The latest news from the Centre for Alternative Technology.
5. How story makes and changes the world
Sarah Woods explores the power of story as a transformational tool for society, and invites us to re-think the role of stories in shaping and guiding our lives.
8. CAT stories and supporter survey
Enjoy a special-edition stories feature, starring some of our students, volunteers and visitors achieving incredible things inspired by their time at CAT. Share your own stories using our pull-out form, and help us take your needs and experiences with us as we grow into the years ahead.
11. We are nature, it’s in our very nature
Paul Allen examines our place within the natural world, and calls for a renewed emphasis on this story, placing ourselves as fundamentally part of nature.
14. Rediscovering our inner islander
Roger Morgan-Grenville shares an excerpt from his upcoming book, The Restless Coast, a stirring story of his circumnavigation of the British coast and an invitation to engage with the unique challenges faced by our seas and coasts.
16. Zero carbon by 2030 – is it realistic?
With widespread support for cleaner energy in the UK, CAT member Ray Dickson explores whether the 2030 target is achievable.
18. From average household to net-zero super home
CAT graduate Paul Martin describes the transformation of his 1960s semi into a verified ‘SuperHome’.
21. What good is persuasion if no one’s paying attention?
Sir Jonathan Porritt champions the voices and actions of youth activists fighting for climate justice in an introduction to his upcoming book, Love, Anger & Betrayal, and will be a keynote speaker at the CAT Conference this summer.
22. Leaving a lasting legacy
Freya Randall explains two different types of gifts that can be written into your will – residuary and pecuniary gifts.
Eileen Kinsman
Telling a different story
The stories we tell each other and ourselves shape the way we think and feel about how we live our lives and what our future looks like. So many of today’s stories – including the story of the climate and nature crisis – are characterised by fear, hopelessness and decline. Rather than helping humanity understand the challenges we face and motivating us to act, these narratives paralyse many into inaction and despondency.
Since the beginning, CAT has told a different story – one where change is possible with the right knowledge, skills and tools. We’ve shown people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures that it’s possible to take positive practical action, both as individuals and together in our communities. And by sharing this new perspective, we’ve given people an all-important sense of hope.
Cover image: Julie Jones
Editorial Board: Alis Rees, Alexandra Hamer, Cathy Cole, Eileen Kinsman, Freya Randall, Ian Davies, Joel Rawson, Myfi Fenwick and Paul Allen.
Copyediting: Richard Steele
Design: Graham Preston. (grahamjpreston@hotmail.com).
The opinions expressed are those of individual originators, not necessarily those of CAT. If you wish to use material from Clean Slate for furthering the aims of the environmental movement, please contact the editor.
The printing of an advert in Clean Slate does not mean that the product or service has been endorsed by the magazine or by CAT.
Published by CAT Charity Ltd., Machynlleth, Powys SY20 9AZ. Registered charity no. 265239
In this edition of Clean Slate, we explore the power of storytelling as a transformative tool. In a special CAT Stories feature, you can read the experiences of fellow CAT members and how being part of our unique community has changed how they live, learn and work. We’d love to hear your CAT stories too. If you have a tale to tell, please share it with us using the pull-out form.
Through your support of CAT, you’re helping to tell a story of how we create a safer, healthier and fairer world. Thank you for taking action and helping us to rewrite the future for us all and this precious planet we call home.
Eileen Kinsman, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Welcoming new volunteers
At the end of April, we bid a fond farewell to three of our residential winter woodland volunteers. We are grateful for their hard work during their six months at CAT and are looking forward to seeing how they go on to use the knowledge and skills they have gained.
Reflecting on his time at CAT, Bryn said, “Volunteering at CAT has been an amazing and fulfilling experience, which has taught me a lot. In just six months, I learnt a huge variety of skills from the highly knowledgeable and passionate Woodland Team which I will take forward to support me as a new woodland owner and regenerative farmer.”
As one chapter comes to an end another begins, as we welcome our new residential volunteers who will be with us for the summer months. We are excited to receive them into the CAT family to work alongside our experienced Gardening and Woodland Teams, helping our organic gardens and sustainably managed woodlands to flourish.
Go to cat.org.uk/latest/volunteer to find out more about volunteering opportunities, including our winter residential volunteering placements.
Graduate Symposium weekend
We welcomed back CAT graduates for our annual Graduate Symposium on 24 May. The weekend was a testament of the ways CAT graduates drive change by using the knowledge and skills gained during their studies.
Activities included show-and-tell sessions sharing graduates’ work, speed networking, panel discussions on the role of research in change, alumni sessions discussing the integral role graduates play in our CAT Network, and a fantastic evening of joy and music by CAT graduates Liam Rickard and Raddon Hill.
Reflecting on the weekend, Co-CEO Eileen Kinsman said, “One of CAT’s values is that we work to inspire, spark the imagination, and help people to envisage a future in which humanity has risen to the climate challenge. Over the weekend, we saw that inspiration in action… We saw the threads that connect us – a shared belief that practical, evidence-based action can and must drive the transition to a just and sustainable future.”
Inspired to study at CAT? Visit cat.org.uk/graduate-school to find out more about our postgraduate courses.
Architecture students visit the National Library of Wales
Students on our Master’s in Sustainable Architecture course recently had the opportunity to explore CAT’s heritage and history through archived documents, images, maps and more at the National Library of Wales. The field trip enabled them to deepen their understandings of the cultural, personal and social relationships that we form with our built environment. They will use their explorations of the archive to record their personal reflections and relationships as students to the history of the CAT site and our sustainable buildings, as part of their ‘Architectural Analysis Through Writing’ module.
Carbon Literacy training for Theatr Clwyd
Last year, the Zero Carbon Britain Team was approached by Theatr Clwyd to provide a bespoke training session that would get them up to speed on the climate and nature crisis. A year on, John Anderson and Rachel Tucket from the Zero Carbon Britain Team returned to train two more cohorts to explore community and climate ahead of the opening of their new theatre. The training took place at Wrexham University and over two consecutive days the team trained around 65 attendees from across the theatre departments.
Want to begin your organisation’s journey towards a more sustainable future? See cat.org.uk/zcb-trainingevents for more information.
Spring Open Day
On Saturday 26 April we welcomed more than 280 members of the public to CAT for our Spring Open Day. It was a special day that saw families, locals and CAT members come together to take part in free workshops and tours and give their valuable feedback on our five-year strategy.
People of all ages engaged with sustainable solutions in Graduate School taster sessions on biodiversity and storytelling, toured our productive organic gardens, explored renewable energy systems and pioneering green buildings, and got hands on in green-woodworking and earth-building sessions. We are looking forward to doing it all again at our free Summer Open Day on 2 August. Head to cat.org.uk/ events/public-open-day to book in advance or join us on the day.
Redevelopment project enters exciting new phase
We are celebrating a major milestone as phase 1 investment for our transformative redevelopment project ‘Cynefin’ is unlocked through the Mid Wales Growth Deal.
This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for CAT, building on 50 years of climate solutions, sustainability education, and community innovation. The funding will support essential upgrades to key parts of the site, including the WISE Building, Quarry Cottages, and Strawbale Theatre, alongside enabling further detailed design work for future phases of the redevelopment.
