Aberdeen schools
and communities could benefit from education workshops geared at merging
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education with
energy exploration if local charity TechFest is successful in securing
funding from the second round of the
Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund.
TechFest is
hoping to secure £11,367.56 to create an EnergyXplorer Toolkit
which will be used to deliver energy themed educational workshops to children
and young people, aged three to 18, in schools and communities throughout
Aberdeen.
The
kit, which will be made up of equipment including hydrocars, onshore wind
turbines and solar panels, will enable the STEM charity to give children
and young people hands-on experiences of renewable energy. TechFest hopes
that the EnergyXplorer Toolkit will fuel the next generation of
environmentalists.
The
Scottish Government, in collaboration with ACVO, NESCAN Hub (North East Scotland Climate Action Newtwork) and Scottish
Community Development Centre (SCDC) is offering non-profit organisations from
across Aberdeen City the chance to receive a share of £500,000.
The
people of Aberdeen have the power to decide which local grassroots green
projects will receive funding. TechFest is calling on Aberdonians to vote
for its project.
Voting
opens at noon on Friday, 29 September and will close at 5pm on Friday, 13
October. Members of the public who live in the local authority
area can vote online at jtpbfund.scot/vote or by attending an
in-person event. People with a connection to TechFest, who live
outside the local authority area but in Grampian, are also eligible to
vote.
Dr Martha Gavan, deputy managing director of TechFest, said: “We really hope the people of Aberdeen will get behind us and include our project in their top five when they vote. Being able to buy the equipment we need to create the EnergyXplorer Toolkit will allow us to reach more children and young people.
“If we’re awarded funding from the Just Transition Participatory Budgeting Fund we will be able to buy equipment that will be used to give children and young people hands-on experiences of renewable energy.
“We will be able to deliver sessions throughout Aberdeen which will help children and young people to better understand renewable energy – this is vital, these are the very people we need to inspire to ensure there is a brighter future for all of us.”
“Exciting them and capturing their interest in STEM is key to a greener future. We want to use the EnergyXplorer Toolkit to ignite a passion for STEM which in turn will help to shape the innovators of the future and drive environmental stewardship.
“There is just two weeks to have your say! Please go online to jtpbfund.scot/vote or visit one of the in-person events and pick your top five projects.”
Vote online at jtpbfund.scot/vote or at an in-person event. A full list of events will be available at jtpbfund.scot/events from 2 October.
TechFest is an Aberdeen-based charity which aims to engage young people in the four main STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and encourage them to go on to follow a career which utilises these skills by demonstrating that they are both fun and relevant in day-to-day life.
For more information on TechFest, visit www.techfest.org.uk