Black Mountains College

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Black Mountains College Connecting nature, art, science and technology to transform society for future generations. We believe our future can be positive and sustainable.

Creating a future in which nature and human societies thrive through outdoor learning with positive social and ecological outcomes. Black Mountains College was founded as a direct response to the climate and ecological emergency.

Education is central to understanding our current predicament and preparing for a different kind of future. Everyone has the right to a stable climate, and we must learn to live within planetary boundaries. Our ways of living and working must respect the diversity of life on earth and regenerate cultures and ecosystems. Addressing the root causes of climate and ecological breakdown means grappling with questions of justice and equity, of exploitation and domination of nature and humans alike. Building an ecological future based on the finite resources of the planet necessarily involves tackling issues of equity and distribution of those resources. More than ever the universal human right to education is vital to allow us to understand and prepare for the changes to come.

Our Courses:

Our vocational courses are free, fully funded by the Welsh government. We offer:
- Level 1 NVQ Land-Based Studies
- Level 2 NVQ Regenerative Horticulture
- Level 2 NVQ Nature Restoration
- Level 2 NVQ Forestry & Arboriculture
- Level 2 NVQ Sustainable Coppicing & Greenwood Trades
- Level 3 NVQ Sustainable Coppicing & Greenwood Trades
- Level 3 NVQ Regenerative Horticulture
- Level 3 Traineeship Regenerative Farming & Agroecology
- BA (Hons) Sustainable Futures: Arts, Ecology and Systems Change.

Courses take place at either our Talgarth or Treherbert site.

Our degree programme BA (Hons) Sustainable Futures: Arts, Ecology and Systems Change, has been carefully designed in partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University to foster confidence, creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence. An interdisciplinary programme combining a grounding in theories of change, creative practice based on artistic methods, ecological thinking, political economy and sociotechnical systems.

We also offer a variety of short courses in practical disciplines, and more in-depth explorations of system transformation. We hold one-day workshops, residential courses and online webinars. Our 120-acre farm campus near Talgarth in the Brecon Beacons National Park aims to be a model of innovative lifelong learning, a catalyst for a local circular economy and a pioneer of agro-ecological practice.

Contact us on [email protected] or visit our website www.blackmountainscollege.uk for more info!

Finding inspiration in the natural world🌿As part of Welcome Week, our new degree students visited Cardiff Metropolitan U...
17/10/2026

Finding inspiration in the natural world🌿

As part of Welcome Week, our new degree students visited Cardiff Metropolitan University’s School of Art & Design to meet printmaker and educator Tom Martin and Technician Demonstrator Laura Jones.

Tom shared how he forages materials from local landscapes and places he travels, transforming them into pigments and artworks that capture a sense of place and memory.

Laura introduced students to the campus’s Sustainable Growing Futures spaces, including the Botanical Dye Garden, and shared her work creating natural paints and dyes. Students also discovered the Pigment Library - a fascinating map documenting where foraged materials have been found across the UK.

An inspiring exploration of the connections between creativity, place and the natural world!🎨

Read more about our degree course here - https://blackmountainscollege.uk/study/higher-education/

Come and see where your future could take you! ⭐Join our Higher Education Campus Tour and discover a different kind of e...
16/10/2026

Come and see where your future could take you! ⭐

Join our Higher Education Campus Tour and discover a different kind of education - where arts, ecology and systems change come together🌿

Explore our teaching spaces, meet the team and find out what studying Sustainable Futures could look like for you!

🔗 Book your place: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/blackmountainscollege/2244346

Shwmae Su’mae Day! 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 A national day to encourage people to start conversations using the informal Welsh greeting ...
15/10/2026

Shwmae Su’mae Day! 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 A national day to encourage people to start conversations using the informal Welsh greeting shwmae (south) or su'mae (north) to promote the Welsh language.

At Black Mountains College, we’re proud to be a Welsh institution, rooted in the landscapes, culture and communities of Wales.

Our Welsh name, Coleg y Mynydd Du, reflects our deep connection to the Black Mountains and their rich history. We’re proud to retain this traditional local name, which has been confirmed as the recommended form by the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office. You can read more about the history behind our name on our website: https://blackmountainscollege.uk/about/

We’re also honest about where we are on our Welsh language journey: we’re not currently a bilingual college, and Welsh isn’t widely spoken in our day-to-day work. Through our Change in Practice sessions, we’re creating opportunities to learn Welsh, and we're in the final stages of making our website bilingual!

This Shwmae Su’mae Day, we’re delighted to share a student-led event celebrating the Welsh language and the place we call home, open to students and alumni:

Join the Cymraeg group for a leisurely walk and place-name tour of Talgarth!

📅 Tuesday 20th October
🕟 4.30pm
📍 Starting at the Old School, Talgarth

Discover how to pronounce the Welsh place names we see every day, and explore some of the history behind them. It’s a lovely opportunity to connect with the language, landscape and heritage of our local area.