These improvements are about more than infrastructure – they will create inspiring, future-ready spaces that enhance our educational offer, expand our accommodation and strengthen our role as a leader in sustainable operations. Throughout the coming months, we’ll be welcoming back design consultants to help us progress the vision, and we look forward to more of your input as the project progresses. Read more at www.cat.org.uk/ news
Meet the CAT team this summer
This summer, we’ll be out and about, sharing our work and engaging attendees at some of Wales’s biggest cultural events. Catch us at:
• Royal Welsh Show (21-24 July)
• Triumph of Art Celebrations at the National Gallery in London (26 July). Part of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary finale, the family-friendly celebration features live music, performances, workshops and a joyful Bacchanalian procession. We’ll be there alongside our Master’s in Architecture students’ build project to highlight how art and science can work together to tackle the climate and nature crisis.
• National Eisteddfod, Wrexham (2-9 August) Visit our stand in WCVA’s Third Sector Hub at this iconic celebration of Welsh language and culture.
• Green Man Festival (15-18 August) We’ll be in Einstein’s Garden inspiring festival-goers with hands-on climate solutions and sustainable-living ideas.
These events are a fantastic opportunity to meet the CAT team, learn more about our charitable work, and discover practical solutions for a zero carbon future. Come and say hello!
Return of summer visitor birds
Throughout the year, our Estates Team and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure our sustainably managed woodlands and organic gardens create habitats that support wildlife. Over the past month, our fantastic volunteers have been surveying and monitoring onsite nest boxes. We are delighted to welcome back almost all our summer visitor bird species, especially our focus species the pied flycatcher, which is showing promising numbers across the site.
Thank you for donating to The Big Give
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who made a donation during our Big Give campaign. Because of The Big Give’s Green Match Fund, your donations were doubled, and we reached our target before the deadline! It’s because of members and supporters like you that we can carry out our vital work, sharing practical solutions and inspiring, informing and enabling action on the climate and nature crisis. Together, you made a big difference. We're grateful for every gift, no matter what size. Go to cat. org.uk/join-donate to donate online.
CAT welcomes new trustees
We are excited to welcome new trustees to the CAT team: Mark Adams, Andy Baylis, Steve Buckley, Lawrence Chiles, Sonia Nabila Klein and Megan McGrattan. Our trustees bring with them a huge wealth of experience and expertise, share a passion for CAT’s mission, and play a crucial role in ensuring we can continue to inspire, inform and enable people to respond to the climate and nature emergency. We look forward to working together in the years to come.
Road trip to meet members
Although we are nestled in Mid Wales, our reach and impact extend the length and breadth of the UK and further afield. As members, you make up a global network of people who are determined to create change in your communities. It is through your generosity that we can continue our charitable work. Co-CEO Eileen Kinsman has been lucky enough over the past few months to meet up with some of our dedicated supporters and members in their hometowns. In Edinburgh, she met Dr Peter France and heard about his first visit to our eco-
centre over 25 years ago and why he has chosen to support CAT for so many years. In Teignmouth in Devon, Eileen had the pleasure of visiting long-term supporters Margaret Sheppard and Ray Dickson and was treated to a tour of the local community, arts centre and beautiful parkland.
Reflecting on her visits, Eileen said, “Meeting our supporters in person is more than just a nice way to spend an afternoon – it’s about learning what’s important to them, what parts of CAT’s work they feel most passionately about, and what makes them proud. So much of our work is inspired by our members’ vision of a better future, so we need to lean in and listen closely, something we’ll continue to do as we develop the next organisational strategy.”
Green jobs fair
We welcomed businesses and organisations in the sustainability and environmental sector to CAT on Friday 23 May for our Graduate School Careers Fair. Among these were Integrated Energy, Marches Energy Agency, Mid Wales Regional Skills Partnership, RSPB Cymru – Biosecurity for Wales project, Geo Smart Decisions and Aber Food Surplus. The day was a great opportunity for our current students to chat about the green jobs and sustainable careers that postgraduate study at CAT enables.
Community-led action research in the Dyfi Biosphere
CAT volunteers, staff and members of the public will be taking part in a community-led action research project in the Dyfi Biosphere. The project, Screams and Streams, is focused on analysing the relationship between river health and common swift survival. In May a training session and talk was hosted at CAT by project coordinator Bryn Hall and conservationist Ben Porter who shared the techniques and skills needed to conduct swift surveys, delving into their habitats, history, characteristics, and the adverse effects of the climate and nature crisis on their survival. The team at Dwˆ r Dyffryn Dyfi also spoke about the methodology used for testing water quality in our waterways, and attendees had an opportunity to put these into practice by using testing kits to analyse water health in CAT’s ponds.
CAT news
Longstanding Graduate School
lecturer retires
In April we said goodbye to Dr Frances Hill who retired after 15 years at our Graduate School as Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader on our Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management course.
As an educator, environmentalist and longstanding member of the CAT community with unwavering enthusiasm, Frances has had a great impact on all who were taught by her and who taught alongside her. With a background in physics and a PhD in Environmental Engineering, she approached all her work with a commitment to detail and a thoroughness indicative of her dedication to sharing and championing solutions to the climate crisis. This is true not only in her academic teaching but also within her own community involvement in environmental movements at home in Wilmslow. Reflecting on her time at CAT, Frances said, “My 15 years at CAT has been a huge treat – to work in such an inspiring setting, with great colleagues, and the best students
one could wish for.” We wish Frances all the best on her retirement and thank her for her hard work and passion.
Inspiring future forestry leaders
Tim Coleridge, Senior Lecturer at the Graduate School, played a pivotal role in the recent Inspiring the Next Generation: Skills and Careers in a High-Value Forest Nation event, hosted by Wood Knowledge Wales. Held as part of the broader WoodBUILD 2025 programme, the event brought together educators, industry leaders and students to explore the future of sustainable forestry and timber construction in Wales.
Tim contributed to a dynamic panel discussion focused on bridging the gap between academic training and industry needs. Drawing on his extensive experience in environmental education, he emphasised the importance of CAT’s interdisciplinary learning and hands-on experience in preparing students for careers in the evolving green economy. His insights helped spark meaningful dialogue among attendees, particularly around the role of higher education in fostering innovation and resilience in the forestry sector.
Local Policy and Innovation Partnership
The Local Policy and Innovation Partnership (LPIP) for Rural Wales – a UKRI-funded initiative led by Aberystwyth University to explore how Wales can move towards a wellbeing economy – is collaborating with CAT. LPIPs have been set up in regions across the UK to trial new ways of aligning local action, research and policy.
As part of the Rural Wales partnership, CAT is running one of four Innovation Labs – the Net Zero Transition Lab – and supporting the implementation of another three labs, which are led by Aberystwyth University, Cardiff University and CCRI (Countryside and Community Research Institute).
The Innovation Lab we are delivering will focus on how we can better support and reward low-carbon, nature-friendly horticulture and the role this can play in a resilient food system. The first participatory workshop was held in Carmarthenshire in mid-June, with a second in late July. Participants will co-design a practical intervention to trial, with LPIP funding and support in place to test it in a real-world context.
How story makes and changes the world
Sarah Woods recently gave a lecture to our postgraduate students and members of the public exploring the power of stories – how they inform not only the way we communicate but how we think in our increasingly complex world. Here she invites us to think more deeply about the role of story in our own lives and as a transformational tool for society.
