Here at Tops we are passionate about environmental responsibility, which is why we are thrilled to have installed solar panels now at 7 of our nurseries, Wimborne, Lakeside, Wareham, Corfe Mullen, Stonehouse, Cattedown, and Babbacombe, the most recent ones through sales of the 2 care homes. We expect our 8th to be at our Newport Tops (IOW College) nursery, subject to planning permission, and we would love to do more over the coming years, subject to funding for them and permission from the landlords.
With the introduction of our solar panels, we produce our own electricity and are able to send some to the national grid too, helping to reduce our need to use fossil fuels to make energy in this country. As we are all aware, burning fossil fuels contributes to the alarming global warming crisis so we are very keen to do our best to help. We want our children to inherit a planet that isn’t subject to the flooding and storms we are expecting with global warming, and we want them to have a world with polar bears!
We have been working with Poole based Daylight Energy Ltd, and Dorchester based Wessex EcoEnergy who both specialise in creating and offering bespoke renewable energy systems that can deliver significant savings whilst reducing the carbon footprint of the property.
For the award-winning Tops Day Nurseries family, this is another step towards being champions for cleaner air and eco-sustainability.
Cheryl Hadland, Founder and Managing Director of Tops Day Nurseries commented “We started to introduce solar panels into the nurseries a while ago, the first being at our Wimborne nursery over 10 years ago. They broke even after 8 years. The price of solar panels has halved since then, and they are also more efficient which balances the loss of Government subsidy, so they are still worth doing. We’ve been told our electricity charges will go up 17% in September so we know we are doing the right thing for our costs as well as the environment. We have several electric vehicles too now, so charging them from our own solar panels is a very satisfying and efficient way to power collections from school, trip and our maintenance team. We have reduced our fleet of diesel and petrol vehicles significantly and aim to replace the rest as soon as we can because they generate air pollution. With young children being the most vulnerable to air pollution, which causes asthma and lung disease, and can damage brain development, it is very important to us to do what we can to stop polluting their air.
Solar power is one of the most environmentally friendly and cleanest energy sources. Not only is it a fantastic renewable source of power, it requires little maintenance and is the most abundant energy source on earth.
Tops Day Nurseries is an award-winning early years provider with 30 Good and Outstanding nurseries across the South, also winning Dorset’s most environmental business in 2018. Tops are pioneers and leaders of quality in the early years sector with the Managing Director, Cheryl Hadland, named as the “Most Influential Person in Childcare 2018” through her sustainability work and the role modelling of Tops Day Nurseries and their early years sustainability charity, GECCO.
To find your local nursery, please click here.
For more information
