Energy poverty is one of the world’s worst forms of poverty, and it’s an issue that affects those living in developed countries and nations too. In the developed country of Australia, approximately 513,000 people (2%) live in off-grid locationsi where electricity supply is characterised by low levels of reliability at a higher cost. With 51% of First Nations peoples residing in regional and remote Australia, this means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are disproportionately affected.
Our Illuminating Communities Initiative (ICI) works to tackle energy, education and health injustices in Australia. We proudly partner with solar lighting installation specialists, Leadsun, to carry out the installation of all community lighting through this project, at no cost to the community. Leadsun developed the first all-in-one LED solar street lights, and have been creating a positive impact on the environments they illuminate since 2008. The installation of these lights require no excavation or spoils, they are suitable for all wind categories and soil types, and for hard to access, sloping or remote sites.
By collaborating with socially responsible, sustainably minded organisations we bring clean, safe, reliable lighting, and immersive Social STEM education opportunities, to remote communities in Australia
Airbus Partnership
And it is one such partnership – with Airbus, a global pioneer in the aerospace sector – that has brought sustainable solar infrastructure to the remote community of Amata in South Australia’s Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, home to the Anangu people.
Our collaboration with Airbus saw the installation of solar flood lighting at Amata’s community basketball court. This provided a sustainably powered space for the community to come together safely for social and sporting activities at night.
In addition to illuminating shared public spaces, our ICI partnerships enable vital access to Social STEM education for students in remote communities.
Educational disadvantage exists for many students who reside in schools outside metropolitan areas and negatively impacts their opportunities, experiences and their educational outcomes. Funding disparities and difficulties attracting teachers to remote and rural schools also exacerbate inequality. STEM based education is one area that is impacted.
According to the Australian Government’s Department of Education, children in remote and/or low socio-economic areas in Australian have low access to STEM educational activities and are three years behind their peers due to lack of resources. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students experience lower STEM engagement and outcomes due to poor access and a lack of resources for STEM activities.
A trip to remember
In June, members of the SolarBuddy and Airbus teams travelled to Amata to see this important community illumination first-hand.
While in Amata, the SolarBuddy & Airbus team delivered two exciting Social STEM education sessions for students at Amata Anangu School – a school of up to 102 students, 98% of whom are Indigenous Australians. The SolarBuddy Social STEM program and Airbus’ Mission to Mars program were enjoyed by the students, who particularly responded to the hands-on building components of both sessions. As part of the experience, 50 JuniorBuddy lights were gifted to the students to assemble and keep, while they learned about renewable energy and solar technology.
The teachers shared their excitement about the STEM education program being accessible to their students, explaining that STEM opportunities were severely lacking and that attracting teachers to remote schools often meant limited opportunities for students.
The teachers shared their excitement about the STEM education program being accessible to their students, explaining that STEM opportunities were severely lacking and that attracting teachers to remote schools often meant limited opportunities for students.
“It was great to see the kids so engaged, their smiling faces, the kids helping each other. It’s a fantastic project, especially because we are remote, we tend to have power outages a lot so these SolarBuddys – for every family in the community – will make a big difference.”
Teacher, Amata Anangu School
A huge thank you to Airbus for making the Illuminating Communities Initiatives in Amata a reality. We would also like to thank our other partners in this project: Leadsun for installing our solar lights and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) and the Australian Defense Force (ADF) for collaborating on the upgrade of the Amata community basketball facility and youth centre.
We strive to provide equitable opportunities for all children. With committed partners like these at our side, together we are illuminating futures.