The French philosopher Roland Barthes says narrative ‘is present at all times, in all places, in all societies… there is not, there has never been anywhere, any people without narrative; all classes, all human groups, have their stories’.1
We make sense of the world through story. We use it to model and navigate the diverse and contradictory information that forms our lives. Story helps us relate and connect to the world and to each other, handle complexity, maintain our identity, rehearse new ways of being, manage change, place ourselves in time, and move through it. Story can serve as a thermometer, taking the cultural temperature of a time or group. I would argue that story isn’t just something we read or listen to, it’s a way of thinking, a language we’re fluent in. Like any language, story isn’t good or bad in itself – that depends on the individual story and on the teller.
We’re living in complex times, faced with what are often called ‘wicked problems’ like the climate crisis and global poverty and inequality, which are systemic, resist linear solutions, and
require us to think and act differently. Story should be able to help us work our way through them, yet more often it feels like story has become a blunt tool for attack and defence. Actively noticing the stories we tell and are told, and exploring our relationship with them, can help.
Understanding stories
We tend to think of story as singular, as something we watch or read, but story comes from lots of different places in our lives, so that at any point there are a number of different narratives playing out and intersecting for us. However, because they’re so much part of the fabric of our lives, we’re often less aware of them – and their power – than we might be. Having a better understanding of them can enable us to make clearer choices, to unhook ourselves from dominant social, political, cultural and personal narratives. The first step we can take towards that is to identify the topography of story in and around us, which I think can be usefully divided in to five kinds of story (see box overleaf).
As the Scottish philosopher Alasdair
MacIntyre says:
‘I can only answer the question “What am I to do?” if I can answer the question “Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?”’ 2
Behind his second question lie, I think, a series of questions that can help bring us towards an answer for the first, to bring us back into relationship with the stories we are swimming in.
• Who’s telling this story?
• Who do they want to listen to it?
• Why are they telling it?
• Does this story seek to divide or connect? And what or who does it want to divide or connect?
• Does it want to make enemies or friends? Of who?
• And what does this story want me to think or do, and why?
In taking this journey with story, we create space and the possibility for new stories and new kinds of story. As David Loy the American author and teacher reminds us:
‘It is not by transcending this world that we are transformed but by storying it in a new way.’ 3 CS
People & Patterns map by Tem Gunawardena as part of work with the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, exploring the relationship between dominant societal narratives, cultural paradigms and the power of the status quo in the Global North.
The topography of story
Stories we tell ourselves We all carry with us an inner storyscape, stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our lives, about who we are and what our experiences are like. What’s possible for us is shaped by the life story we create for ourselves and the conversations we have with our inner voices, yet we’re often unaware of both.
Stories we share
We share stories with our friends, family and communities (whether they’re actual or online). From these bubbled worlds, it can be hard to see the
range of viewpoints and positions that might help us better understand the motivations and experiences of others and to find ways out of polarity.
Stories we are told Dominant narratives come from all sorts of agencies, including political parties and corporations. They surround us and are usually normalised to the point that they become invisible, part of the expected fabric of our lives.
Stories we know We all carry with us stories from our cultural
upbringings: myths, legends, religious stories and folk tales, versions of the history of our country and the world. These often guide our moral and cultural framework and are foundational for the stories we tell next.
Stories to guide us At different times in history we have told different stories about our future. For a generation, our future visions have been dominated by dystopias and catastrophes, which can make it harder for us to imagine the better world we need to journey into.
1 Roland Barthes and Lionel Duisit, An introduction to the structural analysis of narrative, in New Literary History, vol.6, no.2, On Narrative and Narratives. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975.
2 Alasdair MacIntyre, After virtue: A study in moral theory. University of Notre Dame Press, 1984.
3 David Loy, The world is made of stories. Wisdom Publications, 2010.
About the author
Sarah Woods is an award-winning writer and thinker. She was part of the early Zero Carbon Britain Hub at CAT and is now a regular guest lecturer on our postgraduate module Communicating Transformational Social Change. Sarah is a research associate at Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavik. She is currently writing a podcast series and book called The Story Crisis: how story makes and changes the world . Her dramatisation of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species , Origin, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on August 24th.
2 AWST 10 YB - 4 YP
• Lleoliad: Canolfan Ymwelwyr CyDA
• Mynediad: Am ddim
• Parcio: Am ddim
• Ewch i’n gwefan am fwy o fanylion
2 AUGUST 10 AM - 4 PM
• Location: CAT Visitor Centre
• Entry: Free
• Parking: Free
• See website for details
3 milltir i’r gogledd o Fachynlleth ar yr A470 • 3 miles north of Machynlleth on the A470
CAT is a unique community created by and for people like you. For over 50 years, we’ve been inspiring, informing and enabling each other to take meaningful action for a better world. Your stories and vision are a vital part of this, and they matter to us now more than ever as we shape CAT’s future. In this issue, we invite you to share what is most important to you about CAT and where you would like to take our story next.
How has CAT influenced your sustainability journey? What challenges have you faced, and how has CAT helped you overcome them? We’d love to hear about positive changes you’ve made in your own life, at work, or in your community. Your stories could inspire others to act too.
What do you think our future should look like?
We’re continuing to develop our strategy for the next five years and your views are crucial to help shape it. Please complete our short survey to help us understand what matters to you about CAT’s past, present and future.
We need your stories!
Our unique community is full of stories of people creating a positive future for our planet, in so many different ways. We warmly welcome you to share these so that we can showcase our collective impact and adapt to meet the needs of a changing world.
Do you have a story to share? Perhaps about how you:
• gained practical skills and confidence on a CAT course?
• found motivation and community at our annual CAT Conference?
• were inspired by a childhood visit to pursue a career in sustainability?
• volunteered with us and discovered a new path in horticulture or ecology?
As a charity, CAT exists to create real, lasting change. Sharing your experiences helps us:
• understand the challenges people are facing and how CAT can support them.
• gather powerful evidence of change to motivate others.
• make a stronger case for grants and donations that allow us to reach even more people and make a bigger impact.
Please share your CAT stories today using the supporter survey form. We can’t wait to read them.
Gaining confidence in conservation
Hattie Jones joined CAT as a residential volunteer in 2019, just before the pandemic. With a background in zoology and a growing interest in conservation, she was looking to build her practical skills – especially in woodland management.
Hattie volunteered with the Woodland and Water Team for just over six months. Her placement began with a short course in sustainable woodland management, which gave her a solid introduction to the work ahead. “It was like a boot camp,” she laughs. “We were straight into it – learning from local experts and getting hands-on in the woods.”
The experience helped Hattie build her confidence and develop new skills. “Before CAT, I wasn’t sure how to get into the woodland sector. Volunteering gave me the experience and belief that I could do it.”
After leaving CAT, Hattie completed a chainsaw course with a group of fellow volunteers. That led to a part-time role with the RSPB on the Rainforest Life Project near the Dulas Valley. She then moved to North Wales to work as a warden in the Celtic rainforest, and now works as a ranger and tree nursery manager.
Her current role involves collecting seeds from local woodlands and growing them on for planting in upland areas. “We’re growing trees to about four feet tall so they can survive grazing by sheep and goats. We’re also working on bringing back rarer species like Aspen.” Aspen has become a particular focus. “There are only
Practical tools for a sustainable career
A chartered civil and structural engineer with nearly 30 years in mainstream consultancy, Andy Baylis transformed his career trajectory through postgraduate study at CAT. Frustrated by the lack of sustainable practices in conventional construction, Andy enrolled on our MSc Green Building course to realign his professional path with his long-standing passion for sustainability.
