Penryn College pupils have helped open a new £30 million environmental research institute on the Tremough Campus.

They were part of a group of more than 120 schoolchildren who formally opened The Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus.

As part of a week of activities to celebrate the opening of the ESI, students from local schools enjoyed hands-on workshops that demonstrated the institute’s research in action.

Workshops included imagining a Cornwall of the future, exploring gold resources as well as tracking and tracing Cornish wildlife.

Inspiring the children to consider a career in research was an important aspect of the day, particularly because environmental change is “likely to become increasingly difficult to manage in the future,” said the institute’s director, professor Kevin Gaston.

“It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the local students as they got to grips with the work that the ESI does and learnt about how they will benefit from environmental research in the future,” he said.

“Although we have only just officially opened the building, the ESI team has been operating since November 2012 and has already assisted nearly 300 businesses in Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and beyond by translating research into innovative business practice.”

Housed in one of the most environmentally sustainable buildings in the UK, the ESI offers light filled lab space and collaborative working areas.

Outside in the courtyard, nectar-rich wild flowers provide a valuable resource to local pollinators such as bees and bat boxes are installed high in the walls.

On the roof, solar panels provide electricity while energy transfer systems reduce elements of the building’s electrical demand by more than 90 per cent.

Chris Pomfret, chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership, said the ESI will provide a “tremendous boost for the region.”

“The institute, enabled by a financial contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, has already attracted 23 postgraduate students, research funding of £7 million and leading researchers from around the world have already filled 21 of the 23 academic posts.

“Importantly, the ESI has a clear intent to work with Cornish businesses large and small to help develop sustainable innovations which will help drive the economic growth Cornwall needs and wants.”