NEWS FROM NPOWER

THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT, THE FUTURE’S GREEN
The planet’s in safe hands as children grasp energy issues


LONDON February 23RD, 2009 – Leading energy company npower is investing in the next generation of bright green hopes as it launches Little Green Fingers – a campaign to help primary school children learn about the potential of renewable energy through the science of gardening.

npower is offering 50 schools solar panelled greenhouses for schools keen to get green - and research shows children are eager to learn about the big eco issues of the day. When asked about their understanding on energy issues, savvy seven-year-olds revealed heartening responses: 98% of kids know they should always turn lights off and 93% have the ‘techno-how’ to take their computers off standby to save electricity.

But there is still more to learn, with the Government striving to hit 20% of UK power being generated by renewables by 2020, one third (31%) of the next generation of home owners don’t understand what the term ‘renewable energy’ means.

npower commissioned the research to launch Little Green Fingers, an inspiring initiative designed to help four to seven year-olds learn about natural and renewable energy through the science of gardening. The programme will award 50 schools an eco-friendly, solar heated greenhouse to highlight how the earth’s energy gives plants the power to grow. Schools and families across the UK will be able to benefit from engaging teaching resources and how to guides and watch video clips which will help to bring the power of the earth’s energy to life for children in a fun, hand on way.

Baby Brainboxes
• Almost 70% of children know that the sun and wind can make power – but they don’t know exactly how!
• Up to half (49.8%) understand that solar panels can collect energy from the sun and turn it into power
• 88% of kids know that wind turbines create power for our homes

Confused kids
• But kids don’t always get it right - one in ten even think energy makes them tired!

Former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon, who launches the campaign for npower today, says: ‘Making science inspirational and getting to grips with natural and renewable energy has never been more pressing. That’s why I’m out in the garden for npower’s Little Green Fingers campaign to help under-7s learn about energy and growing in the way they learn best - hands on and hands dirty!’

To bring the learning of energy to life for the ‘little green fingers’ in your life, ask your child’s head teacher to enter the competition today by visiting www.npower.com/littlegreenfingers.

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For further information, images and interview requests please contact:
Frank PR: 020 7693 6995 or npower@frankpr.it




About Little Green Fingers
Little Green Fingers is an inspiring new project from npower which focuses on bringing the learning of energy to life for 4 – 7 year olds through the science of gardening.

npower is offering 50 schools from around the UK the opportunity to get growing in a full scale greenhouse – with a solar powered heating system - as part of the npower Brighter Futures programme. Should your group of Little Green Fingers be one of the lucky winners, npower will provide you with a free greenhouse complete with safety glass and gardening kit. Curriculum based resources, tailored lesson plans and fun tasks will be available online to demonstrate the power of the earth’s energy.

Find out more at www.npower.com/littlegreenfingers

About npower Brighter Futures
npower Brighter Futures, our education programme, aims to inspire young people from their first day at school to their first day at work.
We achieve this by:
• helping them to develop their skills and knowledge to make their own choices
• empowering them to achieve their vision of a ‘brighter future’ for themselves and for the environment

npower Brighter Futures brings under one umbrella npower’s education programmes – from primary schools through to universities.
Our programmes focus on either:
• environmental education – energy generation, energy efficiency, climate change and sustainability
• our commitment to increase the pool of young talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths; or
• meeting the recruitment challenges we face in the energy industry www.npowerbrighterfutures.com

About npower
• npower is one of the UK's largest electricity suppliers and has 6.6 million customer accounts across the UK
• npower sponsors the Test Match Series in England, Women's Test Series, the Twenty20 Cup and Village Cup.
• npower was recently awarded platinum status in Business in