The MSc programme proved pivotal. Despite his extensive industry experience, Andy credits CAT with giving him the confidence and practical tools to deliver low-impact, environmentally conscious design. The immersive, on-site learning environment and the community of like-minded peers and expert tutors provided a liberating contrast to the high-pressure world of traditional construction.
Post-graduation, Andy founded Jengo Sustainable Design, a consultancy specialising in timber frame construction, Passivhaus design, and retrofitting historic buildings. His projects include collaborations with fellow CAT graduates and contributions to Broadaxe Timber Frames. He now actively chooses to work only on projects that align with his low-carbon ethos.
As a newly appointed trustee, Andy aims to influence both CAT and the broader industry through education and advocacy.
His advice to aspiring sustainable designers? “Studying at CAT was a transformational experience – do the MSc in Green Building!”
about 60 individual Aspen trees left in North Wales, and they can’t reproduce naturally because the male and female trees are too far apart. We’ve been hand-pollinating catkins, and last year we got the first seeded Aspen in the area in over 500 years.”
Looking back, Hattie says CAT played a big part in shaping her career. “It was such a buzzy place – full of people who wanted to make change. Being around others with the same energy and passion was really inspiring.”
She’s still in touch with many of her fellow volunteers, who have gone on to work in areas like regenerative farming, market gardening, climate justice, and ecological fieldwork. “It was a great time,” she says. “CAT gave us all a really strong foundation.”
School trips that plant seeds for the future
Each year, pupils from Solefield School visit CAT and learn about renewable energy, insulation, composting, water systems and more. This is a valuable opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world solutions, often in ways that stick with them long after the trip is over.
“They might forget a diagram or a definition,” says Kevin Farmery, Head of Science, “but a year later, they’re still talking about what they saw and did at CAT.”
From hands-on workshops to practical examples of low-energy buildings and growing your own food, a visit to CAT helps the students imagine what’s possible and how they might be part of creating change.
For one young student, a school trip to CAT helped set the course for his future. Years after visiting as part of his Year 7 class, he returned to tell his teacher it had made such an impression that he had gone on to study Sustainable Engineering at university. He’s now fully qualified and working in the field. That spark of inspiration came from seeing sustainability in action.
The impact doesn’t end with the students. Kevin says visiting CAT has changed the way he teaches, and even how he lives. He now composts at home, grows veg, and brings what he learns on each trip back into the classroom.
Making change happen internationally
Early-career engineers from around the world have been stepping away from their studies at the University of Cambridge to experience sustainability in action at CAT. Representing up to 20 different nationalities and diverse fields of engineering, these students spend time on site exploring renewable energy systems, low-impact buildings, woodland management and more.
For many, the visit has a big impact. “One student finished her dissertation early so she could come back to CAT as a volunteer for two more weeks,” says Dai Morgan, lecturer at the University of Cambridge. “Another, who was a Scout leader, said it really changed the way she worked with young people back home.”
Students gain not just technical knowledge but a sense of what’s possible when sustainability is lived, tested and shared honestly.
“CAT offers something unique,” says Dai, “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.
“There’s a willingness to share what hasn’t worked as well as what has… That kind of openness is rare, and it’s incredibly valuable for students heading into the realities of sustainability work.”
Now a CAT member himself, Dai regularly brings students back, and he plans to attend the annual CAT Conference. For him, and for many others, CAT is much more than a field trip. It’s a source of reflection, reconnection and real-world change.
SUPPORTER SURVEY AND STORY COLLECTION
We’d
love to know more about why
you support us and what’s important to you about CAT. We’d also love to hear
your story.
Please complete this survey and return it to us. You can also write to us to tell us your own story. Alternatively, complete this survey online at cat.org.uk/survey and tell us your story at cat.org.uk/cat-stories
Full name:
Email:
Address:
Supporters like you are the reason CAT exists. How could we continue giving something back? (Please tick up to three.)
Continue publishing Clean Slate magazine
Provide an information service
Offer online webinars with a range of speakers
Arrange more events at CAT (tours, activities, workshops, open days, talks, etc.)
Arrange events in local communities around the UK
Help CAT supporters to meet each other and form groups locally
Make more of the above exclusive for members only (or with early booking options)
It’s important that the above are provided to members for free if possible
Is there anything else you’d like to see CAT doing for members and other supporters?
What kinds of work, and which types of people, might you support?
Schools and young people, preparing the next generation for an uncertain future:
I’d support CAT’s work with children and teenagers , including welcoming schools for day and residential visits.
Volunteering at CAT, including in our woodlands and gardens:
I’d support giving volunteers the perfect place to learn and grow as they give back.
Campaigns and outreach, opening-up access to the knowledge and networks we all need to play our part:
I’d support CAT traveling around the UK showing people how they can change the future of their local communities, our country, and our planet.
I’d support CAT reaching more people online through webinars, our website, and more.
CAT’s Visitor Centre, providing experiences, exhibits and activities in beautiful Mid Wales:
I’d support giving visitors to CAT an extraordinary day out – inspiring them to take action and demonstrating positive solutions.
CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment, awarding Master’s degrees:
I’d support giving students at CAT the skills and confidence to dedicate their work careers , projects and lives to bringing about a more sustainable world.
Training, advice and research, for people at all levels:
I’d support helping communities and grass-roots organisations to work together locally and start to fix the system – setting up community energy projects, creating neighbourhood spaces and resources, and more.
I’d support helping companies large and small to improve their practices and reduce the harm their industries cause – through consultancy, learning and development, and more.
I’d support helping local authorities to meet their climate commitments by creating plans, taking action and reporting their results.
I’d support producing research and advice for national governments , to show them how to design and implement policies that lead to a safer, more sustainable future.
Innovation and experimentation, to continuously improve environmental knowledge:
I’d support CAT trying new things – researching, pioneering, testing and refining sustainable tools and techniques.
Vocational training courses, from entry level certificates to diplomas and apprenticeships:
I’d support cutting carbon emissions in homes across the UK by getting more people working in sustainable building and eco refurbishment
I'd support teaching land workers how to help people and nature to thrive in woodlands, gardens, farms and other ecosystems.
Innovation labs, a complex and collaborative process for sustainable systems change:
I’d support bringing together entrepreneurs and institutions , councils and communities to help them co-design innovative ways to create lasting change.
Short Courses, on a wide range of topics:
I’d support showing practical and motivated people how to put solutions into action themselves, from DIY natural building to household renewables.
I’d support courses that help people make a difference through their work or in their communities by sharing knowledge from our graduate school and other CAT experts
Train the trainers, in a range of subjects – from retrofit skills to carbon literacy and more.
I’d support creating a ripple-effect, reaching more and more people by giving teachers and lecturers skills they can share themselves.
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We are nature, it’s in our very nature
We tend to think that humans shape stories, but, just as often, they shape us. Paul Allen looks at the evolving stories we tell about humans and nature, and our place within them.
Spring
Now is the time of the unfurling of ferns when the circle of close brown heads buried in the very heart of the plant emerge from conferring all winter to unravel and reveal the secret store of soft green fronds which mask their inner strength Their sea-horse tails pause before unrolling the final frail tip to display their array of verdant feathers in some cool and shaded place.
Margaret Sheppard, CAT member
Humans are storytelling animals. We think in stories, learn by stories, live by stories. Data and evidence are vital for understanding the challenges we face and the emerging solutions. But drawing on the power of story is essential for bringing the data to life, giving it meaning and making change happen.
