The Community Engagement Strategy for Viking Wind Farm has been shortlisted in the Best Engagement category at this year’s Scottish Green Energy Awards.
The prestigious awards, which are organised by Scottish Renewables, celebrates organisations, people and projects nationally which are going above and beyond to make a real difference to the health, wealth and wellbeing of Scotland.
With young people in Shetland considered a top priority stakeholder for SSE Renewables and the Viking Wind Farm project, a range of activities were developed to take the project and wider renewable energy story to them. This included hosting a total of 29 visits from 15 schools, with 462 students aged 5 to 17 attending the wind farm construction site.
In addition to school visits, an interactive online resource was developed with We Are Futures, local teachers and DYW which is free to all schools in Shetland and introduces renewable energy technologies and climate change to 3 to 8 year-olds.
The awards will take place at the EICC in Edinburgh on Thursday 1 December.
Community Engagement Manager for Viking Warm Farm, Julie Graham, said:
“We are honoured to have been shortlisted for a Scottish Green Energy Award in the Best Engagement Category for our Community Engagement Strategy for Viking Wind Farm. Our engagement with young people in Shetland is something we are proud of and put a huge amount of team effort into. It allowed us to directly hear young people’s views and respond to their needs.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of local head teachers, their staff, UHI SDS and DYW who all played integral roles in establishing partnerships. We hope Viking Wind Farm’s Engagement Strategy inspires for the next generation of Shetlanders to learn more about climate change and the renewable energy industries.”
To find out more about our STEM education resources visit the National Schools Partnership website.