Introducing… Leila Fortunato, Energy Garden’s Change-making Education Lead
Meet Leila
Leila is a mother, grandmother, educator, and community activist based in Hackney. She was a history and geography teacher for 17 years before joining Energy Garden in May 2023 as our Education Lead. She has a big smile, a big heart and a passion for connecting with young people helping them find their way in society.
Leila has been a resident of the historic Banister House Estate in Hackney for almost 30 years. In 2014, she got involved in setting up Banister House Solar, a community energy project that worked with residents to raise money and install solar panels on the estate’s rooftops. At the time, it was the UK’s first first community-owned solar energy project in Hackney and the UK’s largest on social housing. To date, it is still the largest community-owned solar project on social housing in London.
Leila has been a volunteer Director of the project since its inception in 2014. Energy generated by the panels covers the electricity needed to run the communal lifts and lights in the various buildings. The excess electricity is sold to the National Grid which provides a 4% return for each of the residents involved, and a further 20% for a community fund. This fund has been spent on providing youth training groups in the area, support for sufferers of domestic violence, and information about fuel poverty.
Leila brings deep experience and a big smile to lead our education programme
As a mother of three with firsthand experience of fuel poverty, Leila is helping us shape an education programme that not only offers certified training, but also intersectional education, tailored mentoring, and career support for young Londoners. Read more about Energy Garden’s education programmes here.
Leila said: “A lot of the young people we work with need a lot of support. We had one young person who lacked confidence and struggled to speak to others in a group setting. He came to us every week where he learned skills and gained confidence and self-belief. At the end, he read out a poem in front of an audience at his graduation.
“We had another young woman who works in the Somalian community and wanted to raise awareness about what can be done to address fuel poverty.
“We’re helping people make something of their lives. We help them understand that they do have a voice and an agency in their own lives that they can use in their communities.”
Leila is also the founder of Black British Studies
Black British Studies is an online platform that offers flexible courses and bespoke webinars and workshops that explore Black British History, with the aim of promoting greater understanding and appreciation of different cultures. Leila is acutely aware of how little Black presence there is in the English curriculum and strongly feels that this is a key contributor to our unequal society.
”I know as a Black British woman what discrimination and prejudice in the UK feels like. Whether it be being racially targeted at school or being chastised for speaking out against injustices in the workplace. My experiences have taught me that incomplete historical knowledge about British History and lack of positive Black representation often leads to stereotyping and racial bias.”
If you are interested in knowing more about Black British History or want to improve equality in your workplace and personal life, check out Black British Studies. And follow @black_british_studies on Instagram for regular updates.
More Leila content!
We can always hear more from Leila. Check her out in these features:
READ: Banister House Solar Case Study | Power to Change
LISTEN: Community Energy Interview with Leila by Utopia Dispatch: Learn about Leila’s journey to becoming Director of the UK’s largest community energy project
WATCH: We the Power: The Future of Energy is Community-Owned | Film by Patagonia | Leila features at 11:48
If you’d like to find out more about any of the topics covered here, start the conversation- you can reach Leila by email on leila@energygarden.org.uk. And of course, consider signing up your school for a workshop led by Leila, or sharing our youth training programme with a young person in your community!