Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm supports STEM education – and it starts outdoors!
Duke of Lancaster student with the new STEM equipment
(Image courtesy of Eastern Education Group)
Thanks to a grant from the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Community Fund, operated by energy company Equinor, an outdoor learning area at the Duke of Lancaster Academy in Fakenham, North Norfolk now has two innovative pieces of sensory STEM education equipment, and the pupils think they are great!
The Duke of Lancaster Academy is a special school which caters for the education needs of 110 students aged 5-16 years with communication and interaction difficulties, the majority of whom have a diagnosis of autism.
Thanking the Dudgeon Community Fund for its generous support, Head of School Elizabeth Barneveld said:
“As a result of the grant, we have been able to invest in two new pieces of interactive STEM equipment. When it arrived, students were queuing up to use it, and they continue to enjoy engaging with it. It’s brilliant at supporting wellbeing, social interaction and teamwork.
“Importantly, it also helps some our learners to de-stress after long journeys, as our students travel here from all four corners of the county. We are incredibly grateful for this support.”
The equipment includes a Rotogen Hex Reactions Station Play Panel which transforms kinetic (movement) energy into electrical energy. This enables students to see how renewable energy production and energy transfers work in practice.
The Science and Educational Activities Play Structure allows students to interact with information about topics including the solar system and space, weather and the water cycle and animals and the life cycle.
Both pieces of STEM equipment encourage problem-solving and analytical thinking, often involving teamwork and communication to improve collaboration skills. Students get immediate feedback from the equipment and can track their progress and achievements, helping to build confidence and motivation.
The Dudgeon Community Fund is administered by the Norfolk Community Foundation (www..norfolkfoundation.com). Grant applications from schools and colleges in the Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk and Breckland regions of Norfolk can be submitted to the Fund at any time, with funding awards being made in the Spring and the Autumn.
About Equinor in Norfolk
Equinor is a long-term partner for Norfolk and has been an active member of the community for over a decade through the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms it operates off the Norfolk coast.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Masdar and China Resources, whilst Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Equitix Offshore 5 (co-owned by Equitix and The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG)) and a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management.
On behalf of its partners, Equinor is also maturing the proposed Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon extension projects (SEP and DEP). SEP and DEP will double the capacity of the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes and making an important contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Currently, the combined output of Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms is sufficient to power around 710,000 UK homes, and the proposed extensions will increase that to nearly 1.5 million UK households.
Both wind farms have established community funds which in total have awarded over £1 million to projects in Norfolk. The funds were set up to provide grants to Norfolk community groups, including schools and charities, seeking financial assistance for projects or initiatives that meet key criteria and focus on renewable energy, marine environment and safety, sustainability, or education in these areas. During 2020, the funds provided grant funding to the Norfolk Community Foundation’s COVID-19 funding initiatives, and during 2021 grant funding has been made available to support Norfolk’ s ‘every child on-line’ initiative.
Issue date: 03-02-26
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alice Baxter
UK Media Relations Manager, Equinor
abax@equinor.com
+44 7557973941
For consultation or community enquiries, please contact:
Nigel Tompkins, the Projects’ Community Liaison Officer based in Norfolk,
E-mail: nigel@ni4b.co.uk