EESW Introduces Wind Power in the Classroom
EESW has delivered 30 school workshops during the year under the Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Turbine project, with almost 700 pupils taking part from 17 different schools across Rhondda, Cynon, Neath and Afan Areas.
The project took place from January to August 2024 and engaged students from as young as 8 years old up to 14 years old. We would like to extend our thanks to the Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund for funding the Wind Turbine project this year, which has allowed EESW to purchase new wind turbine kits to enhance delivery of this project and enabled us to deliver enrichment workshops to schools around the Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm site.
The new wind turbines have been very well received by students and teachers alike as they closely resemble real wind turbines. Students have enjoyed learning about the reasonings and benefits behind using renewable energy, as well as the Welsh Government’s aim to meet 100% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by the year 2035.
Students have also benefitted from taking part in a practical 2-hour workshop, wherein they learnt how wind turbines work and developed problem-solving skills by building and testing their own wind turbines with the goal of maximising voltage output. Additionally, students were able to develop many more essential skills during this workshop. Whilst working in groups, students used communication skills to relay information and added technical terms such as gears, blades, generators, and motors to their vocabulary.
One teacher said “The children thoroughly enjoyed it and have not stopped talking about it all day. We'd love to arrange some future workshops.”
Furthermore, with the help of resources provided by Vattenfall who own and operate the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm, we can inspire students about future jobs by highlighting the variety of careers in the local area linked to onshore wind.
Finally, we would like to thank all the schools that have taken part in the project this academic year. We hope that we are able to offer these workshops again in the future.
