Education Sustainable dev UK
Intro
Every course that teaches you how to use what you have in your garden or any resources unused and available to you to make things instead of buying them is a “sustainable related course”. a/ Through what you have learnt, you’re able to act for sustainable development, b/ Once you have understood this action, you start thinking of other actions you could implement.
But, there are lots and lots of courses of that kind. For the only West Dean College, there are maybe a hundred courses under those general categories: Art, books paper and lettering, Creative Wrinting, Decorative arts for interior, Glass and Mosaic, metal working and jewellery,Music, Photography, pottery and ceramics, sculptures, textiles and tapestry, woodworking, furniture and instrument making and gardening that could be classified as « sustainable related courses ».
Those courses can also be considered somewhat remote from the core subject. In order not to be overwhelmed by the quantity of information available, we’ll try to concentrate on those courses explicitly related to sustainable development: environment related courses or personal development related courses (introduction to specific technologies, methods, principles).
We’ll try to differentiate the courses according to their different targets:
private (General Public, students, public)
professionals: corporate, public sector
Short definition
Sustainable development is a general concept made of three dimensions: People/Planet/Profit
Community building requires courses on the three aspects of sustainable development:
Social aspect
Environmental aspect
Economic aspect
Some courses will tackle the three aspects with an holistic vision, the others will focus on one aspect.
The courses aim at:
- Making people understand why they should act (and motivate them)
- With the general concept, and case studies for professionals
- With the general concept, or through methods driving people to understand that general concept intuitively
- Giving practical ways of action to people
- In a particular field for individuals
- With the general concept , or with techniques on a special field for professionals
We said before that we would not talk about those courses indirectly related to sustainable development. The document focuses on courses giving practical ways of action to people.
Market: private/professionals
There are two different markets:
Private
Professional
+> Characteristics of the courses for the private market:
- One-day to one-week programs (some one-month programs exist)
- Average Group Number: 15
- One teacher
- Packaged offer with accommodation and food
- Theoretical and practical courses
- Subjects: Community Building, Healthy lifestyles, sustainable environment, Social enterprise.
- Healthy lifestyles = Health, alternative medicine, Arts, Psychology, Consensus building, Healthy relationship, community organization, creative ageing.
- Sustainable environment = Re-use, Recycling, Renewable energy, Organic farming, traditional skills
- Social enterprise = Sustainable economics, time sharing…
- No specific skills required in general
- Possible funding
- Price depends on the income (High-waged, waged, non-waged)
- Location: centres/ Community centres
+> Characteristics of the courses for the professionals market
- One-day to three-day programs
- In general, more than one speaker
- Theoretical Courses- Conferences or Workshops
- More specialised subjects, business related (Healthy lifestyles, sustainable environment, Social enterprise)
- Healthy lifestyles: exercises for better concentration, yoga, consensus building, team building
- Sustainable environment: standards, renewable energies, eco-design
- Social enterprise: Corporate social responsibility. (Social enterprise: Social Enterprise Coalition; Social Enterprise London; Community Action Network)
- Unique pricing
- Location: Universities/ Congress centres; Community sometimes.
Who: organization/description
- CAT
CAT started as a community dedicated to eco-friendly principles and a 'test bed' for new ideas and technologies in the 1970’s. The learning centre only opens a few years later. CAT is now said to be the European leading learning centre for alternative technologies. It receives 65,000 visitors a year for a staff of 90 people (among which volunteers).
The centre is located in Mid Wales and includes:
A green shop
A Consultancy ( Eco building, Environmental Energy advice, environmentally friendly sanitation systems, creating an ecocentre, capability statement)
The learning centre
Eco-lodge (Accommodation will be either on the main site or in the Eco Cabins, in simply furnished rooms which contain 2 - 5 beds. Single rooms available. Total: 67 beds
Wholefood vegetarian restaurant
A living place
A vegetarian Fair Trade café in the town centre
A wholefood store, called the Quarry Shop in the town centre.
Subjects: land use, shelter, energy conservation and use, diet and health, waste management and recycling.
Target: Private individuals (children and adults), businesses, administrations.
