Learning and loving the environment
Education and enjoyment are the magnet for visitors making their way to Whitelee Windfarm, discovers Ellie Evans
There’s much more to Whitelee than wind turbines – it’s also the ultimate highenergy day out for families, and has established itself as the ideal venue for everything from school trips to ultra-marathons.
“It is the jewel in the crown. It had to be more because it was going to be our biggest site, close to a city population; a site where people could come and familiarise themselves with the new technology,” says Lindsay Mcquade, chief executive of Scottishpower Renewables.
Visitors on any day of the year will find it feels more like a country park than a windfarm – the 130km of outdoor tracks are perfect for walking, running, cycling and horse riding, which is why they are used by an estimated 200,000 people every year.
And Whitelee’s annual Run The Blades three-day trail running festival has become a popular fixture for runners from far and wide.
Its award-winning visitor centre offers the opportunity to discover the sustainable technology powering our lives, now and long into the future. It has welcomed almost one million visitors since its doors opened in September 2009.
It’s also the country’s first wind energy facility to have joined the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions and boasts a Visitscotland four-star rating, as well as being the first windfarm in the world to achieve a Green Flag Award – which recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces.
In addition, the centre was awarded a Gold Green Business Tourism award when Whitelee joined the scheme in 2015, with even more sustainable methods set up since then.
The interactive hands-on exhibition area offers the chance to try managing the windfarm, test the power of the wind and take part in a quiz.
And there’s a café where you can enjoy a coffee by the huge windows or on the outside deck with stunning views of the windfarm.
It’s also a bastion for education – almost 50,000 school pupils have attended the learning hub to date. The highly interactive education programme for early years to S4 at Whitelee is linked to the Curriculum for Excellence and it is hoped will inspire more STEM enthusiasts to join the industry.
There’s a range of inspiring workshop ideas to blow young minds, like the Wind Works session, which allows P5 to S2 pupils to investigate the design of wind turbines by testing four different blade shapes to discover which gives the greatest output.
Sessions during the two-hour visits are led by educators from the Glasgow Science Centre, and trips also include a guided tour of the windfarm to further inspire the next generation.
The team has also developed an online climate change workshop to teach children about the effects and causes of climate change, and the impact made by electricity generation.
The Whitelee Countryside Ranger Service also provides stimulating environmental education sessions to support outdoor learning from nursery age to university. Popular themes range from minibeasts, habitats and homes, to wind and water for younger groups, to more in-depth looks at sustainability, biodiversity or management of shared use sites for older groups.
The rangers have also become a travelling resource, visiting schools and learning centres to deliver environmental education.
“Whitelee is linked to the Curriculum for Excellence and it is hoped will inspire more STEM enthusiasts to join the industry”