What They Said: Reflections from Our 2025 Cohort 2 Graduates
Congratulations to an inspiring group of young 18-24 year olds who graduated from Energy Garden’s paid AQA certified 3 month sustainability Youth Training programme in October!
Our 14 trainees worked hard to push themselves beyond their comfort zone, developing a wide range of skills and abilities, from public speaking to horticulture and solar installation. They engaged in place-based learning about topics such as urban air quality, nature based solution, permaculture and biodiversity ingardens like Brondesbury Park and Ladbroke Grove as well as participating in community tree planting at Canonbury station.
“I've been able to push myself beyond my comfort zone because to the warm and encouraging staff at Energy Garden. For instance, I wasn't very comfortablespeaking up or expressing my opinions when I first started. My confidence has grown, though, because the team supported me in speaking out and made sure my ideas were taken into consideration.”
– Anonymous
“I really enjoyed using gardening tools and discovering how each garden grows a unique variety of fruits and plants, many of which are harvested and shared with the public. It was fascinating to see how these green spaces can thrive even next to busy train stations!“
– Annabel
Careers was a particular focus for this cohort with many of the trainees actively looking to secure future employment in fields related to sustainability and or the energyindustry in post graduate positions. Trainees were very earnest in taking the opportunity to engage fully with the one-to-one CV writing session and subsequent support. The professionalism and careers training sessions helped them to further develop their interview skills, understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the workplace whilst also providing references and follow up one to one interview support for roles they applied to. We are very pleased to be able to congratulate Huda who hassecured a role as a Comms and Community Engagement officer at a community energy & environmental & social regeneration organisation; and Temi who will soon be starting as a Club development manager at an Energy organisation.
“Being able to get feedback on my CV was very helpful, especially in this chaotic job market and also being told about various green careers/ pathways was very interesting. Also being exposed to other EG events, will definitely be useful in interviews and making myself desirable in the sustainability sector.”
– Anonymous
“Taking part in projects that combine gardening with renewable energy has given me practical experience I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and I’ve learned how to work well with others, manage tasks, and take responsibility. It’s also shown me how the skills I’m building can be applied in the real world.. Most importantly, the experience has helped me realise my own strengths and given me something meaningful to talk about in applications and interviews. “
– Anonymous
This cohort enhanced their technical skills and knowledge whilst improving their team work through commuter surveying and solar panel and battery box making, but more than that their eyes were open to the energy markets and connections to politics, policy and media.
In the words of Annabel,
“I learnt how incumbent utilities, which are established companies that dominate the energy supply market, use lobbying to shape rules in their favour, like Spain’s “sun tax”, which actually penalised small solar producers while protecting large suppliers.
It was also surprising to learn that energy policy is often intentionally complex and opaque, making it hard for the public to stay informed. That made me realise how important it is for people to treat energy less as a commodity, and to stay engaged, so that together, we can push for democratically owned energy systems and fairer policies”.
For Sultan the module on fuel poverty and energy efficiency was important because
“it opened my eyes in a different way. Looking at fuel poverty was quite shocking – I hadn’t realised how much things like home insulation, income and the way we pay bills can affect whether a household is classed as fuel poor. When I lookedat my own bills, I realised I could make simple changes – like switching tariffs, paying by Direct Debit or using a smart meter to save money and energy. It also made me think about daily habits, like not leaving things on standby and washing clothes at lower temperatures. “
Having the opportunity to work with such ambitious and talented young individuals has meant that Energy Garden was able to offer work experience to a number ofyoung people from this cohort. Huda was selected (with Aanchal from the previous cohort) to speak at the Patagonia Book Launch at our office during the summer and Mekha and Temi represented the young people and communities at a Human Library event with international Energy Executives in October.
It has been hugely rewarding to see how many of our young people have grown in confidence, made new friends, engaged with politicians and members of the business community, and most importantly been open to new experiences and alternative ideas. I am excited to see what the future holds for all our graduates, and wish them every success!
“Generally just feel so happy to have participated and been given this opportunity. Would recommend to anyone interested in this sector or looking to be more involved and connected with their local community. I learnt so much more than I expected to and believe this programme helped me a lot in deciding and guiding my next steps after university.”
– Anonymous
This cohort 2 programme for 2025 has been made possible by funding from Stuart Investors and Patagonia, which we appreciate. We look forward to working with them again in creating more successful programmes in 2026.
– Leila