The entry at the centre can be bought for one visit or for the entire season. For one visit, the price is up to £6. The seasonal ticket costs up to £20.
CAT is eventually working on a £6million project called “WISE” (Wales institute for Sustainable Education) that aims at creating a better centre for education (young people, Msc, Phd), courses (private individuals and public administrations), research.
- Redfield Community
The Redfield estate totals 6.9Ha, is located in North Buckinghamshire, it comprises :
- The main house (with 3-4 single sex rooms for visitors)
- A separate stable block
- A small, semi-derelict cottage,
- Tarmac car park areas which cover an area of about 1.7Ha.
- 2.8Ha of pastureland,
- 2.0Ha of woodland
- 0.4 Ha of cottage garden
- A green shop (products available online)
- the headquarters of a small company called World Tents
Redfield community organizes one-day visits with lunch included for £5, and “Living in the community” week-ends for £120 (or £75 with concessions). It also hosts the Low Impact Living Initiative, non-profit organization(registered in England -- co. ltd. by guarantee no: 4205021 -- VAT reg. no: 884 1212 30), whose mission is to help people reduce their impact on the environment, improve their quality of life, gain new skills, live in a healthier and more satisfying way, have fun, and save money.
All the courses last 3 days.
- Hockerton Housing Project
The HHP Trading Ltd1, a cooperative company, provides a unique real life experience of sustainable living and other services:
• Guided tours
• Workshops
• HHP Master Classes
• Consultancy services (for individuals or developers)
• School education visits
• Talks
• Publication of sustainable guides
• Venue for meetings & workshops
The offer for courses is not that extended as in the other centres we have seen until then. There is a one-day “Community building” program. This training day, including a vegetarian organic buffet, costs £60, £50 or £40 depending on the income.
There are also days for primary and secondary schools which price is not fixed.
The HHP team is eventually setting an online store for green products
- The Threshold centre
Subjects: co-housing, community building and sustainable living
The price of the course, including lunch, is £90 for the weekend. Staying in Cole street farm is possible for £35.
The centre also offers relaxing weekends called “nurturing breaks” with therapy treatment and rest from £100.
And there are rooms to rent for receptions/ business meetings.
- Findhorn
To head its numerous activities, Findhorn created the Findhorn Foundation. There are also an important (and increasing) number of businesses around Findhorn (an ethical investment fund, a real estate company, a green shop…).
Findhorn has:
45 ecological buildings
The Findhorn Foundation: learning centre
Lands dedicated to the farming program: Earthshare
Green shops (onsite and online)
Hotel (New Bold house)
Consultancy
Findhorn University ( 4-week or 6-month programs for students)
The Ecovillage Institute (R&D centre)
The Living machine Operator, a company specialized in water treatment
Duneland Limited, Real estate Company
Findhorn Bay Holiday Park (offering eco-friendly chalets, space for tents..)
Findhorn Press: publishers
Health centre
Gathering a great number of people with different backgrounds, Findhorn offers courses on many subjects from environmental practices to spirituality.
Findhorn works with local administration and the UN Habitat Department. The Findhorn Foundation offers courses for professionals as well as for private individuals.
Findhorn proposes a one-month ecovillage building training program, with the following key topics:
Ecological building and engineering,
Local organic food production,
Renewable energy systems,
Cooperative social economies,
Group building and global networking,
Deep ecology,
earth restoration
environmental art
There are three different types of pricing for workshops, courses and events:
Single price - a fixed price.
Dual price - where if the booking is made before a certain date you get a price discount.
Income Related Price - to ensure that the courses are accessible to people with diverse means and to assist with the upgrading of the guest facilities.
As we can see in the table below, there are different ranges of prices. In blue, are the prices per day. The majority of the courses are about personal development. The preferred duration for a training is 7 days although it ranges from 3 to 28 days.
Two cases out of the scope: The “spring cleaning park” week is an opportunity to discover the life in the ecovillage for those with low budgets, able to give an hand in the garden. It is not really a course. The youth experience week is for youngsters.