We currently face multiple crises in energy security, food security, international relations, climate impacts, lack of community, biodiversity loss, lack of purpose, social media addiction, and division. It’s easy to drop into despair, avoidance, isolation, denial or escapism, but deep down we know there is an urgent need to change the story.
At the root of these crises are stories that assume and perpetuate the idea that we are separate from nature and from each other. Indigenous world views see humans as part of nature, but in the ‘developed’ West we have lost sight of it. We must recognise and let go of the false stories we have been told – such as those in which we are isolated individual consumers seeking happiness through shopping – and refresh how we see our relationships with each other and the natural world.
Telling a new story
We’ve become used to viewing nature through a window, TV or phone screen.
Some of us feel we must protect what we see on the other side. But the window is an illusion; we have evolved over thousands of years as an integral part of nature. We totally depend on nature for the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Nature is inside our bodies too, in the trillions of gut bacteria and other microbes that are essential to our health. Rather than seeing ourselves as individual concerned citizens, we need a new story where we are fundamentally part of nature.
Learning from nature is powerful –through biomimicry we can learn how to improve the things we make and use in the physical world. For example, by studying the tail of a whale we can improve the design of wind turbine blades. Biomimicry can also help us develop new clothing materials, deal with waste, and find many other solutions. In addition to this, there is a growing area of research into social biomimicry, drawing on nature’s wisdom to transform the interactions between us, our communities and our planet. If nature is affected by floods, fires or intensive land use, it responds collectively on many different levels – and so can we.
Once we see ourselves as nature, we see the world and ourselves with new eyes, changing how we behave. We begin to see that we are all cells in an evolving and growing ‘organism’.
How we can use it
The technologies we need to respond to the climate and nature emergency already exist. Yet changing how millions of people think, behave and live is a special kind of problem, because the forces that shape our lives exist on many different levels. Tackling such a complex global challenge requires a new kind of approach that reconnects us to nature and each other.
When CAT’s students and visiting groups are delving into the knowledge, skills and tools needed to solve technical or behaviour change problems, taking time to walk and talk around our living site unleashes new ideas and approaches. This engagement with nature and with each other is a powerful force. It nourishes our wellbeing, sparks innovative thinking, and allows our ideas to be cross-fertilised.
“Sun-drenched or rain-drenched, senses saturated in the green glow of fresh beech leaves newly burst from spring buds… the rich trill of songbirds, growing quiet at the eery call of a falcon… the scent of hazel and honeysuckle carried on the breeze… absorbed and embodied in this wilding space, we are transformed.”
Dr Cathy Cole, Senior Lecturer
Living by the story that we are part of nature fosters honesty, responsibility, social justice and helpfulness – values that strengthen public commitment for action on climate change rather than values based on wealth, status and power, which weaken it. New stories are also a catalyst for change, engaging the imagination to bring to life different futures and to challenge the status quo. When we let go of the stories holding us back and imagine new possibilities together, we start to build a shared vision of what is possible. We often use collective visioning and nature-based practices in our Innovation Labs to help unlock new ways of thinking, being and doing.
Feeling connected with nature is increasingly recognised as important
to nurture pro-ecological behaviour. Helping people to understand that their wellbeing is interlinked with the protection of the natural world has been shown to lead to people living more sustainably, as well as better health and community cohesion. As more people see themselves as part of nature, more compassionate values become strengthened across society. Try it yourself, or with your local group, and reflect on your feelings.
As we learn to think like a forest, our new global goal must be sufficiency for everyone as part of a thriving natural world. CS
About the author
Paul is CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain Knowledge and Outreach Coordinator. He has been involved with our research into zero carbon scenarios since the beginning, coordinating the development of research reports and liaising directly with government, industry, NGOs and the arts to share findings.
Creativity and storytelling at CAT’s Graduate School
Stories carry deep personal meaning and when they are relatable to others they can be vital for influencing change, enabling our imagined futures to become reality. At CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment, students dive deep into the science of stories and storytelling, exploring their impact and crafting stories of their own. Here are two examples of creative pieces written by our current students as part of their learning journey with us.
There’s a wood near home. It’s small and seems dead at its core, poisoned by years of mismanagement and poor husbandry. Even so, the edges teem with life – enormous broadleaves that were spared the chop shade and support an
abundance of life in the soil, among the trees and in the sky – noisy, chattering, running, tumbling life. For as long as I could remember, it had been presided over by a kestrel. She often let out a keening cry that froze the woods below her into silence and stillness. She sat in the highest tree – regal, resplendent and, seemingly, permanent.
Three winters ago, in place of icy Northern cold came three swift, hard punches. Three storms hit, so ferocious we were told each ought to have slept for a century or more. They battered the trees, bending and twisting them with warm, wet, howling winds for seven days and left devastation in their wake.
It took time before I could revisit the woods – the town was damaged, too –and when I returned there was a tear in the skyline. It felt like a mountain had gone missing, seeing a shocking blue sky where the kestrel’s tree should have stood. That tree had been there every moment I had been and half a century before. It had seemed immovable, eternal, and in turn it felt as if the kestrel was, too.
The kestrel is missing now, dead or far afield. The woods themselves go on, changed, peppered with fallen, stormcracked trees. There is new life in them – the warm and wet and rot supports dense-gilled fungi and new shoots appear. Roiling masses of insects feed the robins and wrens now freed of the threat from a bird of prey. The mice have found new nests and the squirrels have found new trees but without the kestrel and her palatial tree the woods have changed for good.
This gives me pause when I pass – is there a storm coming, emerging from the warm and wet that is so momentous the woodland edge falls silent – not under the decree of the kestrel, but for good?
Tim Parker, MSc Sustainability and Ecology student
They've arrived with their frantic acrobatics, screaming in the flick and dart of their hunting, bursting with energy as they come up from the south. A noisy evening chorus above the people walking their dogs, the people having a smoke in front of the pub, the people watering their tomatoes.
“Look, there they are!” I say, pointing up to the silhouettes scything through the early summer sky. I try to explain to my daughter how seeing these voyagers is a treat, something I look forward to each year. It only lasts a few weeks, perhaps – a backdrop of summer worth noticing, and when they leave we know that the season is soon changing.
But I know that wetter weather means fewer insects to feed them.
I know there need to be nest sites.
I know that they have to deal with heatwaves on the way here and that the landscapes below them are changing swiftly. And I wonder… will my daughter hold a child's hand as they crane their necks to look for something that is missing? “We used to see swifts at this time of year. Then you knew it was summer.”
Francis Rowland, MSc Sustainability and Behaviour Change student
Rediscovering our inner islander
Roger Morgan-Grenville spent two years circumnavigating the British coast to better understand its opportunities, challenges and, above all, the people who work along it. What he found was simultaneously frightening and hopeful and forms the basis of his new book, The Restless Coast.
There is no place on the British mainland that you can be more than 45 miles from tidal water, and only then if you happen to be standing in the village of Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire. It may seem an obvious thing to say but, if you live on this island, you are an islander. Obvious, but often forgotten.
For most of human history, written or otherwise, this was not a point that had to be underscored. Most of our ancestors lived on or near the coast, and that band of water, rising and falling twice a day as it always has, was simply a fact of life. The very insularity of our national character was formed, just like the mild dampness of our climate, from the seas beyond.
