Training and events
Rethinking retrofit- communities, construction and you
SY Ecofit @Festival of Debate, 7 May ‘24
To retrofit our homes and achieve net zero, we need to deliver at scale and pace. This event aims to discuss how we can engage communities and the construction industry in: rethinking our relationship to the house and integrating retrofit, developing a community-led approach to retrofit, changing the nature of the construction industry, building local skills and developing a circular economy.
About the panel:
Hafsa Omar is the Training Manager at People Powered Retrofit, a not-for-profit based in Manchester offering clear, independent advice and support to help householders plan, procure and deliver their retrofit projects to a high standard. With over 10 years in the education sector and 4 years in supply chain management, Hafsa has extensive experience in skills gap analysis and building and engaging supply networks. She has experience of projects in the private, public and third sector focusing on engagement strategies for a wide range of diverse and underrepresented communities. Not only has she developed these strategies, she’s also played a key part in implementing them and has experience of what works in practice.
Alice Grant is an architect specialising in conservation retrofit at a neighbourhood scale. She is dedicated to developing archetypal solutions and teaching retrofit skills. Currently, she is engaged in Conservation Retrofit projects focused on addressing fuel poverty and energy concerns at the charity Nottingham Energy Partnership. She is the architectural lead for Nottingham Energy Partnership’s Green Meadows project, focused on the strategic retrofit of the Old Meadows Conservation Area- producing tailored retrofit plans and an open source archetype retrofit study. Alice is also an architect at UK Hempcrete’s design practice, Studio Bio, and a board member of Sheffield Community Land Trust.
Eleanor Radcliffe is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, conducting consultancy, research and policy work to implement community wealth building approaches to local economic development. Her work has, among other things, focussed on how energy transition can be used as a catalyst for greater economic democracy – ensuring wealth generated by, and investment driven into, transition activity is retained for the benefit of local people and places.
Past events:
Workshop on air and windtight structures- 18th April ‘24
This workshop, delivered by ParteL (www.partel.co.uk) in collaboration with SY Ecofit, offered a hands-on learning experience about creating structures that are air and windtight.
During this in-person event, participants had the opportunity to interact with industry experts, ask questions, and gain practical knowledge that they can apply to their projects.
Building a future together: retrofit implementation- 23rd February ‘24
This stakeholder engagement event brought together around 60 people working on retrofit implementation including architects, consultants, installers, and involved public sector staff. The event was focused on a consensus building process, based on the question ‘What are practical ways we can work together to grow
and serve the market for retrofit in South Yorkshire?’.
The event report is available here.