Our first cohort of Sustainable Futures projects has come to an end, and last night (Thursday 8th May 2025) we celebrated our finalists and winners at Nottingham City Library.
Earlier this year, we launched the Sustainable Futures project – an exciting initiative that gave students the opportunity to turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. With up to £4,000 in funding, access to business leaders, and the chance to tackle urgent sustainability challenges, students were encouraged to get involved and make a difference.
We started with over 54 groups applying and putting their ideas forward, the groups were made up of 193 individual entrants between the ages of 16 and 59. After a tough shortlisting process, this was narrowed down to 16 groups who made it to the first round of pitches, with 11 groups making it to the final round of pitches. These shortlisted teams were then given time to develop their ideas based on feedback and worked with both internal and external mentors to refine and perfect their projects.
The groups presented their updated ideas again last week, on Thursday 1st May and Friday 2nd May 2025, to a panel including Andy Comyn, our CFO and Deputy CEO; Matt Bunn, our Sustainability Lead and Performance and Media Lecturer; Rose Hayes, Director at Cartwright Communications; Clare Foster, Nottingham City Council’s Carbon Neutral Policy Manager; and MP Nadia Whittome.
Last night, we welcomed students, parents/carers, staff, and external stakeholders to celebrate the shortlisted groups and announce the four winning groups. The winners were each presented with cheques worth varying amounts depending on what they had pitched for, to be invested in their projects and help bring their ideas to life.
Meet our winning groups:
Save Our World – Fatima Nabeel and Maleeha Ashraf
Fatima and Maleeha developed a project aimed at teaching young children about sustainability through an A–Z themed book, helping them understand environmental issues from an early age. Targeting foundation stage pupils, the ‘Save Our World’ initiative uses eco-friendly materials and minimal packaging, with feedback gathered from parents and staff to assess its impact.
We spoke to Maleeha after finding out her group had won, she said:
“It feels so amazing, but I was shocked at the same time! We can’t wait to go onto making the books and getting them out to schools now.”
Pallet to Plant – Kayden Wilson, Len Takahashi-Prest, Usman Khan
This group chose to tackle the lack of composting by educating catering students and staff on food waste management, aiming to create a lasting legacy. Composting structures will be installed at each main campus to process daily waste, which will then be used in our Wilding Campuses project, with dedicated bins and training provided to prevent contamination and pests.
We caught up with Usman, who said:
“I enjoyed the whole journey – it was so memorable and fun. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of entering in the future.”
Usman’s auntie, Nazarka Begum, joined us last night, to support and celebrate their hard work. She spoke to us about how her nephew used skills he already had from his family and how he found the project. She said:
“Usman has been passionate throughout the whole journey, from start to finish, and has really grown in confidence. It’s going to be amazing for him to carry the work forward, make a positive impact on others, and get more young people involved in projects like this. He already had gardening skills he learned at a young age in Pakistan, but he’s really honed those skills through this project — it was a great opportunity to put them into practice.”
Over Con-souption – Dorian Powers, Jazz Furber, Katie Limon, Nigella Israel, Ollie Wood
This project aims to highlight the environmental impact of overconsumption and pollution through striking visual art created with expired film and everyday chemicals. By displaying these thought-provoking images on advertising billboards, the team hopes to challenge consumerist norms and draw attention to the hidden costs of overproduction and planned obsolescence.
We spoke with Dorian and Jazz about how they found the project, and how it feels to have won. This is what they said:
“It was great being able to use my own creative freedom, with everyone chipping in and doing their own thing while working towards a common goal. The teamwork was amazing, and even during nerve-wracking moments like the public speaking, we got through it together.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled! I was honestly really shocked at first and couldn’t believe we’d won — it’s indescribably great, and I’m so happy.”
Nottingham Climate Action – Elisha Bartle , Hannah Carlin, Kimberley Pennant
The aim for this project was to raise climate awareness by photographing Nottingham-based professional sports personalities holding climate pledges, using their social media influence to support the council’s CN28 campaign. The images will feature in matchday programmes and on stadium screens, with sustainably made warm-up shirts worn by players auctioned off to fund local environmental charities.
Kimberley spoke to us about the evening, and how it felt to win. She said:
“We didn’t realise our name had been called out, so it was a bit of a shock! I’m really excited for me, Hannah, and Elisha, and we’re looking forward to the future. We’ve already had someone from the Green Party and Greenpeace approach us to work with them, so we’re really proud!”
In attendance last night was Clare Foster, the Carbon Neutral Policy Manager at Nottingham City Council. Clare was involved in on of the first stages of out Sustainable Futures initiative and helped with ‘The Big Question’, she also went on to be a judge on our panel when the students were pitching their ideas.
We spoke to her about why she decided to get involved. She said:
“It really intrigued me when Matt got in contact. It sounded very different from anything I had heard that’s been going on locally and he was so enthusiastic, I wanted to see what it was all about and be involved, and I’m so happy I did!”
She also spoke about the students and their pitches. She said:
“It was a really rewarding experience to sit in on the pitches and I was blown away by the quality and standard of the projects and pitches the students delivered. The ideas, diversity and passion that came through from all of the students was incredible. Every one of them deserved to be supported in their journey because there’s something in each of those ideas that I’ve not seen anywhere else that’s new and innovative.”
Hannah Richardson, our Personal Social Development Lead and one of the members of the team who spearheaded this initiative, spoke about the project and last nights event. She said:
"We developed Sustainable Futures to give students of all levels and courses the chance to get involved. The project was student-led and focused on real-world learning, offering them a platform to showcase their creativity and contribute to a more sustainable world – and they didn’t disappoint.
Last night was a great opportunity to celebrate what our students are capable of, and it was heart-warming to see the pride in both them and their families.
I now look forward to the next stage, where the four winning groups will bring their ideas to life with continued support from the college and city."
Thank you to Danny Rawling, Hannah Richardson and Matt Bunn for spearheading this initiative and going above and beyond to provide new opportunities for our learners.
Congratulations to all the students involved, and a huge thank you to the staff and external stakeholders who supported the judging, advising, and mentoring of our students.
