The 10-week course at Park Lane College in Leeds offers suggestions on how to cut the amount of carbon dioxide re-leased into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.

Among the ways of lowering an individual’s contribution to global warming are reducing heating bills with better insulation, recycling to allow goods to be produced in a more energy efficient manner and cutting down the use of cars.

The college has set an example, with greenhouses running on power supplied by wind turbines and solar panels.

Students on the pound;66 course will get a chance to examine the science behind man-made climate change.

And they will also learn about more general environmental issues, such as how to encourage wildlife to thrive in gardens.

Horticulture tutor Liz Simpson, who teaches part of the course, said: “It’s very much the buzzword at the moment: people become much more interested in thinking ‘what can I do to reduce my carbon emissions and will my efforts be worthwhile?’

“If enough people take it on board we will all reduce our carbon footprint and collectively we can all make quite a difference.”

Students on the course will calculate their impact on the environment, keep a diary of their lifestyle changes and work out how much difference they have made.

At the end of the course, they receive a certificate to mark their improvement, or have a tree planted in their honour.