- £5,000 has been awarded to Embers Aquatics – an organisation providing schools with water safety training and awareness.
- £1,000 donated to two schools in Galloway for STEM resources.
- Funding awarded to Loch Ken Trust’s Youth Water Safety Awareness Programme.
The Drax Foundation, the charitable entity of renewable energy company Drax Group (Drax), has awarded funding to several organisations that promote water safety in communities near to its hydro-electric power assets in Scotland.
Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s FlexGen Assets Director said: “We want to make sure that young people can benefit from the outstanding natural beauty of places nearby to our Scottish hydro-electric assets. That’s why promoting water safety in the communities where we operate is an important issue for us at Drax.
“Picturesque lochs and stunning coastline make our landscape one of the most beautiful places in the world, and by equipping young people with the skills to keep themselves safe on and around the water, more people can take part in water activities in these special areas.”
Embers Aquatics, a charity engaging with Scottish primary schools to conduct water safety workshops, will receive £5,000 to support their goal of helping young people prioritise water safety in Galloway, Argyll and Bute and Lanarkshire.
The project aims to deliver a total of 375 workshops, potentially supporting around 7,500 pupils across Scotland.
Funding has also been awarded to support Loch Ken Trust, who provide schools with safety sessions through their Youth Water Safety Awareness Programme – and carry out patrols through its ranger service, encouraging users of the Loch to be safe and mindful of the environment.
Leanne Pumpr, Head Ranger for Loch Ken Trust, spoke about the importance of the initiatives: “We are really grateful to the Drax Foundation for this funding, which will help to support our important work around Loch Ken for both the local environment and our water safety sessions.“On average, 96 people lose their life each year due to a water-related fatality in Scotland, so it is of paramount importance that we teach young people how to enjoy water-based activities in a safe and responsible way.”
Competition winner, Abbie Dickie, with her winning entry on display at Loch Ken
Highlighting the importance of water safety also gave local schools in Galloway the opportunity to win £500 for STEM resources. Schoolchildren in the region were tasked with designing a poster to raise awareness of water safety, with winning entries displayed beside Loch Ken and schools receiving a £500 grant to spend on STEM resources. Competition winners were:
- Tamzin Scott, Crossmichael Primary School – Primaries 2-4
- Abbie Dickie, Springholm Primary School – Primaries 5-7
To find out more about the Drax Community Fund and how to apply for funding, go to the website.
ENDS
Photo caption: (from L-R) Graeme Dickie, HSEQ Manager, Drax, Mark Dickie, Production Assistant, Drax, Competition winner Abbie Dickie and Leanne Pumpr, Head Ranger, Loch Ken Trust
Media contacts:
Kieran Wilson
E: [email protected]
T: 07729092807
About Drax
Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a global leader in both carbon removals and sustainable biomass pellet production, and to be a UK leader in dispatchable, renewable generation.
Our operations
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, and pumped storage generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.
We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.
Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is the world’s second largest producer of sustainable biomass. Drax has 18 operational and development pellet production sites which will have a nameplate capacity of around 5.4 million tonnes once expansions are complete.
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Our future
Drax is progressing options for carbon removals using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology globally and at our UK biomass power station. We are progressing plans to develop 7 million tonnes of carbon removals through BECCS by 2030.
In 2024, we launched Elimini, a US-based company to lead our global efforts to deliver carbon removals at megaton scale. Elimini’s purpose is to remove carbon for good. To achieve this, it is convening engineers, environmentalists, communities, investors, and innovators to scale the market for carbon removals, with the aspiration of transforming our economies from carbon emitters to carbon removers. For more information, visit elimini.com.
