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Money from Guernsey Electricity’s “Power to the People” fund will help two local organisations work towards their sustainable development goals.
The Guernsey Sea Cadets and the Guernsey Institute are the most recent recipients of grants from Guernsey Electricity’s community fund. The Power to the People fund offers money and support to island organisations and initiatives which aim to benefit both the environment and the local community.
The Sea Cadets were granted funding for the purchase of an electric outboard motor, power pack, and charger for use on the group’s harbour tender. The boat is used to carry the cadets – groups of teenagers aged from 10 to 17 – between vessels within St Peter Port harbour in order to teach them boat-handling and navigation skills.
“We are a very active group” said Sergeant Matt Bourgaize, Commanding Officer of the Sea Cadets “so we are thrilled to be able to equip our tender with an electric motor. It will help to reduce our emissions within the harbour area and also demonstrates to the youngsters the importance of enjoying our island in a sustainable way."
Pictured: Guernsey Electricity supports local initiatives through its Power to the People fund.
The Guernsey Institute was also awarded a grant from the Power to the People fund for their Women in Engineering Day event, which will take place later this month for students aged from 12 to 16. The money will be used by the Institute to bring over a key note speaker for the event and provide lunch to 200 students. The day seeks to highlight and celebrate the importance of female engineers and encourage the island’s young women and girls to think about pursuing careers in engineering.
Matthew le Maitre, Sustainability Lead at Guernsey Electricity, said that he was “delighted” with the chosen beneficiaries. “We are really pleased to assist the Guernsey Sea Cadets and hope the equipment will be useful for the many young people who participate in their activities throughout the year. The grant for the Guernsey Institute supports the encouragement of women to explore engineering careers.”
The Power to the People fund forms part of Guernsey Electricity’s 5-year environmental sustainability strategy. Twice a year, groups are able to apply for a maximum of £6,000 in funding for community initiatives which align with the sustainability values of Guernsey Electricity: affordable and clean energy; climate action; healthy ecosystems; and education, awareness and skills.
The company seeks to model their sustainability strategy upon the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are a framework to be used by governments and private companies for achieving international social, environmental, and economic development in a sustainable manner by 2030.
Previous beneficiaries of the company’s Power to the People funding include the Clean Earth Trust for their work cleaning the island’s beaches, La Societe Guernsesiase for their workshops educating schoolchildren on biodiversity, and the Biological Records Centre for its project recording and raising awareness of the importance of Eelgrass on Guernsey.
Pictured top: Lieutenant Martin Browning from the Sea Cadets.
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