Abandoning our coastal heritage, which is what we have done, is a recent phenomenon, driven partly by technology, partly by Beeching’s axing of the many branch lines that served coastal towns, and partly by the simultaneous arrival of cheap flights to the more reliable sunshine of a Mediterranean shore. Gone was the two-week boarding house holiday, down went the pier and away, to a certain extent, went the fish. In contrast to every other coastal country in Europe, wealth headed inshore, and
old age and deprivation headed towards the salt water. These days, creating sustainable and fair coastal communities presents a really serious challenge to us, but so too does their potential revival come as an enormous opportunity.
Walking the ‘coastline’
It was to test the theory that I could refind my own inner islander that I set out, two years ago, on an 18-month stop-start anti-clockwise journey around our coast, from Cape Wrath at its north-western tip to Dunnet Head just up from John o’ Groats. The route consisted of 13 walks of around 100 to 150 miles each, each one designed to learn about one particular feature of our modern coast which, when bundled together with the others, would maybe create a useful gauge for how things were. Depending on who you ask, our coastline is around 11,500 miles long, so you can judge for yourself whether the 2,000 miles that I walked was representative or a cop-out. Whichever it was, it never stopped striking me as odd that we even call it a ‘coastline’. Lines are supposed to be straight and permanent. Ours is a glorious spaghetti tangle of constantly moving dynamic processes, both geological and ecological, in which the sea rises, and from which huge
chunks are either eroded or deposited, year on year.
If I were to single out a handful of things I learned, they might be the following.
We need to talk more about… We need to talk more about fish Seriously. We need to talk about sustainable fishing out in the ocean, about getting rid of scallop dredging, about marine protected areas, about improving the miserable
way in which we currently farm fish, and about the survival of the wild Atlantic salmon. We need to reward the artisan fishermen and women who practise the trade with both eyes on a sustainable future, even at the expense of their current earnings, and not the factory ships just over the horizon that plunder the oceans for all that they can get out of it.
Then we need to talk more about the seabed Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean we should hide our eyes from the damage we have inflicted on it through fishing, pollution, leisure activities and extraction. And the good news is that many people and organisations are doing exactly that: seagrasses and kelps are being replanted all around the coast, from Argyll to North Wales to Cornwall, Hampshire and beyond, and native oyster beds are being re-sown. The bonus of this generally being a safe, low-tech and relatively inexpensive activity is that children can be involved and, through what they learn, become better future ambassadors for the whole ecosystem.
We need to talk more about seabirds and, specifically, about the fact that we have lost around two-thirds of them in the 65 years of my own life. Down that route, if we are not careful, lies eventual silence. We are an internationally important site for seabirds, holding over half of both the world’s gannet and great skua populations, not to mention 80% of its Manx shearwaters. Decline has happened for many reasons: moving and reducing food sources, over-predation, collisions with man-made structures, storms that have increased both in number and severity. Then bird flu hit, and some of the most successful colonies lost up to half their numbers in just a few cruel weeks. To be fair, I found hundreds of people whose lives are dedicated to reversing these declines, and then hundreds more just randomly chucking ghost plastic into the sea from their boats.
So we need to talk more about plastic too, especially the statistic of 158 items of plastic litter found on each 100m of Britain’s coastline these days. Plastic is a miracle product with a thousand vital uses, but it is also virtually indestructible, and humans have developed a million different ways of letting it appear in and around the sea. But in Penzance, I found a town that is credibly tackling the issue, not just among a few generous-hearted activists, but among all the townspeople
and their businesses. If it can happen there, it can happen everywhere else. But it won't happen until we can learn to get by without 7.7 billion (you read it right) plastic bottles each year, not to mention 2.5 billion coffee cups and god knows how many microplastics in our clothing, car tyres and even food.
We should probably talk more about rising sea levels, because they are not just the future, but the current reality. It’s hard for short-term humans to get excited about 3.6mm of annual sea level rise, but it would be a good idea, not least because that 3.6mm is accelerating, and two of our major cities are already among the most vulnerable in the world. During my walk, I saw in Cardigan Bay’s Fairborne the first community in the UK that will formally be evacuated because of the rising water, but also, in London, one of the best protected cities on earth.
The Thames Barrier remains a beacon of infrastructure excellence in a country that has long forgotten how to build things that work, or are on time, or to budget.
The good stuff
But we should talk about all the good stuff too: the mad abundance of geese in a Norfolk winter, the regeneration of a Devon dunescape, the bringing back of the white-tailed eagle to our skies. We should admire and support initiatives like the Solent Seascape project and the fishing communities who voluntarily give up a fishing area in order to build a sustainable future. And we should mentally go back to the seaside as children might, to reconnect with that sense of joy and wellness that it can deliver to people living there, or even just visiting.
Finally, the shortcut to joy, the refinding of which is, I believe, the only solid foundation of a new love affair with the coast, was to be found, in my case, by the simple delights of regular cod and chips and mint-choc-chip ice creams. Some things change. Childish delights never do. CS
About the author
As a soldier, Roger Morgan-Grenville served on five continents and led the expedition that retraced Shackleton’s trek across South Georgia. He has been a fulltime nature writer since 2018, publishing six books and helping to establish the campaigning charity Curlew Action. He has been a lonstanding supporter of CAT’s work since his uncle Gerard Morgan Grenville founded CAT in 1973. His latest book is The Restless Coast (Icon Books)
Zero Carbon electricity by 2030 - is it realistic?
Research suggests that an overwhelming majority of the world’s people want stronger action to fight the climate crisis. With such widespread support, is it happening? Engineer and long-standing CAT member, Ray Dickson, explores this question from the perspective of UK energy.
By 2030, given a typical weather year, the UK will produce at least as much clean energy as the country consumes over the whole year. However, this is not the entire story. Our demand patterns vary considerably between the seasons. The wind does not always blow. Peak demand frequently occurs when it is dark and no solar energy is available. This is why an energy mix is essential.
Phasing out fossil fuels
The UK has a network of gas-fired power stations primarily used for flexible electricity generation, especially when renewable sources are unavailable. Right now, these stations are crucial for grid stability and energy security. In 2023, gas-fired power plants generated 127TWh (one trillion watt-hours) of electricity, about 40% of the demand. We must close all these power stations by 2030 to claim net zero. Will battery technology enable all gas-fired plants to be closed? Maybe not in five years, but progress is being made.
Investing in renewables
It is anticipated that the UK’s renewable capacity will increase dramatically over the coming years. Plans are already being implemented to increase offshore wind output to 50GW (50 billion watts) by 2030, which will be helped by a £200 million government cash injection and financial incentives. Meanwhile, solar capacity could grow to roughly 70GW in the same period. Combine renewables with other low-carbon electricity sources, such as nuclear (14.2% in 2023) and our green infrastructure appears to be capable of reaching the government’s 2035 target and ultimately reaching almost net zero in the specified time frame.
The electricity supply industry is well advanced technically. Some of the biggest wind turbines in the world are now being built in the Celtic and North Seas. They need to be connected to a new transmission system. Historically, coal-fired power stations were built near mines and river cooling water. This resulted in a north/south 400kv high-
capacity system. Now, there is a need to supplement this with east/west systems dealing with offshore and local wind and solar farms.
Balancing local and national interests
One of the features of a democracy is the ability to object to the construction of infrastructure based in the local environment. Dealing with these issues can cause years of delays. In Wales, there are new transmission lines in the valleys that send power to England, which can raise concerns.
