to work with colleges and other educational institutions around the UK.  If you would like to discuss how our flexible Green Changemakers Programme could help your organisation, email greenchangemakers2024@gmail.com.

Green Changemakers Impact

A video sharing some key outcomes from the Green Changemakers course.

 

Green Skills: Building the Future

Thanks to the West Midlands and Warwickshire Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), we are building an Eco-Classroom – a brand new classroom in our college grounds which will have exciting features to ensure it’s sustainable and environmentally friendly, where we will teach our green skills courses. And we want students to be involved!

This eco-build course will be made up of three phases:

  • Insight and consultation (Phase 1)
  • Planning and design (Phase 2) October 2024
  • Manufacturing/Pre-build planning and construction (Phase 3) – Term 3 2025

Students have the opportunity to work with key partners involved in the build and learn from their expert knowledge.

Volunteers in the garden

Mother Garden Bootcamp

This course gives students the skills to create and maintain thriving gardens that benefit themselves, the community and the planet. We show students how to create a sustainable garden and how to help others in a volunteering or work capacity. The course includes:

  • How to create your own sustainable garden, or how to work within the community to sustain community gardens
  • The basics of how to develop your own garden project at home or within the community
  • The initial steps of how to work with others showing them how to develop their own garden project at home or within the community

This course uses our 6 acres of grounds and as well as overnight stays, includes gardening days and site visits to established community gardens and spaces.

Volunteer raising a wooden frame

Re:Building The Future With Civic Square and Innovate UK

This is a unique course hosted by us, funded by Innovate UK and led by Civic Square, aimed at small and medium-sized West Midlands construction companies who want to explore new and more sustainable tools and techniques. This project is to upskill and introduce innovative and sustainable construction techniques to businesses, the participants, all working in construction, sharing their learning with colleagues back at the workplace. To facilitate this dissemination, an initial needs analysis was conducted with the participant’s organisations to identify potential knowledge gaps and skills needs along with opportunities for innovation and growth. The fully-funded, part-time 6 month Re:Builders programme, which started in October, includes workshops and classes about material futures, organisational resilience and inspiring site visits with the majority of the learning and mentoring based in Birmingham. Over the 6 months, participants attend 9 days in-person including a few overnight stays at Fircroft. The course also includes site visits across the UK to inspirational, working sustainability projects.