A whopping 515 tonnes of carbon is saved right here in Manchester each year thanks to a “visionary” decarbonisation scheme.
Manchester’s very-own Science and Industry Museum is currently delivering a sector-leading programme of decarbonisation across its city centre site that is “harnessing green technology” to heat its historic spaces, and the project is aiming to place zero carbon technologies at the heart of the visitor experience, all while creating a sustainable museum for the future.
Work has now started to transform the museum’s environmental sustainability, improve energy efficiency, and lower carbon emissions across the site, supporting its goal to become carbon neutral by 2033 and Greater Manchester’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2038 – which is 12 years ahead of the national target.
The museum says this has been made possible thanks to a £4.3 million award from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
So, how did this revolutionary scheme begin then? And how does it work?
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Well, in the 1800s, a well was constructed in the lower ground floor of the world’s first railway warehouse -the museum’s Grade I-listed 1830 Warehouse – to harness the power of the ground water, and this natural resource is now being utilised by the installation of a new water source heat pump network, which includes boreholes.
Using the natural resource of the ground aquifer and a borehole drilling rig – which is 12 metres tall and weighs 32 tonnes – an extraction borehole is currently being drilled 85 metres into the ground in front of the Grade II-listed Power Hall, and a re-injection borehole is also being drilled in the Lower Yard to a depth of 135 meters.
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The water will then be extracted and directed to the 1830 Warehouse and Power Hall down a network of pipes, where the ground source heat pump will use the water to heat the buildings.
Upgrades to the Power Hall roof include fitting a sustainable form of insulation, which is the size of a premiership football pitch / Credit: Jason Lock / Science and Industry Museum
The museum says a painstaking exercise of temporarily removing the listed cobbles is currently underway, allowing for pipes and cables to be fitted in new trenches underground, and that all the work on this historic site is being delivered with care and attention by working with specialists to ensure that the heritage of the buildings and the public spaces are preserved.
Other environmental measures currently being undertaken at the museum include a new electric boiler, and upgrades to the Power Hall roof and windows – including fitting a sustainable form of insulation, which is the size of a premiership football pitch.
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All the work the museum is delivering aims to save 515 tonnes of carbon per year, site wide.
“This is a visionary project where the original and modern meet,” explains Sally MacDonald – Director of the Science and Industry Museum.
“We want to create a sustainable museum for the future and inspire our visitors, the future generations of engineers and innovators – with the story of the next industrial revolution, powered by green energy.
The scheme is turning the Power Hall into a landmark symbol of the past, present, and future of industry / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
“The museum includes the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station and the world’s first railway goods warehouse in the heart of the world’s first industrial city, alive with science and innovation today.”
Edward Clark – Programme Manager at Salix – added: “”We are extremely excited about the project works taking place in the Science and Industry Museum, including the series of building upgrades taking place in the Grade II listed Power Hall [and] the installation of a new substation is a key milestone within this project, which results in increased carbon savings.
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“The new green technology will be on display in the Power Hall for visitors to see alongside the Historic Working Machinery.”
Featured Image – Jason Lock / Science and Industry Museum
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SIR Kevin Sinfield among list of local names officially recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours 2026
Danny Jones
While many individuals were already public knowledge, we’re made up to hear that SIR Kevin Sinfield has now finally received his long-overdue knighthood, and he’s not the only recognisable local and/or beloved famous face to have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list for 2026.
There are so many worthy names on the list, but it goes without saying that the ‘Sir Kev’ campaign is one that countless have been flying the flag for rather high over the past few years.
Sinfield, 45, is not only a rugby league and England legend, but he has warmed hearts across the country and beyond through his superhuman ‘7 in 7’ ultramarathon efforts on behalf of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) in recent times, all in memory of his old teammate and best friend: the late, great Rob Burrow.
Following his 2014 MBE, OBE in 2021, and CBE in ’23, we struggle to think of anyone more deserving of the accolade than the Oldham native, to be honest; here he is talking about the great privilege earlier this month:
Hero, legend, inspiration – these words don’t even begin to cut it.
