North West Football Awards: Carlisle United CST and Komatsu commended

United’s CST were highly commended for their Komatsu Climate Heroes project in the Community Initiative of the Season category.

Community manager James Tose and his team took to the stage at Emirates Old Trafford as their work was praised.

The recognition was earned by a project on sustainability which has involved about 500 school children and involved close ties with Cumbrian forestry firm Komatsu Forest, who are based near Carlisle Airport.

🌟 Community Initiative of the Season - All other Leagues, in association with the @PFA 🌟

Highly commended: Carlisle United Community Sports Trust – Komatsu Climate Heroes.#NWFA2024 | @CUFCCST pic.twitter.com/mfiXCNK2CH

— Armstrong Projects Northwest Football Awards (@NWFAwards) November 25, 2024

Tose, speaking to the News & Star after the presentation in Manchester, spoke of his delight at the award for those involved in the major project.

“It’s fantastic. It’s the first time that we’ve entered the North West Football Awards – it’s part of our strategy to get the good work out there, not just locally but regionally as well,” he said.

“It’s great to get the accolade and recognition for the staff who put all their energy and work into the project.

“It sounds like it was a really close call, and there were seven or eight community initiatives in for the award, and I know there are some fantastic things going on at many clubs.

“I think it’s also recognition for how a local business can get involved with the football club, and a local charity, and work together. It does take 100 per cent on both sides to really commit to it, to make it such a fantastic project.”

The Komatsu Climate Heroes project, involving a firm that sponsors the Blues, was launched last year.

The Komatsu Climate Heroes project visited a number of primary schools and also involved visits to Komatsu Forest's Carlisle headquarters (Image: Matty O'Hara / News & Star)

It has seen visits to several Cumbrian primary schools as well as site visits to Komatsu’s Carlisle headquarters.

“We’re getting lots of kids learning about sustainability, carbon footprint, biodiversity, but also getting out to the factory, seeing what they do, seeing what a sustainable company actually is,” added Tose.

“Some of the kids who’ve been on the project have never left Carlisle before. For them even to go a couple of miles out, visit somewhere in the countryside, has opened their eyes to some of the different things that go on in the world.

“The process came about through the club and community trust working together, being in a meeting with the commercial team, and from the commercial deals done with the club, Komatsu wanted to give something back to the community, and they saw us as a great vehicle to do that.

“We came up with the idea for the project from there. We wanted people to know about Komatsu. They’re a forestry company – it’s not just about chopping down trees, it’s about harvesting, developing sustainable procedures.

“Natasha Messier, our sustainability officer, was tasked with coming up with a primary school programme. Natasha, who’s on maternity leave at the moment, deserves a great amount of credit for all the hard work that she’s put in.

“The same goes for the guys at Komatsu – it needed buy-in from them.

“The project has involved five weeks in primary school, with a sixth week a visit out to Komatsu. It has a real educational element but a practical element alongside it.

“The feedback from schools, from Komatsu – even their world headquarters – has been really positive, so the recognition at these awards is a case of all the hard work coming together.

“It’s fantastic for Komatsu, the club’s official charity in ourselves and also Carlisle United for making a real difference in the community.”

The project has involved about 20 classes of school children at ten to 15 rural and city schools, in its first year. It is now in its second year and Tose hopes it is a tie-up which can continue for some time yet.

The Carlisle United Community Sports Trust team on stage at the Armstrong Projects North West Football Awards (Image: News & Star)

“Natasha and Niall McNulty, who’ve been delivering on the project, have done a fantastic job,” he added.

“We’re hoping to maintain the commercial partnership which can make a real difference for a long time coming.

“It is impactful, it’s educating, it’s telling people about the diversity of Carlisle United Community Sports Trust, and also what Komatsu are bringing to the table, and that they’re a business that people in the local community might want to work for.

“This highly-commended award is a celebration for a lot of hard work from a lot of people.”

In Manchester, Tose was joined by CST colleagues Ben Pitkeathly, Carmel Quincey, Stephen Robb, John Geddes, Elliot Brown, Carl Carr as they received their award.

The Armstrong Projects North West Football Awards, hosted by Eilidh Barbour and Dion Dublin, saw presentations made to a host of individuals and groups in the region.

United defender Jon Mellish was shortlisted in the League One player of the season category for 2023/24, an award won by Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Sam Tickle.

There was also a standing ovation as former United midfielder Joe Thompson, who is fighting cancer for a third time, stepped forward to receive the Billy Seymour Impact Award. The awards evening helped raise funds for Thompson’s ongoing treatment as well as his bid to fund groundbreaking tests and establish a wellness centre that could save lives in the future.

The evening also raised funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.

At the start of the awards night, an In Memoriam tribute montage was played on the big screen, remembering many of the north west footballing figures who have passed away in the last year.

It included three men with strong ties to Cumbrian football – former Workington Reds manager Tommy Cassidy, former Carlisle United chairman and owner Andrew Jenkins and former Blues star Stan Bowles.

For more information, visit: www.northwestfootballawards.com.