We need to strike a balance between local and national interests. How can the UK optimise the impacts and increase the benefits for communities from renewable energy installations? It may be smaller, optimised turbines, local investment models that share returns, or a more engaging consultation process. Wales has been leading the way with several community wind turbine schemes. These prove to be a sound investment and change attitudes towards acceptance.
There is also the need to convince people that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages on a national scale. Getting rid of most gas generation, apart from small amounts to deal with supply emergencies, will detach us from the global gas market and reduce our electricity costs.
Can all this be done by 2030?
Changing attitudes may take longer. The answer is government leadership and investment, supported by environmental organisations like CAT and the professional bodies dealing with energy. With a coordinated and collaborative effort, zero carbon electricity by 2030 is a real possibility. CS
About the author
Ray Dickson is a retired chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. He worked in coal-fired and nuclear power stations and was Reactor Systems Engineer at Hinkley Point B. He has supported the work of CAT in looking at the wider perspective and is particularly interested in the social changes that will ultimately determine our progress.
From average household to net-zero super home
CAT graduate Paul Martin shares his journey towards net-zero in his 1960s three-bedroom semi, showing that a modern low-impact lifestyle is possible for an average UK household.
In 2010, motivated by my visits and studies at CAT, I decided it was time to take steps to reduce my personal contribution to climate change. During my BSc, I recall seeing a case-study of a house in the UK powered by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with surplus charging an electric vehicle (EV), and I thought, “I want to do that!”
Taking the first step
The first step was to understand my energy use. I did this by paying closer attention to my utility bills and taking meter readings for electricity, gas and water. I calculated the fuel consumption and annual mileage of my car.
With the help of a carbon footprint calculator, I estimated the CO2 emissions attributed to my lifestyle (e.g. my diet and the things I was buying) and also to my share of UK infrastructure (services, roads, hospitals etc.). Using this information, I began to estimate my CO2 fingerprint – a detailed breakdown of my emissions across different categories (Fig.1) – and my total footprint (Fig.2), allowing me to track my progress towards net-zero over the years.
I purchased my house in 1995. I had a full set of data for 1998 before I’d made any changes to the property, so I chose this as the baseline year to measure improvements against. In 1998 my household’s footprint was 10.7 tons CO2 e per year.
Fig.1 My annual CO2e emissions fingerprint from 2011 to 2024, including the 1998 baseline Note: The methods I used to measure my emissions are just one way of doing this. It’s a general simplification for illustrative purposes. The emissions are measured in CO2e (kilograms carbon dioxide equivalent) which include emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), except those from the carbon footprint calculator.
Lifestyle changes
I first began looking at the impact of my lifestyle choices, as these can be the quickest wins. Using the carbon footprint calculator, I came to a baseline figure of 1tCO2 e per year.
To reduce these lifestyle emissions, I needed to make some changes. I changed my diet to vegetarian (later becoming vegan) and bought organic, fresh, seasonal food from local farm shops where possible. I moved my finances to ethical banks, supported environmental charities (including CAT), and began living by the three Rs – reduce, re-use and recycle.
These choices reduced my annual lifestyle emissions by 50% or 0.5tCO2 e per year. I generally found these changes simple to implement with little cost impact.
My household electricity use
Thinking about reducing my emissions at home, I began with my electricity use. Until 2012, all my household electricity was provided by the National Grid.
• In 2012 I installed a 1.8kWp (kilowatt peak) solar PV array on my south-east facing roof. I took advantage of the UK government’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme at the time (now replaced by the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)).
• In 2018 I installed a 4kWh lead-acid electricity storage battery to increase the proportion of the solar power I was
personally using from 25% to 75% and reduce the amount I was exporting to the grid (after the six-year expected lifespan, I replaced the battery with a 13.5kWh lithium-ion upgrade).
• In 2022 I added a 1kWp secondary solar array on the south-west facing roof of my garage. I added more renewable power generation from a share in the Graig Fatha Wind Turbine Project.
All these measures were self-funded. But the payback in energy cost savings and revenue from the FiT and turbine provided funds for more measures. As a result of these changes, my annual household grid electricity energy consumption has reduced by 34%, and my house’s emissions have been cut by 0.8tCO2 e per year.
Fig.2 My annual CO2e emissions from 2011 to 2024, including the 1998 baseline My home and lifestyle are now fossil-fuel free, and the house is one of the SuperHomes, a network of energy efficient retrofitted homes assessed by the National Energy Foundation. I now have that house that is powered by solar with surplus charging an EV – mission accomplished!
Heating
In 1998 the heating for my house and water were provided by an inefficient 1970s gas-fired boiler and radiators. There was no loft or cavity wall insulation. I had 1980s double-glazed windows and patio doors and leaky wooden external doors.
In 2005, before I began consciously taking efforts to reduce my carbon footprint, I made some home improvements. I replaced my front door and patio doors and bricked up a side door. I replaced a flat roof. I insulated the main loft with 150mm wool fibre. And I replaced the old boiler with a 90% efficient gas condensing boiler, new pipework and radiators.
Later, taking advantage of a Welsh Government grant, I improved the building fabric heat loss and infiltration by installing cavity wall insulation, topping up the loft insulation to 300mm, and sealing up areas where air was escaping. I replaced the windows with A-rated, argon filled, low-emissivity double-glazed units, trapping heat and maximising passive solar gain.
Then in 2023 I replaced the 18-year-old gas boiler with a 5kW air-source heat pump, electrifying my space and water heating. To do this I made use of a £7,500 UK Government grant*. In the first year of operation, this provided a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.01. Essentially, every unit of electrical input delivers four units of heat, an efficiency of 400%, compared with 90% for a new gas boiler. These measures reduced my annual space and water heating energy consumption by 84%, and my emissions by 2.7tCO2 e per year.
Travel
As a wheelchair user, all my personal travel is by car. At the end of 2011 I changed my petrol car to a mild hybrid, saving 1.4tCO2 e per year. Three years later, I was able to upgrade again to a 100% battery electric vehicle, saving a further 0.5tCO2 e per year.
In 2024, due to a greater proportion of grid electricity coming from renewable sources, particularly wind, my annual car travel emissions were reduced by 79% or 2.2tCO2 e per year. This is despite my mileage increasing by 4,000 miles a year. The electric vehicle can also be charged purely from solar in summer due to the addition of the secondary solar array –zero cost, zero emissions.
Water consumption
I’ve reduced my water consumption through water harvesting, installing low-flow gadgets on outlets, the use of a shower timer, taking showers over baths, and using a dishwasher rather than filling the sink. My annual water consumption has dropped by 80%, resulting in emissions reductions of 0.04tCO2 e per year.
Infrastructure
The infrastructure we use, like services, roads, hospitals and so on, have CO2 emissions attributed to them. These are not personally controllable, so they have remained constant over the period. The figure was derived from the carbon footprint calculator I used – 2.75tCO2 e per year for each UK citizen.
To offset some of these emissions, I used natural sequestration through an annual donation to the Woodland Trust to plant 25m 2 of woodland. I planted 14 native trees on-site, created two ponds, grew a green wall, and put an extensive sedum green roof on my flat-roof extension. I’m fortunate to have a large garden which allows me to do these things.
