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Energy Trail

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Wasting energy isn’t good for our environment!

Old energy sources, like coal and gas, can’t be replaced. Once we use them up they are gone forever, and they cause pollution which hurts our climate. Modern renewable or ‘green’ energy uses things that can be replaced, like wind and sunshine.

At St Werburghs City Farm we try to be as kind to our environment as we can.

Our new classrooms are highly insulated to save heat, and use green energy from the sun and the air. Industrial farming is also bad for our environment, using too much water and chemicals which damage the soil over time. At the City Farm we work with nature, as farmers did in the past, to save energy by collecting rainwater and making compost to fertilise the soil.

Discover the energy trail

Can you find our five green energy trail icons around the Farm today?

Can you find our Air Source Heat Pump, spot our Solar Panels, see a green water butt and smell our Composting Bins?

You’ll have to walk right round the back of our classrooms building. Don’t miss our mural of the pigs on the back lane as you go round! You’ll also have to go right down to the bottom of the Farm. Don’t forget to say hello to all our animals as you go through the Farm!

Insulation

Read all about it! The walls of our classrooms are full of newspapers which insulate the building and keep us warm. Old newspapers are recycled into a pulp, and then blown into the walls.

Insulating your home is the best way to save energy, and your fuel bills cost less too.

Have you got insulation in your loft and walls at home?

Solar PV

Some of the electricity we use at the Farm is made by the Sun from solar panels on
the roof.

The process of turning sunshine into electricity is called ‘photovoltaics’ (or PV). If you have a solar-powered watch, calculator or garden lights, you’re using photovoltaics.

The sunlight that shines on the Earth in just one hour could meet the World’s energy needs for an entire year!

Can you see the display panel which shows how much electricity our solar panels are producing?

How much energy are we generating right now?

Is it cloudy or sunny?

Renewable Heat

Our classrooms are heated by an ‘Air Source Heat Pump’. You’ll see it round the back of the building. It looks like a big fan.

This Heat Pump takes heat from the air, even
in Winter. It’s a bit like your fridge at home, but running backwards, heating the room instead of cooling it down.

The Pump stores its energy by heating up
a big tank of hot water. This hot water then runs round pipes under the floor keeping our classrooms warm.

Soil

Soil is the fragile skin that feeds all life on Earth. But half of this important topsoil has been lost in the last 150 years. Industrial farming with chemicals also damages the soil further.

At the Farm we ‘compost’ the waste from our gardens and animals. Composting is where natural rubbish is mixed together and rots into a crumbly natural fertilizer. Adding compost to the soil helps you grow more vegetables and improves the soil for the future.

Water

It takes a lot of energy to make the water that comes out of your tap safe to drink.
But your garden flowers and vegetables only need rainwater to grow, not human drinking water. So watering your garden from the tap is a waste.

Can you see the Farm’s rainwater butts that collect the rain to water our vegetables?

Have you got a rainwater butt at home?