My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions
1
First Name
Last Name
Pronouns
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Initiative Title
Green-Roof Bike Shed Southwark (Surrey Square Park School SSQ)
Lead Organization Name
Southwark Council
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1963
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.southwark.gov.uk/
Initiative Stage
Growth (You’ve moved past the very first activities; working towards the next level of expansion.)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
To create a secure scooter and cycle parking area by installing a green-roof cycle shed within the Surrey Square Primary School (SSQ) grounds, encouraging active travel while helping to reduce the impacts of poor air pollution and climate change.
Challenge Focus: What topic does your initiative most directly relate to?
Climate action through awareness and engagement
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Increased Traffic/congestion/poor air quality around schools: raised levels of harmful pollutants e.g., nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) + pm2.5. Air pollution contributes to short-term health impacts, including asthma attacks + long-term health effects. -Children are vulnerable to air pollution due to faster breathing rates/developing organs/immune systems. -Addressing this requires education on air pollution, alongside green infrastructure/improvements to the built environment. Health outcomes: Low levels of physical activity/active travel (walking/scooting/cycling) to school are negatively affecting children’s health. A culture shift is needed to make active travel more viable/attractive, as many pupils/parents/teachers lack confidence in bringing bicycles/scooters to school. Findings from Southwark’s Air Quality Audit (SSQ) found that the single shared cycle storage unit for pupils/staff is over-utilised/demonstrating a need for additional secure cycle storage e.g., green bike shed. Climate Resilience: Southwark is vulnerable to climate change - SWK faces significant risks from overheating/flooding/water scarcity, particularly in the north of the borough with higher rates of deprivation. Its dense urban environment exacerbates the heat island effect/making it susceptible to extreme temperatures. Southwark is predicted to experience warmer wetter winters/hotter drier summers.
Your approach: How are you addressing the problem outlined above? How are you using the power of sport and physical activity to build awareness, shift behavior, and enable sustainable participation for all in response to the climate crisis? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Southwark has a robust history of monitoring air quality in/around our schools. We have piloted interventions inside schools: - Green screens - Provision of cyclist/pedestrian/scooter training - Cycle to work schemes for staff - Asthma monitoring and schools project - School Climate Action Plans Interventions near schools: - Introducing/extending school streets - Improving walking/cycling routes etc. - Addition of anti-idling areas - Creation of parklets Addressing the Problem: Installing a green-all-weather cycle/scooter storage shelter in SSQ will provide a secure/weather-resistant space for students (staff/parents) to store their bicycles/scooters. This will encourage more children to cycle/scoot to school reducing traffic congestion/air pollution outside the school/fostering a culture of physical activity/active travel among students/contributing to their overall well-being/academic performance. Using Sport/Physical Activity to build climate awareness/resilience: By providing secure/weather-resistant storage, more children will be motivated to cycle or scoot to school, promoting physical activity/healthy habits: Adapting the bike sheds to include green infrastructure elements e.g., green roofs/planters, will help mitigate urban heat island effects/enhance local biodiversity/act as carbon sinks. These features also support rainwater management/reducing the risk of flooding/improving resilience to climate change impact whilst offering educational opportunities to promote environmental stewardship etc. These measures demonstrate a commitment to sustainability/climate resilience/fostering a healthier/more environmentally conscious community.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
The green-roof installation supports Southwark’s School Superzones’ initiative to improve air quality/tackling childhood obesity around schools/dovetailing with Go! London fund's objectives to drive climate awareness/build sustainability capacity/engage young people/enabling climate-resilient participation in physical activity - creating healthier/sustainable environments for the school children/including safe/active travel. Co-Production: Southwark prioritises co-production as foundational for all services/projects. We will ensure this project is run in partnership/adapted with children/young people as active participants/experts-by-experience. A recent engagement project saw students at Surrey Square School participate in co-development workshops. Students drew inspiration from a local artist and produced artwork to assist in the design of the green bike sheds. We empowered children/young adults by creating a sense of shared ownership over the installation of the green-bike sheds via: -Children/young person engaged with their schoolteachers and the external design practitioner Kieli Bibbings (Graphic Designer) through the facilitation of workshop sessions. -Students/young people exercised choice/personalised insights via group/1-2-1s/community activities which were designed to promote wellbeing/creativity and climate awareness. - Findings from these workshops suggested the students/young people wanted green cycle sheds. - Outcomes: students crafted persuasive letters to their school's senior leadership team, planned/designed the new area using art/illustrations, co-producing the name of the area. The green-roof idea originated from co-production. If successful, this project will reinforce the importance of empowering students’ voices to enforce +ve change.