CAT stories

Every day we’re inspired by the stories of CAT members, supporters, students, graduates and volunteers who are out there making a real difference in the world. Meet some of our changemakers – and let us know your CAT story!

Mark Luntley

Mark sits on the boards of multiple community energy groups, including Westmill Wind and Energy4All, which works to expand the number of renewable energy co-operatives in the UK. He is also a Community Energy Director for REScoop, which brings community energy groups together across Europe. When Mark first visited CAT in the 1990s he was concerned about climate change, but CAT demonstrated what a possible future might look like. Completely enthused, he joined as a member that afternoon and has looked forward to his regular Clean Slate ever since. “We renovated our house and reduced our energy consumption by about a half, but wanted to do something that was more community-based. Clean Slate had an advert for the Baywind community wind farm in Cumbria, and I happily joined what was one of the UK’s first community energy projects. A few years later the Baywind-established Energy4All launched a community energy project in Oxfordshire, where I live. I joined the Westmill Wind board a few months later, later becoming Chair, a role I’ve now had on and off for 12 years. We created an educational charity and have shown over 12,000 visitors around the site. I was also able to help create the adjacent Westmill Solar co-op – at the time the UK’s largest community owned solar project. This all grew out of that first visit to CAT. I was inspired by what I saw, and it set me on a journey that instilled a new set of values and which ultimately changed the direction of my life.”

Jenny Howard Coles

Jenny graduated from CAT in 2013 and now works as a Senior Development Manager at Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) in Bristol. Before studying at CAT she worked as a freelance events manager. As her events work became increasingly focused on environmental issues, she decided to apply to CAT to gain more knowledge and grounding in sustainability topics like building, infrastructure and the way we live. “I felt that the course would work well for me, with intensive residential modules where I could get immersed in the learning. As a freelancer, I was able to work in between modules and took the course part-time, which worked well for me. “The course at CAT was an absolute game-changer. It shifted my career up a few gears and gave me the solid grounding in the knowledge that I needed. I also found that I did well in some of the more technical modules which I had imagined I would struggle with – so it was a real lesson in being open to developing skills in areas you had previously assumed would not be for you. I often say this when I'm talking to young people - just because you’re not good at maths at school doesn’t mean you won't thrive in a technical role later in your life!” Jenny is motivated to develop projects that tackle climate change and challenge the way our economy and energy system work. One of the projects she is currently involved in is Bright Green Future, an environmental leadership programme for Black, Asian and minority ethnic young people. The students give her a lot of hope for the future – and sometimes she gets to join their annual summer school, which takes place back at CAT!