🗓️ Dates for your diary! 🌟Our first Open Days of the new year:📍 Talgarth Open Day – 6th March - https://blackmountainsco...
11/10/2026

🗓️ Dates for your diary! 🌟

Our first Open Days of the new year:

📍 Talgarth Open Day – 6th March - https://blackmountainscollege.uk/events/discovery-day-talgarth/
📍 Treherbert Open Day – 20th March - https://blackmountainscollege.uk/events/treherbert-open-day/

Come along and discover how we’re reimagining education through nature, creativity and climate action.

Explore our campuses, meet the team, find out more about our courses and discover how you could become part of a community working towards a more sustainable future🌍

🔗 Find out more and book your free place via the link in our bio!

09/10/2026

A brilliant day in Nant Saerbren at our Treherbert campus!💧

Our Nature Restoration students spent the day surveying river invertebrates and assessing water quality. They found that the river was full of life! 🐛 From Adicella reducta (cased caddis) to insects still hatching in the unusually warm weather.

Huge thanks to A River for all and Riverfly Partnership for a fantastic day 🍂

What kind of future do we want for Talgarth, and how can we create it together? Come along to Talgarth Future Connection...
07/10/2026

What kind of future do we want for Talgarth, and how can we create it together?

Come along to Talgarth Future Connections on the 2nd November 5-8pm for an inspiring evening of creativity, conversation and community action, with opportunities to develop ideas into real projects. The event will bring together local residents, community groups, students and businesses.

Refreshments and childcare available, booking essential!

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/blackmountainscollege1/2436260

A glorious day on the farm! 🌸Our student enterprise bed of edible flowers is looking spectacular - buzzing with colour, ...
03/10/2026

A glorious day on the farm! 🌸

Our student enterprise bed of edible flowers is looking spectacular - buzzing with colour, life and plenty of happy insects. 🐝🦋

Today was a classic volunteer day: we hauled the caterpillar tunnel plastic back over as it makes its seasonal migration downhill! We also cleared some of the tomato plants and got busy planting winter salads - wasabi frills, golden frills, mizuna and mustard leaves. 🥬

For some of our lovely degree students, it was their very first experience of planting. Thankfully, they had plenty of experienced hands around them to share the knowledge and lend a hand🤝

A wonderfully positive volunteer day, full of learning, teamwork and growing together!

You can visit the farm, as part of our next Higher Education Campus Tour 21st October: https://blackmountainscollege.uk/events/higher-education-campus-tour-october/

We’re pleased to share a podcast featuring Hattie, one of our degree students, in conversation with Professor Jules Pret...
02/10/2026

We’re pleased to share a podcast featuring Hattie, one of our degree students, in conversation with Professor Jules Pretty for his series Heat! Camera! Action!

🎙️ Hattie reflects on her journey at Black Mountains College, exploring the interdisciplinary nature of her studies and the connections between arts, systems thinking and nature.

She also shares memories and lessons from the market garden, reflecting on the past two growing seasons and the many ways that growing together can shape our learning, relationships and connection to the natural world.

A wonderful opportunity to hear first-hand how learning at BMC brings together people, place, creativity and nature. 🌿

🎧 Listen to Hattie's conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcXUWqaBIeQ

Explore more about the degree at our next Open Day - 10th October - https://blackmountainscollege.uk/events/higher-education-open-day/

What if Freshers’ Week was about more than freshers? 🌿To mark the start of the new academic year, the Centre for Rites o...
01/10/2026

What if Freshers’ Week was about more than freshers? 🌿

To mark the start of the new academic year, the Centre for Rites of Passage began a new pilot with us, bringing rites of passage into student life across all three years of the degree.

Returning students marked the new year on the land, while new students took part in a two-day threshold experience — arriving, connecting and beginning to find their place at BMC.

🗣️ One fresher wrote:

“This experience gave me faith in myself and others. BMC and the Centre for Rites of Passage have provided a world-class Freshers that gives you a grounding and presence that is genuinely life-changing.”

At BMC, students learn about change in the world. Rites of passage makes space to practise meeting change in our own lives: listening through uncertainty, noticing their inner terrain, and staying connected to one another and the land. This pilot gives BMC students practices and resilience they can carry beyond the programme throughout their degree 🙌

This is just the beginning. We’ll keep listening to the students as the work unfolds👏

A huge thanks to Miriam Joy Jones and Israh Goodall for facilitating ⭐

Read more about the experience: https://blackmountainscollege.uk/rites-of-passage-at-bmc/

Want to experience a different kind of Freshers'? Join our degree programme! For more information, visit - https://blackmountainscollege.uk/study/higher-education/

🌿 Travel bursaries available! 🌿 At Black Mountains College, our rural location is part of the magic – nature and the Wel...
26/09/2026

🌿 Travel bursaries available! 🌿

At Black Mountains College, our rural location is part of the magic – nature and the Welsh countryside are woven into our teaching. But that also means that our campus can be a bit harder to reach, and we know that travel costs can be high.

To ensure everyone can access our unique setting, we’re offering travel bursaries for those exploring our degree programme - BA(Hons) Sustainable Futures: Arts, Ecology and Systems Change.

You can claim £40 toward your travel costs when you visit us for:

🍃 HE Open Day 10th October
❄️ HE Campus Tour 16th December

For more information and to apply: https://ow.ly/xQLs50ZRusx

Address

Unit 3 Great House Barn, New Street
Talgarth
LD30AH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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