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in raising climate awareness, shifting behaviors, or reducing environmental impact or harm? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had¡, and/or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Raising climate awareness Installing a green-roof cycle shelter will help raise climate awareness by providing a visible, everyday example of climate friendly design. It shows pupils how sustainable features, like green roofs that support biodiversity, absorb rainwater, and reduce temperatures, can be built into ordinary structures, helping them connect environmental issues with real actions they can see and use at school. Behavioural Change The all-weather storage provides secure/visible/weather-resistant facilities that increase confidence among pupils/parents/staff to choose cycling or scooting over car travel. These changes also foster daily physical activity/supporting children’s physical health/wellbeing/readiness to learn. Output: intervention will influence travel behaviour of pupils/their families each day, with benefits compounding over time as active travel becomes normalised. Monitoring Outcomes - Pre and Post installation cycle/scooter counts, will capture information about the usage e.g., co-led with school pupils/volunteers we will partner with the Council’s Active Travel Team to coordinate and complete ‘hands up’ survey counts to assess how children travelled to school (~annually). -We will conduct focus groups with pupils where we aim to understand the qualitative impact of the green-roofs -Conduct focus groups with teachers – including the head teacher to understand the impact. -Southwark schools who have installed green bike-shed roofs report that the numbers of bikes/scooters have increased evidencing sustainability/success e.g., St Francis staff; say they are ‘already making wonderful use of the new facilities. The shelter has made such a positive difference/especially for our older children.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Innovation: What is different about our initiative? Our initiative goes beyond installing additional cycle parking; it reimagines/unifies school infrastructure as a climate, health and behaviour-change intervention. Unlike traditional bike sheds that simply provide storage, our green-roof cycle/scooter shelter at SSQ integrates active travel infrastructure with green design. The innovation lies in combining: - Secure/all-weather storage (tackling confidence/safety barriers to active travel) - Green roof systems (reducing urban heat/improving rainwater management/supporting biodiversity) - Co-production with pupils (shifting power/embedding climate leadership in young people) Most existing solutions address these challenges separately e.g., delivering Bikeability training/installing school streets/or adding cycle storage as standalone measures. By transforming everyday school infrastructure into a visible, climate-positive asset, we are shifting norms. The bike shed becomes: A daily behavioural cue encouraging cycling/scooting A living classroom demonstrating climate adaptation in action A symbol of student-led environmental change The green-roof concept itself originated from pupil workshops/meaning the innovation is not just technical but democratic. Children designed/named and advocated for the space/writing persuasive letters to senior leaders - shifting young people from passive recipients of climate education to active co-creators of climate solutions. We are not simply adding infrastructure — we are embedding climate resilience into school culture, creating a replicable model where active travel/environmental design and youth voice work together to tackle air pollution, physical inactivity and climate vulnerability at their root.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Southwark Council Southwark Council will: Serve as the grant holder and provide financial oversight and assurance. Draft and issue the funding agreement to the school, including monitoring and reporting requirements. Provide project liaison support between the school and the delivery partner as needed. Support communications and publicity relating to the initiative, ensuring alignment with borough-wide sustainability objectives. Monitor delivery milestones and collect evaluation data to report back to the funder. This ensures appropriate governance while enabling the school to lead operational delivery. School Stakeholders (Surrey Square Park Primary School) The School’s SLT will take primary responsibility for on-the-ground project delivery. Their responsibilities include: Confirming final shed specifications and placement in consultation with pupils, staff, and Parent