Monkton Nature Reserves has launched its ‘Conservation Station’ – a renewable energy project for schools and the community.
The project is delivered in workshops and addresses energy in nature and different forms of renewable and non-renewable energy. It includes practical elements such as building simple circuits to power a bulb from mini turbines and solar panels, lighting a bulb using a hand-held turbine, and powering a clock using a potato battery.
With the environment and sustainability at its forefront, ‘Conservation Station’ has been developed to run alongside the repurposing of the old observatory on the reserve site. In its place will be a new, geodesic dome, which will serve as an Environmental Education Centre, sustainably powered by solar energy.
Anna Nicholls, Education and Community Outreach Officer at the reserve, said: “The provision of an indoor space is an exciting resource for the reserve and for its visitors. It will be a practical space that we can use for educational purposes that supports our aims of conservation and education.”
The project is supported by Asda Foundation, Postcode Society Trust, GlobalGiving in partnership with Cummins, Charles Burnet III Memorial Fund via the Kent Community Foundation, Landfill Communities Fund via the Veolia Environmental Trust, Tory Family Foundation and Vattenfall.
To book ‘Conservation Station’ for your school or community group, or for further information, contact: [email protected]
Monkton Nature Reserve is a 16-acre former abandoned quarry on the outskirts of Ramsgate and boasts over 350 species of flowering plant, including the nationally scarce Man Orchid.
For more information visit: www.monkton-reserve.org