• Bowring Park in Knowsley to become a hub for innovation, learning and green skills

• First sustainability campus at England’s oldest municipal golf course

• Liverpool John Moores University, Jaguar Land Rover and Catch22 among early participants

• Supporting Liverpool City Region’s net zero target for 2035

Historic Knowsley landmark Bowring Park is to create the Liverpool City Region’s first sustainability campus aimed at tackling the climate crisis through practical, community-driven solutions.

The park and golf course, managed by regeneration specialists Oneday, has launched the new campus as a hub for local businesses, community groups and educational institutions to collaborate on sustainable practices.

The initiative is a key element of Oneday’s GROW programme, a long-term vision to make Knowsley the UK’s most sustainable borough.

The campus will focus on driving green innovation, offering hands-on training, and embedding sustainability into everyday life – helping meet the Liverpool City Region’s ambitious net zero goal by 2035.

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said:

“We’re delighted to collaborate with partners like Oneday across the city region on sustainability and environmental initiatives. They’re already driving several efforts to make this park greener and transform it into a greater community asset.

“This is a fantastic initiative to bring people together, foster collaboration across the region, and have a meaningful impact on implementing ideas that will help us reach our goal of becoming net zero by 2035.”

Bowring Park became England’s first municipal golf course when it was gifted to Liverpool in 1906.

It has since been taken over by Knowsley Council and is now run by regeneration specialists Oneday, who recently took on a 123-year lease.

Bowring Park and Golf Course has been revitalised with a £3.5m investment and will host a series of green initiatives, including community-led workshops, green skills training, and sustainable business bootcamps.

The campus is already working with partners like Liverpool John Moores University and Jaguar Land Rover to explore new approaches to sustainability in practice.

The campus will also act as a launchpad for practical projects, such as tree recycling programmes, local food initiatives, and renewable energy workshops. By fostering collaboration and innovation, Bowring Park is set to become a beacon of sustainability for the region—showing how communities can lead the way in creating a greener, more sustainable future. 

Artist Shaun Taft at work

Matt Bell, Director of Oneday, said:  

“We all know that we need to be more sustainable but actually doing that is hard. We want to bring all the great minds together – businesses and the public – and admit that we don’t have all the answers. We want to use the park to test, try and experiment so that the city region can become the most sustainable in the country.   

“One reason why we aren’t solving the climate crisis is because there is a lot of negativity and doom-driven messaging. We do need to act quickly, but we need to be positive because the actions are there and if we work together we can actually make things happen.” 

Helen Paton, Head of Fundraising and Corporate Partnerships at Oneday, said: 

“We believe sustainability should be practical, positive, and inclusive. The Sustainability Campus at Bowring Park is about testing ideas and learning together, not just talking about change but making it happen. By connecting people, businesses, and new technologies, we’re building a future where sustainability works for everyone.”

A forest skills workshop at Bowring Park

Natasha Andrews, Service Manager at Catch22, highlighted the campus’s potential: 

“I think for our participants the campus will open up opportunities and training and I hope people come down and see what it is all about, see if they can change career goals, find out what’s in their local area, people growing their own fruit and veg, people who can do voluntary work. I think it is also a good opportunity to upskill people into green energy jobs.”  

The initiative also integrates with GROW’s broader sustainability goals, which include urban greening, reducing food waste, and creating a circular economy that benefits the entire community.”

Dr. Sarah Percival, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, remarked: 

“With the campus they are trying to improve our understanding of sustainability and how we actually put that into practice, especially with businesses. We talk about sustainability a lot but we often we don’t actually know where to start. The Sustainability Academy gave a presentation at the launch in which they gave some guidance and codes of practice.”