Derbyshire Eco Centre

sustainable development

climate change

The centre, costing nearly £1.3 million, will be managed by the Adult Community Education Service and be the county hub for courses and activities focussing on education for sustainable development (ESD) and help to promote the climate change agenda.

The Eco Centre and surrounding landscaping will be designed and constructed to gain an ‘excellent’ standard from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Measure (BREEAM).

It will be constructed using sustainable methods, materials and technology including a living green roof, rainwater harvesting, air source heat pump and solar panels. 

The construction of the building will promote sustainability in its widest sense to learners, partners, organisations, community groups and the wider general public. This will be the first Adult Community Learning centre with an ‘ESD’ remit in the region and as such will provide and important exemplar for others.

The Eco Centre will provide an all weather facility to deliver heritage building skills, sustainable technologies, rural crafts, the arts and environment and energy saving/renewable energy courses to adults and younger people.

The facility will include:

a large multi purpose area for practical work in heritage building skills, renewable energy, arts and crafts
an adaptable ‘clean’ teaching space for theory, meetings and lectures equipped with ICT network
an outside area with canopy for practical work.
Office base
community garden
social/exhibition area
toilet and wash/shower facilities.

Programme of activities

During the coming year, whilst the building is being constructed, the Eco Centre team, is planning to:

Build on the good reputation of College of the Peak to offer dry stone walling & heritage building courses, including vocational courses.
Extend the programme of craft and art courses, using recycled and natural materials.
Support Adult and Community Education Centres to become ‘greener’ and to offer more sustainability courses.
Develop a programme of sustainable building courses, including visits to the Eco Centre site whilst it is being built
Work with the schools in the Wirksworth and Matlock area to make the building of the Eco Centre a ‘learning opportunity’.

Once the Eco Centre is completed in the summer of 2010 it will gradually increase its offer to include:

renewable energy and reducing energy use
how to reduce, reuse and recycle (almost anything!)
local food production
new technologies
using IT to cut travel costs.

The Eco Centre will become a hub for sustainability across the county:

To teach people and organisations how to reduce their carbon footprint.
Offering information and holding events and celebrations as well as running courses.

The Eco Centre will work with:

families and young people
vulnerable people and special needs groups
community groups and the voluntary sector
local authority staff
businesses and specialists
everyone.

For further information please contact Cathy Cooke, Eco centre manager cathy.cooke@derbyshire.gov.uk.