Equinor is supporting the River Dee Trust, a charity which ensures that children from deprived areas in Aberdeen city and shire can access and enjoy the nature on their doorstep.
The one-year investment, totalling £39,900, includes funding towards practical river restoration and biodiversity improvements, and supports the Trust’s acclaimed education programme.
As a result of Equinor’s support, a dedicated transport and lunch fund has been established to enable schools in the most deprived areas of the city and Aberdeenshire to access outdoor educational activities on the riverbank.
Camilla Salthe, senior vice president upstream at Equinor UK, said: “As a company we value our active collaboration with the communities we work within. We are very pleased to be working with the River Dee Trust as it delivers vital restoration and biodiversity work, alongside its excellent educational programme across the region.
“Our funding is enabling the charity to expand its education programmes, and we are pleased that more children will get to experience all of the brilliant learning opportunities which the charity offers.”
Welcoming the news, Keilidh Ewan, the Trust’s Education Officer said: “We’ve delivered educational sessions to over 10,000 children since our programme launched in 2020 which is fantastic, but there are many children that we meet that are not aware of the rivers in our city, let alone spent time exploring a riverbank or spotting wildlife.”
“As a charity we deliver our education programme sessions for free across the River Dee catchment area, but this has historically not included travel to the locations on the riverbank – an expense beyond many schools. The transport and lunch fund enabled by Equinor, will open up these opportunities and experiences, fully funding bus transport and packed lunches for classes from some of our most deprived communities. We can’t wait to get started!”
Claire Fleming, Engagement Officer at the River Dee Trust added: “We are delighted to welcome this support from Equinor UK. From early in our discussions with the team at Equinor it was clear that we could work in a positive and impactful way together to benefit the environment of our area and our local communities that live and work here.”