Council. Managing site access, safeguarding compliance, and scheduling installation to minimise disruption to learning. Coordinating internal communications to parents and carers to promote uptake and awareness of the new facilities. Overseeing day-to-day project management and sign-off of completed works. Embedding the green-bike sheds within the school’s wider sustainability and active travel strategy (e.g., Bikeability training, eco-committee engagement, and travel plan initiatives). The school will also contribute in-kind staff time for project coordination, supervision during installation, and ongoing maintenance oversight, demonstrating institutional commitment beyond the grant funding. Delivery Partner: Green Roof Sheds Limited Green Roof Sheds Limited has already undertaken a site visit and prepared preliminary designs and costings, demonstrating early-stage commitment to the project. Subject to funding confirmation, they will: Finalise technical designs in collaboration with the school and Council. Manufacture and install the green-bike sheds in line with safety, durability, and environmental standards. Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations throughout installation. Provide warranties and maintenance guidance to support long-term sustainability of the asset. Their prior engagement reduces project risk and supports swift mobilisation following award. Shared Commitment and Collaboration This initiative is built on a collaborative delivery model: Strategic oversight and accountability – Southwark Council Operational leadership and long-term stewardship – Surrey Square Park Primary School Technical expertise and physical delivery – Green Roof Sheds Limited Each partner has a clearly defined yet complementary role, with financial, operational, and technical responsibilities distributed appropriately. The school’s ownership of the asset, the Council’s governance framework, and the delivery partner’s specialist expertise collectively ensure the initiative is deliverable, sustainable, and embedded within broader active travel and environmental objectives.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your organization up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
Viability/Scalability -Short-Term: delivery SSQ will demonstrate the effectiveness of combining active travel infrastructure/shade/shelter/green design to deliver health/equality/climate benefits. -Long-Term:the ambition is to standardise approaches across school environments/Southwark/particularly in areas vulnerable to climate change. -Sustainability: the project will augment the existing Superzones programme/overseen by the Public Health team, with active involvement from school leadership/the Council’s Climate Change/transport teams. This partnership approach ensures strong local buy-in/alignment with strategic priorities/access to the technical expertise needed to deliver high-quality/low-maintenance infrastructure. The Council’s Climate Change Programme Manager is already supporting the project/helping ensure alignment with Southwark’s Climate Resilience/Adaptation Strategy. -The project is supported through robust design/early agreement on maintenance responsibilities/infrastructure delivering multiple co-benefits/strengthening the case for continued investment. Learning from the initial sites will help refine design/costs/delivery processes/creating a replicable model. -Scalability:generating evidence of health/climate/behaviour-change impacts (e.g., monitoring counts/focus groups), will build the foundation/inform future interventions for wider rollout across SWK.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/ to grow.
Short term Apr-May (0–3 months) • Confirm funding allocation and project governance within the School Superzones programme. • Formalise project scope with SSQ Primary School, including final agreement on locations, design requirements and maintenance responsibilities. • Engage the Council’s Climate Change Programme Manager and transport colleagues to ensure infrastructure design aligns with Southwark’s Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy and active travel standards. Medium term: May-Jul 2026 (3–6 months) • Finalise designs for all-weather bike and scooter storage and shade and shelter structures, including green infrastructure elements such as green roofs or planters. • Complete procurement and appoint suppliers and contractors. • Secure any necessary permissions, health and safety checks, and planning approvals. Delivery phase: commencing Aug 2026 (6–9 months) • Install all-weather cycle and scooter storage at SSQ Primary School. • Install shade and shelter structures at SSQ Primary School. • Complete site inspections and handover, ensuring infrastructure is safe, accessible and fit for purpose. Evaluation and learning (9–12 months) • Monitor early outcomes, including uptake of active travel, use of outdoor spaces, and feedback from pupils, parents and staff. • Capture learning on costs, delivery timelines, maintenance needs and behaviour change impacts. Growth and scaling (12 months+) • Use learning and evidence from the pilot sites to refine the model. • Develop a scalable delivery framework to support rollout across additional Southwark Superzones and schools. • Explore further funding and partnerships to embed the approach into borough-wide school and climate resilience programmes.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details (LINK).