The average price for a training day (including food and accommodation) is £90 for High waged people, £ 74 for waged people, £64 for unwaged.
Course type
For private people, the courses can include:
- Theoretical sessions
- Discussions
- Practical exercise
- Visits
For professional, the courses include the same elements. But it’s more common to have conferences, with possibilities of discussions than practical elements.
Marketing
The analysis is organized around the targets. We will intend to look at the prices, the promotion (which arguments are used), the “place” ( where you find the information) for each target.
+> Service
The main idea is to provide quality services. Each organization puts the stress on the experience and notoriety of the teacher(s). More than teachers, they are pundits.
For the short courses (one or two days), there generally is only one teacher. For longer stays, there can be more than one teacher.
The teaching method generally includes: theoretical introduction, on site demonstration/ visit (if possible), implementation of the theory, and the possibility to ask questions and to talk with the teacher, to obtain advice from him/her. The “tailor-made”/ interactive aspect of the course is generally outlined.
As to the duration, it depends on the program…Or the program depends on the duration.
Centres that also have accommodation to offer, generally intend to sell more one-week programs.
For example, Findhorn does not offer one-day programs. There are mainly one-week programs and some weekend programs. The client has the choice between the whole package including accommodation, food and courses, or he may prefer taking an independent accommodation and only pay for courses and food.
=>One-day programs
- Potential clients live/work close to the center or are tourists in the region
- More accessible (easy to find one day to dedicate to training)
- A first contact with the center (to assess the quality of the service)
- Generally does not enable to keep people on site
- Can be short to really influence people behaviour
+>Week-end programs
- Potential clients live/work close to the center, are tourists in the region or come from far away, depending on the site’s accessibility.
- More accessible ( anybody can find one week-end. Something for children has to be foreseen)
- Greater chance that people remain on site.
- Greater chance that people become regular clients.
- Greater chance that the concepts are really understood
+> One-week programs
The zone including potential clients is greater, but unless funding is institutional, clients will have a certain level of income.
Less accessible ( People have to be motivated enough to spend one week of their holidays training)
Greater chance that people remain on site.
Greater chance that people become regular clients.
Greater chance that the concepts are really understood
Thus it seems important to offer the choice between the different formulas to the client and to have a certain repartition of this offer according to the interest for training in the zone, the potential of tourist visits, the location.
This event will be of particular interest to those interested in setting up, facilitating or joining a sustainable community. This includes individuals or groups with an interest in sustainable living/lifestyles, self-builders, landowners, and planners.
As an example, this is the way the Hockerton Housing Project promotes one of its courses
“The workshop will enable you to:
• Discover how you can have low impact housing without loss of amenity
• Understand current thinking on planning and what local authorities are doing to promote sustainable developments – How to get planning permission!
• Learn the pitfalls from a group that’s actually done it
• Dissolve some of the fears and apprehensions about communities
• Discuss ideas and plans that you have with experts in low energy housing, renewable energy systems and social structures
• Write a realistic action plan to further your ideas.”
Among the subjects that the centres often propose:
Biofuel
Solar system
Wind energy
Home & Energy
Herbal medicines
+> Pricing
The prices (for courses longer than one day) generally include accommodation and food. The minimum included is lunch.
Most of the time, there are 3 different prices depending on the income of the person.
For High-waged people, prices per day range from £60 to £90.
For waged people, minimum price is £50.
For unwaged people, minimum price is £ 40
There are also online resources for which access is free.
Demand
By Phone later.
Sources:
www.cat.org.uk
www.hockertonhousingproject.org.uk/
www.thresholdcenter.org
www.redfieldcommunity.org.uk
www.nef.org.uk
www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk
www.wholewoods.co.uk
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/
www.findhorn.org
www.groundworkleicester.org.uk
www.westdean.org.uk
www.wholewoods.co.uk
http://www.cfsd.org.uk cfsd@surrart.ac.uk
http://www.themagdalenproject.org.uk
www.r-p-r.org.uk
www.Sustainablehousing.org.uk
www.Ciria.org.uk
posted by bebounette @ 1:32 PM
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