Community education campaigns Krobia I y Poniec II

One of the major events has been the commemoration of the Global Wind Day, celebrated in Poniec. For the celebration, the company organized a series of activities, contests and events for children with the support of the Municipality of Poniec and the Police Force and Fire Department to provide assistance if necessary and in addition, to do demonstrations about emergencies and first aids. There was a concert of local bands, sport competitions, artistic activities and dance and music performances by children.

At the same time, the competition “Wind turbines of yesterday and today” took place for kids between 3 and 12 year of the municipality of Krobia and Poniec. The objective of the contest was to create an ecologic turbine model made with recycled materials and with a maximum height of 130m. 300 models were sent to the Cultural Centre of Poniec and 9 winners were chosen and rewarded in the Global Wind Day celebration.

The event had a large influx of public and was promoted in different communication channels such as web portals, local newspapers, social networks and even on an online television.

Co-Sponsorship Children and Youth Wind Orchestra of the Municipal Cultural Centre in Poniec

In 2018, the company sponsored the Children and Youth Wind Orchestra in Poniec, with the agreement of the municipality, reaching 60 beneficiaries.

With these initiatives, ACCIONA shows its commitment to the communities in which it operates by improving its social welfare, promoting educational campaigns through sponsorships, and giving the opportunity to live new experiences for children and young people.

Co-funding of the purchase of instruments for the Children and Youth Wind Orchestra in Poniec

In 2020 the collaboration has taken the form of co-funding the purchase of new musical instruments with an investment of around 2,000 euros. Ninety young people have benefited as a result.

The orchestra has almost doubled its repertoire in the last four years, which means that it has had to purchase new instruments. Indeed, many of the instruments being used needed replacement by new ones. The purchase and renewal of instruments is very important, given the orchestra’s recent successes at national and international level. The purchase of professional equipment is one of the ways of ensuring its future development and continuing its run of success. Not only that, many of the instruments purchased will mean that young people who wish to continue their studies in music schools in the area can continue to do so.

Among the prizes won by the orchestra, a highlight is the one awarded in the 19^th International Wind Orchestra Festival in Giulianova (Italy). The orchestra participated in this festival in 2018, with ACCIONA covering its travel expenses.

In 2020, the orchestra has attracted more than 20 young musicians despite the pandemic, so it already has almost 100 members. Indeed, all of them rehearse online. The group has started a challenge called #stayhomeandpractise and they have filled the social media with photos of musicians practising with their instruments at home, as a way of showing their support for other music groups. This spontaneous initiative has become a real trending topic: more than 100 orchestras in Poland and abroad have participated in the action started by the Youth Wind Orchestra of Poniec.

ACCIONA’s contribution not only sets out to support the world of culture, it also aims to contribute to the personal development of these young people by helping them acquire useful things such as concentration, imagination and motor and coordination skills. Moreover, in these difficult times the members of the orchestra have shown a particularly important quality: resilience when it comes to dealing with problems. All in all, we are really proud to be part of this project.

Purchase of educational equipment for the Local Centre 'Little Copernicus'

In 2020, ACCIONA's Energy Division has started a collaboration project with the Local Centre for the Dissemination of Science, Education and Innovation -called “Little Copernicus”- in the town of Krobia, close to the Gostyn Wind Farm. With an investment of around 4,000 euros, multimedia equipment and a wind turbine mock-up have been purchased for the experimental education classrooms of the centre, benefiting around 600 people. The action is part of the company’s Environmental Impact Management program for the Gostyn Wind Farm.

“Little Copernicus” caters for people of all ages, particularly schoolchildren. In fact, the Local Centre for the Dissemination of Science, Education and Innovation has organized classes since 7^th October 2019, using the ‘experience and experimentation’ methodology, for primary school pupils in Krobia within the framework of a project titled “Learning through experience and experiments”.

In the first semester, the classes are studying renewable energies. Teachers and pupils are looking for answers through planning procedures and carrying out simple experiments. Thanks to the facilities in the centre, the pupils learn about the operating principles behind (among other things) wind farms and solar batteries. They also learn about how a hydropower plant works, how to build a motor, or the transfer of energy.

All these activities set out to develop the pupils’ independence, creativity and ability to innovate, giving children from Krobia the chance to explore the world in a different way. This kind of informal education stimulates both pupils’ and teachers’ creativity and gives the youngsters an opportunity to take decisions about their educational future.

These are some of the successes achieved by the project:

• Teachers learn to apply modern teaching methods.
• Extension and modernization of the town’s educational resources.
• Introduction of modern teaching methods based on experience and experimentation into the schools in Krobia.
• Exchange of experiences and good practice in the educational field.
• Reduction of inequality by offering a wider range of education to pupils in the town, closer to what is offered in bigger cities.

'Little Copernicus' is located in two buildings. In Krobia’s Primary School there is classroom equipment with a series of didactic devices in the field of science (vacuum pump, Newton disk [disappearing colour disc], model of the solar system, Galton board [bean machine], Foucault’s pendulum, a device to demonstrate rotating blocks, etc.). The other room is located in a historic building in Wyspa Kasztelańska, surrounded by a moat and a park; it is called the ‘Room of the Four Elements’. The room is a multifunctional space to provide group or individual experiences of the four elements: earth, light, water and aire. The room is also used for holding talks, conferences and workshops, with a capacity of 40 people. The 'Little Copernicus' complex also includes some small architectural installations along the educational route that connects the two buildings, for example, a water park.

Installation of solar panels in a nursery school

ACCIONA contributes to the energy self-sufficiency of a nursery school in Krobia (Polonia) near the Gostyn Wind Farm.

As part of its Social Impact Management programme, ACCIONA’s Energy Division has installed 2.6-kWP photovoltaic panels in the building of the "Pod Świerkami" state-run nursery school in Krobia (Poland). The centre thus becomes the first nursery school in the town to present an example of aspiration to energy self-sufficiency.

Thanks to the collaboration with ACCIONA, old lights in the school have been exchanged for LEDs. As well as improving the appearance and lighting of the centre, this has led to major savings and a reduction in emissions.

This initiative also helps to create awareness among young people about the benefits of renewable energies, as children have an opportunity from an early age to become familiar with these solutions that protect the environment and their own future.

The project represents an investment of around €4,500 and has benefited 200 people. It has been carried out in the area around the Gostyn Wind Farm following discussions and an agreement with Krobia Town Council. The reforms were completed in September 2020.

ACCIONA thereby contributes to achieving the seventh Millennium Development Goal (MDG) about affordable and non-polluting energy.