Sustainable skills share scheme Greeniversity a sustainable education project is now being launched by groups in more than 25 cities and towns across the UK.
Originally started in 2010 in Peterborough, the city aiming to create the UK’s Environment Capital, Greeniversity is now launching UK wide with local groups in Bristol, Cardiff, and Birmingham already being set up. Greeniversity was developed by green charity Peterborough Environment City Trust and thanks to the schemes’ success has now secured funding to enable it to be rolled out across the country. Greeniversity helps people to share and learn new skills. Teachers are ordinary people who volunteer their time to host a class on their chosen hobby, for example woodwork, growing food, foraging, knitting, bike maintenance. Greeniversity classes in each area are promoted online where people can sign up to take a free class.
To tie in with the scheme’s growth across the UK, Greeniversity will be at the Bristol Big Green Week, a festival of eco ideas, art and entertainment, in June. There will be a range of taster sessions on both June 19th and 21st. Initially Greeniversity was piloted in five areas – Rutland, Leicester, Loughborough, Lincoln and Cambridge – but this year has seen a burgeoning of new interest across the UK with a number of groups sowing the first seeds of Greeniversity in their town or city.
A positive response
Greeniversity’s Development Officer Ian Tennant is greatly encouraged by the positive response and believes Greeniversity will be a big success in the new areas.He said: “Greeniversity is all about learning new things in a fun, informal environment. It’s about people in local areas coming together to share and learn skills that will help them live in a healthier, more sustainable way. Peer-to-peer learning is a well-tested and proven way of helping people to adopt more sustainable behaviours.” 
Since the website www.greeniversity.org.uk went live at the end of 2012, the five pilot groups have run more than 100 sessions engaging with almost 1,000 people. Peterborough has now hosted more than 700 classes. The other areas which are in the process of launching Greeniversity are Birmingham, Cardiff, East-London, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, North-London, Alsager, Bideford, Burgess-Park, Clitheroe, Corby, Greenwich, Kettering, Kingston, Paisley, Reading and Suffolk.
The project will rely on finding free premises for classes to be held. To get involved as teacher, or if you know of a premises where classes can be held, send an email to ian.tennant@pect.org.uk. Ian will put you in touch with group coordinators. Greeniversity received a £100,000 grant from the Innovation in Giving fund, which is managed by National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). To find out more about Greeniversity, visit www.greeniversity.org.uk
Steve