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding Participation in the 8-week capacity-building programme will bring significant value to the initiative; however, funding support will ensure robust/meaningful engagement alongside existing delivery commitments. Should we be successful in being awarded/unlocking additional funding in this challenge we have plans/scope to increase our green-infrastructure expansion e.g., green walls on the school exterior to negate particulate/NO2 pollution, green roof shade shelters for school play zones to provide safe play in increasingly hotter summer climates SSQ experiences as a result of global warming. Though the initial quote issued from Green Bike Sheds Limited exceeds the £10,000 e.g., total cost for one 10 x Cycle Green Roof Shelter with integral locking bars for bikes = £13,110. However, as the co-production piece has already taken place, the main capital costs quoted by Green Roof Shelter will be as follows: PROPOSAL #1 from Green Roof Shelters (available upon request) Item 1: One 10 x Cycle Green Roof Shelter with integral locking bars for bikes Description: Removal of railings raised gravel area and existing cycle stands (including raised concrete footing) ahead of delivery. Cost: 10 Cycle Open = £10,280 + VAT Item 2: 1 x Delivery = Delivery/installation to SSQ. Cost: £645 + VAT Total = £13,110 Southwark Council have emergency access to a £5,000 Air Quality Starter Grant built off a recent recommendation from our Air Quality Audit which will be used to support the project delivery costs illustrating our commitment to the green investment. Consequently, The Go! London Open Innovation Sport for Climate Action fund will vastly improve our ability to mobilise and address the pressing need identified in the above application. Based off the initial proposal plans from Green Roof Shelters Ltd, the identified space can fit 2 additional sheds (should we be deemed eligible to advance to additional phases of Go! London’s award process).
If you selected “Other”, please specify below.
We are excited about the Go! London Open Innovation Challenge – Sport for Climate Action Fund because it directly aligns with Southwark Council’s ambition to create a healthier, fairer and greener borough for our children. At Southwark Council, we recognise that climate action and public health are inseparable. The Challenge presents a unique opportunity to combine both using sport and active travel as powerful tools to reduce emissions, improve air quality, and embed lifelong healthy habits among young people. Our proposal to install a green roof cycle-shed at Surrey Square Primary School is a practical, visible and scalable intervention. It addresses multiple urgent issues: Reducing traffic congestion and harmful NO₂ and PM2.5 emissions around school gates Tackling childhood inactivity by making cycling and scooting safer and more attractive Building climate literacy alongside tangible green infrastructure Responding directly to evidence from the Southwark Air Quality Audit showing current cycle storage is over-subscribed We are particularly excited because the Challenge recognises that innovation does not always mean high-tech, it can mean smart, place-based design that shifts culture. A secure, green-roofed cycle-shed is more than storage; it is a statement that active travel is valued, safe and climate-positive. It builds confidence among pupils, parents and staff, helping to create the culture shift we know is needed. This Challenge also allows us to demonstrate how schools can become community climate hubs — modelling sustainable infrastructure, reducing exposure to air pollution, and embedding sport and physical activity into daily routines rather than treating them as optional extras. For Southwark, this is not a standalone project. It is a pilot that can inform a wider borough-wide roll-out of green cycle infrastructure at schools most affected by congestion and poor air quality. The Fund offers the catalytic support needed to test, measure and scale an intervention with clear environmental, health and social impact. We are excited because this Challenge provides the platform to turn a local need into a replicable climate action model - helping children breathe cleaner air, move more, and grow up in a borough that prioritises both planetary and public health.