That being said, he’s not the only ex-sportsman with a crucial Greater Manchester connection to have been honoured this year, as former Scotland international and Manchester United player Lou Macari (who still has a chippy in his name right near the ground) has also been made an MBE.
While Sinfield was recognised for services to sport and charity, 77-year-old Macari has been awarded the accolade for his work helping the homeless across not just the North West but all over the country.
Setting up the Macari Foundation back in 2016 and creating vital shelters, fundraising and support schemes – not to mention being involved in various other adjacent charitable initiatives such as the now annual Old Trafford Stadium Sleepout – it’s a cause he’s backed for more than a decade now.
Put quite simply, he’s helped change people’s lives for the better and save them full-stop.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday, 15 June, the Stoke-on-Trent-based, legendary Celtic centre-forward and retired Red was visibly humbled by what could arguably now be his most treasured medal.
Lou Macari has been recognised for his decade-long commitment to a homeless charity in Stoke-on-Trent by being made an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours.
As for other names this year, several Lionesses were also featured as part of the list for 2026, including Euros winners Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo, both of whom also previously played for Manchester City and Man United, respectively.
Fellow WSL stars Michelle Agyemang, Jess Carter, Hannah Hampton and Lauren James also joined the duo, along with a quintet of other national team players who were given MBEs as part of King Charles III’s New Year’s Honours List, with the prior official ceremony taking place last month.
One of those names, most notably for Mancs, was Tyldesley’s very own Ella Toone, another MUWFC star who has also shone under England Women’s manager Sarina Wiegman.
You can find the full Birthday Honours List right HERE.
New Natural History GCSE to be introduced in ‘landmark moment’ for education
Emily Sergeant
A new Natural History GCSE is set to be introduced to the curriculum in the UK in what is being described as a ‘landmark moment’ for education.
Young people will soon be able to grow the knowledge and skills they need for future careers shaped by science, technology and environmental change, as the new Natural History GCSE is now one step closer to being taught in classrooms.
The new qualification will see students study three core areas – habitats and wildlife in the UK, human influence on the natural world, and the study of climate change, biodiversity loss and conservation.
It will also include time outside of the classroom for fieldwork, giving students an opportunity to, quite literally, get their hands dirty and apply their knowledge and skills by studying real habitats in their local area.
The introduction of the Natural History GCSE comes as jobs in sustainable sectors and so-called ‘green careers’ continue to rise in demand, according to the Government – with around 900 UK businesses in nature-related sectors raising £2.8 billion in 2025, supporting 21,000 jobs in total.
A new Natural History GCSE is set to be introduced in the UK in what is a ‘landmark moment’ for education / Credit: Department of Education (Supplied)
Now, with plans to introduce the new subject, a 12-week consultation has been launched to seek views from pupils, parents, teachers, and the green industry on the proposed subject content.
What we do know, however, is that at the heart of the new GCSE is a ‘deep understanding’ of UK habitats and wildlife pupils will find around them.
By learning to use scientific models – such as taxonomic keys and food webs – the GCSE will ask students to understand how habitats form, and how changes on Earth affect forms of wildlife differently, while also learning how the UK’s landscape has changed over time, giving young people the historical context to make sense of changes that are happening today.
The subject content will also examine human influences on the natural world, such as urbanisation, fishing and deforestation, as well as conservation approaches, while exploring how everyday actions – from wildlife-friendly gardens to reduced mowing of roadside verges – can support biodiversity.
“As we move into a world where careers are being increasingly shaped by science, technology and environmental change, it’s crucial young people have the skills for the jobs of tomorrow,” commented Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson.
“This new GCSE will help students build a strong understanding of the natural world, alongside the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience to access careers in some of the UK’s fastest growing sectors.
“With extensive fieldwork built in, the GCSE will also get young people out and about exploring local parks, rivers and more – a critical part of childhood as more and more of our worlds are taken up by screens.”
Emily Sergeant -
24th September 2021 