Overall impact
Due to the measures described above, by 2024 my total carbon emissions had been reduced by 79% or 8.5tCO2 e per year compared with the 1998 baseline, from 10.7tCO2 e to 2.2tCO2 e. Furthermore, my personally controllable emissions, omitting infrastructure, produced a negative figure of -0.5tCO2 e in 2024. Fig. 2 shows the carbon emissions reduction over the period, comparing my total footprint, personally controllable emissions, and the UK per capita target. CS
About the author
After studying a BSc Environmental Studies and Diploma in Environmental Policy then an MSc Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management at CAT, Paul now writes articles and a blog at ecofuturist.net about achieving his net-zero carbon lifestyle. He is also a co-founder and director of EVA Cymru, Wales’s national representative body for electric vehicle owners and drivers.
* The Welsh Government currently has a scheme to provide up to £25,000 as an interest-free loan, payable over as much as 10 years, for improving the thermal and energy efficiency of a home. https:// developmentbank.wales/green-homes-wales
Jonathon Porritt is an eminent writer and leading campaigner for sustainable development. For over five decades, he’s provided strategic guidance to ‘the great and the good’, while remaining actively involved in green politics and many different campaigns.
This July, he will publish his latest book, Love, Anger & Betrayal , co-authored with 26 passionate young activists. Fiercely committed to empowering the next generation, Jonathon champions the voices and actions of young people as they confront a future shaped by the twin emergencies of climate change and biodiversity loss. Love, Anger & Betrayal is both a clarion call for intergenerational climate justice and a bold challenge to mainstream environmentalism, as well as a personal exploration into the stories and motivations of what some might call ‘radical' activists.
We are thrilled to announce that Jonathon, together with one of his inspiring young co-authors, will be joining us as keynote speakers at this year’s annual CAT Conference in August. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from two generations of climate leaders at the forefront of the movement for a sustainable future. We are honoured to offer CAT members an exciting short preview of the book here.
What good is persuasion if no one’s paying attention?
Aword about the title of this book. Before opting for ‘Love, Anger & Betrayal’, my favourite working title was ‘For the Love of God, Pay Attention!’ –as a rather blunt way of capturing the incomprehension felt by these young campaigners as we hurtle towards a world ravaged by climate breakdown. Yet so few people really seem to care. Because of that, there’s an undeniable element of desperation in the choices they make about campaigning tactics, in a world where the old model of political engagement has gone and ‘spectacle beats argument every time’. As Chris Hayes puts it in his excellent book, The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource : What good is persuasion if no one’s paying attention?
Working with young activists has forced me to confront the full extent of today’s ongoing intergenerational injustice –in effect, the whole notion of Intergenerational Justice has been turned on its head. Instead of older generations doing everything they can to ensure a better, more secure future for all those who come after them, today’s younger generation finds itself doing a lot of the heavy lifting to secure a still liveable future not just for themselves, but for their parents and grandparents. Which is why I hope, almost against all hope, at this very late stage, that all those parents, grandparents and citizens deeply concerned about the future, will find their own way of stepping up – moving from concern to action. When Martin Luther King said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice’, he sure as hell didn’t mean that justice will simply arrive, so sit back and wait for the happy outcome! He said: ‘Social progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of dedicated individuals.’
“At its simplest, I’m involved because I love life: people and everything on the planet that makes the world worth fighting for. History tells us that we just have to accept as activists that some people are going to hate us, trying to raise awareness in this way makes some people very angry. But even when they disagree, there’s still a conversation going on. Perhaps they might begin to feel some of that dread?” Jacob
“A lot of people are pretending the climate crisis isn’t happening, that it’s all going to be okay. I know my own involvement can make a lot of friends and family feel uncomfortable – almost as if I am the physical embodiment of all those anxieties! Some friends really don’t want to know. ‘It’s a privilege to be part of this, but it can also be incredibly onerous – doing the work every single day, whether it’s front of mind or not, I’m doing it because hundreds of millions of people will suffer in the future. It can be hard being around people who don’t understand that – and who don’t want to have to think about it.” Olive CS
Join Jonathon at the annual CAT Conference this summer, from 15 to 17 August, to dive into the subject in more detail and bring your own ideas and thoughts. Book online at cat.org.uk/ events/members-conference
Leaving a lasting legacy: understanding residuary and pecuniary gifts in your will
Legacy gifts to CAT are very special for us to receive. They are enduring acts of generosity that shape a safer, fairer future for the natural world, and everyone on it. They might arrive out of the blue, enabling CAT to weather the challenges many charities are facing at this time. Each gift empowers more students, volunteers, businesses, communities and school groups to be part of a resilient movement for change across the UK and beyond.
When it comes to making a difference through your Will, understanding the types of gifts you can leave might seem complicated, but it’s easier than you think. Two of the most common are residuary and pecuniary gifts. But what do these terms mean, and why might one be better for your legacy than the other?
What is a pecuniary gift?
A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money left to a person or organisation in your Will. For example, you might decide to leave £5,000 to a friend, family member, or a charity like CAT. The beneficiary receives the exact amount you specify, regardless of what happens to the rest of your estate.
However, there’s a drawback to this type of gift. The real value of a pecuniary gift can be eroded by inflation. £5,000 today won’t have the same impact in ten or twenty years, so the gift’s value could diminish over time unless you specifically ask for the sum to be adjusted for inflation (known as “index-linking”).
What is a residuary gift?
A residuary gift is a share or percentage of your estate left over after all debts, taxes, costs, and any specific or fixed-sum gifts have been distributed. For example, you could leave 10% of your estate to a cause you care about, after all your loved ones are looked after.
As the value of your estate changes whether it grows or shrinks the residuary gift automatically adjusts. This means your chosen beneficiaries, including charities, receive a proportionate share, ensuring your legacy keeps pace with your estate’s value.
Why are residuary gifts so powerful?
They keep their value: Unlike a fixed sum, a residuary gift isn’t eroded by inflation. If your estate increases in value, so does the gift. This way, your gift can make the impact you intended it to.
Less need to update your Will: Because the gift is a percentage, you’re less likely to need frequent updates as your circumstances change.
Flexibility: You can divide the residue between several beneficiaries in whatever proportions you choose supporting loved ones and causes close to your heart.
Can I change a pecuniary gift to a residuary gift?
Yes, and it is easier than you might think. If you’ve already made a Will leaving a fixed sum to a charity, you can change this to a residuary gift by adding a codicil a short legal document that amends your existing Will without the need to rewrite the whole thing. A solicitor can help you draft a codicil to specify that, instead of a set amount, you wish to leave a percentage or share of your estate to your chosen beneficiary.
Simple steps to make the change
Review your Will: Check if you currently have a pecuniary (fixed sum) gift to a charity or other beneficiary.
Decide on the percentage: Consider what share of your estate you’d like to leave as a residuary gift. This could be any proportion 1%, 10%, 50%, or a mix of different percentages to different causes.
Consult a solicitor: Ask them to draft a codicil changing your pecuniary gift to a residuary one. For example: “I give (X)% of the residue of my estate to (charity name and number) for its general charitable purposes.”
Sign and store safely: Sign the codicil in the presence of witnesses and keep it with your Will.
Your long lasting impact
Whatever type and size of legacy gift CAT receives, we’re incredibly grateful. Each one adds up to make a profound impact on our work, and the way we can plan for the future as a charity. Leaving a residuary gift is one of the most effective ways to ensure your values live on, supporting the people and causes you care about—no matter how life’s circumstances change. If you’d like to discuss your legacy with CAT, or need help updating your Will, contact Freya at legacies@cat.org. uk. Your gift, large or small, can help build a fairer future for generations to come. CS
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