Ember Aquatics and ACT Native Tree Nursery are the two successful recipients of the second annual round of funding from the Drax Foundation. Both projects support education and skills development in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM), as well as improving green spaces and enhancing biodiversity within local communities.

The award is part of nearly £1m that the Drax Foundation has donated globally this year in this funding round, across the UK and North America.

Shona King, Drax Group head of community, said: “The Drax Foundation is committed to giving back to the communities where we operate and we are delighted to share that our second round of grants, totalling £82,000, will benefit these two projects in Scotland. These charities are doing vital work - one is helping school children build their STEM skills through water safety and environmental training and the other is improving green spaces and biodiversity for local people to enjoy.”

The projects in Scotland include:

• Ember Aquatics - a program engaging with Scottish primary schools to conduct water safety workshops. The primary goal is to inculcate a love for water activities while prioritizing the safety of young students. The project aims to deliver an impressive total of 375 workshops, potentially impacting around 7,500 pupils.
• ACT Native Tree Nursery - a community-led conservation effort passionately working towards establishing a native tree nursery. This endeavour is a testament to their commitment to preserving the environment and nurturing the growth of indigenous trees. Remarkably, the community’s dedication has earned them a full 100% of the requested funding.

Julie Young, CEO of ACT, said: “This support from the Drax Foundation enables us to establish a tree nursery, which is at the heart of what we are aiming to achieve with Argyll’s rainforest – a secure supply of a range of native tree species will help us to expand, restore, and connect fragments of the rainforest, and also provide great training opportunities for our Rainforest Squad.

“We are very excited to have our team and tree nursery in place in the next few months – we’ve already started gathering acorns, which will be Argyll’s mighty oaks in the future!”