The Energy & Environment Research Group reflect on their experiences of joining a class of school children at a solar farm to talk about climate change, ecology and solar energy.

It seemed surreal driving down the M6 to Park Farm Solar Farm in Leicestershire in late June 2021, preparing to be in front of a camera to talk about our research on energy-environment interactions. Sound professional, transmit knowledge, follow the script, look good on camera, the wise voices said! And that was just day one!

The most overwhelming part was still to come, when we met a group of Year 6 school pupils from Ashby Willesley Primary School the following day to (try to) engage them with the climate and ecological emergencies through hands-on, experiential learning.

Where it all began

We have always been encouraged to look for engaging ways to share our research with a wide audience by our group lead Alona Armstrong. As the Energy & Environment Research Group at Lancaster Environment Centre, we study the environmental implications of the energy transition and much of our work focuses on solar farms.

Solar farms need large amounts of land to match production levels of fossil fuels, but little attention has been given to the consequences to the local environment of this change in land use. The general public seem largely unaware of the opportunities offered by solar farms to manage land in ways that benefit the environment alongside generating green electricity, including creating habitats for wildlife.

With that in mind, we submitted a bid to Lancaster University’s EPSRC-funded Impact Acceleration Account in spring 2021 (earmarked for public engagement). We made our case for engaging school children with the climate and ecological emergencies by focusing on the environmental implications of land use change for solar farms in the UK. We also decided to create a film to showcase our educational activities with the children during a solar farm visit.

Since none of us had previous experience with this type of work, we teamed up with educational consultants Earth Energy Education, whose focus on experiential learning in solar farms and keen interest in empowering younger generations helped us to secure the funding. Now time for the real work to begin!

Behind the scenes

Devising field activities linked to our research and making these suitable for 10-year-olds was probably the most challenging aspect of the work. We came up with a series of exercises that aimed to inform the children on important aspects of the environmental impacts of solar farms. Together, we would explore soil formation, nutrient cycling, plant diversity, insect abundance and pollination.

To our surprise, actually delivering the activities was largely effortless thanks to the children’s enthusiasm and their interest in learning about the natural environment and how it can be affected by solar farms. They wasted no time in getting their hands dirty to learn about the different soil textures that could be found under their feet. However, it was counting pollinators among flowery meadows that really piqued their interest, helping them to understand how solar farms can be managed to favour wildlife by promoting a diversity of habitats.

As unpredictable and chaotic interacting with 10-year-olds can be, it was surprisingly gratifying to be out of our comfort zone and be an integral part of their learning experience. The children were curious, asking questions and engaging in discussions around solar energy and the environment. It was also encouraging to find that many of them were familiar with topics such as climate change and biodiversity.

Lessons from the day

Public engagement activities can seem off-putting given the amount of work involved, especially in the planning stage. We were fortunate to be supported by some amazing educators from Earth Energy Education who had plenty of experience in delivering this type of activity, which was essential for the success of the day. Support from Solar Energy UK and Eden Renewables was also important to guarantee we kept our message on point.

Despite adding an extra layer of work to the busy schedules of researchers and academics, we all now feel that public engagement activities should be made an integral part of research projects. They mean that a wider group of people can benefit from research findings and help build the communication and organisational skills of researchers. Most importantly though, they can be very rewarding for early career scientists like ourselves as they push us to communicate our research in a variety of formats to an eclectic audience.

The main lessons we learned from this experience were the importance of having a clear idea of the message we wanted to get across and how to tailor it to the target audience. Planning is essential, but so is partnering up with professionals who, despite not being as knowledgeable about our subjects as we are, have the necessary skills to communicate and engage with young people and make science accessible.

It was exciting to contribute to the children’s learning and to finally see the film of the day completed, after many rounds of editing. We recommend a watch and hope this will inspire others in the University (and in academia at large) to invest some time and effort in this type of activity. Have a go, you will not regret it!

Author biographies

Hollie Blaydes is an ENVISION PhD Researcher working alongside project partners Low Carbon. Her research explores the potential for solar farms to enhance pollinator biodiversity and boost pollination to surrounding agricultural land.

Fabio Carvalho is a postdoctoral KTP Associate working with the Energy & Environment Research Group since 2020 and in partnership with Clarkson & Woods. His main research focuses on understanding the environmental impacts of solar farms on land systems, with an emphasis on soil-related ecosystem services.

Giles Exley is an ENVISION PhD Researcher working alongside project partners United Utilities. He is developing some of the first understanding of the environmental interactions between floating solar farms and their host water body.

Lucy Treasure is a PhD Researcher funded by the Centre for Global Eco-innovation alongside industry partners Eden Renewables, a solar project developer. She investigates the ecosystem impacts of solar farms, also focusing on nature-based solutions to boost bifacial PV output.

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