Scottish schools receive a colourful injection

Scottish schools receive a colourful injection Dundee Science Centre and a specialist thermal imaging company are lending their skills to several schools across Scotland, as part of an initiative to boost awareness of climate change issues and the environmental impact of school buildings.

The pilot project is a first in Scotland, and highlights the importance of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requiring public buildings to display Energy Performance Certificates. It also coincides with the school curriculum by providing hands-on activities and investigations on sustainability.

IRT Surveys, a Dundee-based company delivering cutting-edge infrared thermographic building surveys, will carry out a full energy efficiency survey of the school. The information will then be shared with the pupils of the school through hands-on investigative activities delivered by science communication staff from Dundee Science Centre and Satrosphere Science Centre, Aberdeen, demonstrating to youngsters how eco-friendly or unfriendly their school really is.

IRT Surveys’ team use a special infrared camera, which detects heat and provides a colourful colour-coded image, which will help detect where heat is needlessly being lost. IRT Surveys’ methods enable them to extract information from these images, including quantity of energy lost, financial cost, and amount of excess carbon dioxide released through such this energy waste.

In using the hi-tech gadgetry, schools and businesses can pinpoint where heat is being lost and investigate replacing it with more efficient insulation, therefore reducing the need to use as much fuel, making the building more eco-efficient.

Ruth Spence, Education Officer at Dundee Science Centre said, “This pioneering project is a very relevant exercise as climate change affects us all, especially our future generations. Our hands-on workshops combined with IRT Surveys energy efficiency survey provide pupils with a real-life learning experience. The emphasis is on environmental sustainability and citizenship, ideas which are at the heart of the new Scottish Curriculum for Excellence”.

Gary Manini, Regional Account Manager, for IRT Surveys commented, “We feel that this pilot project is extremely informative and beneficial for Scottish schools. With sustainability now fully enforced in to the school curriculum, it’s important we educate people on how to improve our current eco-situation”.

Gary continued “By joining forces with Dundee Science Centre, we are looking to show pupils and teachers how they can, as individuals and as a team, work towards a brighter future for generations to come, and give them a rare hands-on demonstration of how we, as a company, help businesses become more eco-friendly”.

The children involved in the project have had the opportunity to use the equipment within their schools during the fun workshops run by Sensation. The workshops will help pupils and teachers understand what the environmental impact of their school is and how it can be improved.

For the schools involved, Forthill Primary School, Dundee; Wormit Primary School, Fife; Ladyloan Primary School, Angus; Brora Primary School, Highlands; Danestone Primary School, Aberdeen; Aboyne Academy, Aberdeenshire, the project will see them awarded with a unique Energy Performance Certificate, which will display the Co2 emissions of the school and associated recommendations.

In the future most schools will require an Energy Performance Certificate and the opportunity to combine this with a workshop from Dundee Science Centre will be available to all schools in Scotland once the pilot project finishes at the end of February. Any schools that are interested should contact the centre on 01382 868609 or visit http://www.sensation.org.uk


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