Green Talk

Alice Ferguson & Amy Rose

(Playing Out)

Qu) ‘What physical features of the street would you change to improve the experience of playing there? Do you need to change it?’

Streets are already interesting, diverse spaces – just really slow down the cars!

Further information: Playing Out

Dawn Keyse

(Lancaster Cohousing)

Qu) ‘Having looked as the website the cost per house is about £2-300k. Is lower cost possible £1-150k?’.

It will be possible to do it more cost effectively than we did. Our main expensive is the site. Our architect says that our first million went into the land, getting it ready for the build.

Also, we are planning to offer our journey as a prototype so people can cut corners and learn from our mistakes, once we have settled in.

Qu) ‘Are there any plans for a housing project like this in Bristol?’

I believe there is something happening around Bristol and I know there is a very well established project in Stroud.

Further information:

Lancaster Cohousing: http://www.lancastercohousing.org.uk/

The UK Cohousing Network: http://www.cohousing.org.uk/

Richard Dunne

(Head - Ashley Primary School)

Qu) ‘How did you fund the solar power at Ashley Primary School?’

We funded the solar panels through grants from EDF Energy and the Low Carbon Building Programme. I know utility company funding is harder to come by now, but with the Feed-In Tariffs in place now, it is becoming more realistic to get the panels installed with a loan and to pay that back with the money generated from the FIT.

Qu) ‘How can a school go so completely green if the headmaster isn’t on board?’

It’s a good question and I think the reality is that it can be quite a challenge for a school to really push ahead with the green agenda if the headteacher is not on board. If the person driving the agenda is in a key leadership position or simply has undiluted passion for the work, then it can happen, but it is never quite as easy. I think we need more training for headteachers around this area.

Qu) ‘The programme sounds fantastic – are there plans to expand it into other schools, primary or secondary?’

I am certainly always very happy to share what we are doing at Ashley with others and I have spoken at several conferences around the country on education for sustainability. Many primary schools are developing some good practices and need to be given support to keep the momentum going. At secondary it seems to be much more hit and miss with only a small number of schools really embedding the practice. Unfortunately the whole focus on results and data make it very difficult for secondary schools.

Further information:

Ashley Primary School.

Ashden Awards – Ashley Primary School: Antarctic trip inspires energy-saving drive

Ashley Primary School Inspire Alpine Expedition (as featured in Richard Dunne’s GreenTalk).

N.B. We are making the final edits to Richard Dunne’s GreenTalk which will be available on-line shortly.