Talking tunnels and turbines in the hazy February sunshine
28th Feb 2019 by Rowan McCleary
Two schools were able to make the most of the unseasonably warm weather upon Tongland Dam during their visits to the Galloway Hydro Scheme this week
Primary 5 pupils from Noblehill Primary School enjoy a wander across the 298m long Tongland Dam
This week, two large groups visited Tongland for a tour of the Power Station and Dam. Being based locally to the Power Station, the large group of 35 children from Twynholm Primary School were already quite familiar with the workings of the station. On Wednesday, 25 Primary 5 pupils from Noblehill Primary (in Dumfries) were also surprisingly familiar with the locations of the dams, particularly upstream in the system.
Due to the large numbers attending the tours this week, we were accompanied by a Drax engineer, who was able to provide a great insight into the workings of the station, particularly the gadgets and panels in the control room. The tours were made all the more special with the unseasonably hot and hazy February sunshine. It really was a treat to be out and about!
If you are a primary or secondary school covering topics such as electricity/renewable energy/hydro power or have an interest in interactions between nature and hydro power generation and would like to have a two hour tour of Tongland Power Station and Dam, please contact Barbara Maxwell at Drax via email: Barbara.Maxwell@drax.com for more information.
GFT are presently sampling smolts caught in a fyke net at the inflow to Torhouse Fish Farm on the lower River Bladnoch. The fyke net also helps provide data on various other fish species within the Bladnoch catchment.
GFT are currently in the process of downloading data from temperature loggers which are in 20 sites across the river Bladnoch. The data gets downloaded twice a year; once in April and once in October.