Pembrokeshire charity the Darwin Centre has won Educational Charity of the Year in the Prestige Wales Awards.

Recently manager, Samantha Williams and project officer, Amy Belcher from the Darwin Centre attended an awards presentation event at the Ashgate Stadium in Bristol.

The judges praised the field trips and workshops organised by the Darwin Centre for instilling enthusiasm and inspiring the next generation of young scientists and biologists. Rocky Singh, Project Manager of the Wales Prestige Awards said of the charity “The Darwin Centre has a passion for science communication and sharing subject knowledge with pupils and communities – breaking down barriers and providing access to STEM for all.”

Founded by Professor Tony Campbell and Dr Stephanie Matthews in 1993, The Darwin Centre is an educational charity based in Pembrokeshire College that is dedicated to engaging and inspiring young people in STEM subjects through hands on field trips and workshops with an emphasis on outdoor learning and work-related experiences.

Since 2005, their educational programme – the Darwin Experience – has been supported by energy company, Dragon LNG, allowing the Darwin team to work with every educational facility in the region for free.

The Darwin Centre also conveys an important message regarding contemporary issues such as renewable energy, climate change, ocean plastics, and much more. This past academic year the small team has delivered 198 events with 5,355 participants from 42 primary schools, seven secondary schools, four independent schools and Pembrokeshire College. When not working with schools, the Dragon LNG Darwin Experience delivers sessions to families, community groups, home educators and the Scouting Association.

Samantha said: “Winning this award means a lot to our small team, it is a testament to our hard work as we always strive to give participants the best possible experience and access to experts during our field trips and workshops. Our core sponsors and partners, Dragon LNG, have been with us for 19 years now, an unprecedented level support from a private company to a charity and we would not have been in a position to win this award without them. We look forward to planning and celebrating our 20th anniversary with them next year with a series of special events.’

Any Pembrokeshire schools wishing to book a field trip or workshop linked to their science and technology topics in the upcoming academic year can get in touch with Sam and Amy on [email protected].