Lancaster University
Morecambe Bay Curriculum
Finalist, Next Generation Learning and Skills
About
Morecambe faces two futures: by 2028, Eden Project Morecambe will welcome 500,000 visitors annually, while by 2050 local towns could face twice‑yearly flooding. This urgency inspired teachers to create Morecambe Bay Curriculum (MBC), a home‑grown educational approach, embedding sustainability and place into everyday learning from Early Years to Higher Education. Working with Lancaster and Morecambe College, the Eden Project and the University of Cumbria, Lancaster University has helped build a regional community of practice. In 2020, the institution invested in a partnership team supporting 110 partner schools, teaching 42% of local children.
30+ academics have co‑designed free resources with teachers, while programmes such as the MBC Green Passport explore green careers. 71% of participants now think more often about the environmental impact of daily actions.
MBC is a sector‑leading model of sustainability education, using Morecambe Bay’s unique landscape to build skills, inspire climate action and strengthen the region’s future economy.
Top 3 learnings
1. Building on ‘head, heart, hands’, we identified ways to embed place-based, environmental learning across education.
2. We developed educator-driven co-design model, allowing communities to collaborate and create, whilst celebrating place.
3. How to build network of environmental champions, driven to support children to become change-makers.
SDGs
4. Quality education
| 2026 | |
| Next Generation Learning and Skills | |
| Finalist, UK and Ireland |
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