About Us
OurTide is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered with the Charity Commission in England (number 1195138).
Our formal objective is “To advance the education of the public and in particular of young people in the region surrounding the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel by delivering workshops and on-line resources in the subjects of tidal power, the science of tidal power and its impact on the environment and the application of engineering in harnessing tidal energy.”
All of the OurTide team are volunteers drawn from the education and business sectors, and the
wider community.
Workshops
At the heart of the project are design and build activities related to tidal energy, and related science, technology and engineering skills and knowledge. For example – a working scale model of a tidal energy turbine.
Other activities
Other activities will be related to other essential aspects of energy projects including environmental considerations, project management, communication, website design and more.
Every activity will be led by experienced professionals, will encourage involvement with schools, businesses and other individuals with skills and enthusiasm in the community, and will be designed to engage and mentor school-age students.
For example, our branding was led by a senior graphic designer at local design agency Coe Creative based on designs developed by students at Clevedon School. The website was also built by local A-level students, using a platform hosted by (and with assistance from) Clevedon web and software company Nuvola.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity in STEM subjects is addressed with “you can’t be what you can’t see” as the key principle. We actively seek the involvement of women and minorities in prominent roles in this project. Our experience leads us to believe that this can be an excellent contributor to broadening access to STEM careers.
The achievements and outcomes of all activities will be made available to all e.g. designs, videos, educational resources etc.
This project is nothing without the involvement of talented individuals in all aspects, and we would love to add more names to our credits page! Activities you can get involved with include:
- Technical design and build of models for workshops
- Designing teaching materials for the workshops
- Delivering the workshops
- Creating content around the environmental impacts of tidal energy
- Producing video and written content for the website
- Digital and social media marketing
- Health and safety
- Finance and administration
- Project management
There are six trustees of the charity.
Brian Gribben
Brian is an engineering consultant specialising in fluid mechanics
with >10 years of experience in marine renewable energy. Brian’s
motivation for OurTide comes from first hand experience of the worldwide
recognition – we might even say fame – of the Severn Estuary, in the
engineering community at least, as a potential tidal energy site. This
is contrasted with a modest level of knowledge and engagement in the
local community. We can do better than that, which will result in a
better tidal energy development.
Iain Major
Iain was a teacher of first Chemistry and then Computer Science at
Clevedon School for over 20 years. He has lived in Clevedon for over 30
years and grew up locally too. He remembers the plans for a tidal
barrage in the 1980s and is very keen on all forms of renewable energy. As an ex-teacher
with an engineering mindset, Iain gives us a great link both to the
school and to how to work with young people.
James Geldart
A physics graduate who now runs a growing software and web
development company (Nuvola), James has long felt like a frustrated
engineer. This project has given him a chance to combine his interest in
engineering and renewable energy with his experience in building and
promoting a business.
Sally Hall
Sally is a practicing electronics, control and instrumentation
engineer in Bristol with a broad range of experience in renewables,
control systems and medical technology. Her interest for tidal energy
stemmed from completing environmental surveys of regions to study fish
and mammal population and the effects of marine installations to these
populations. This partnered with her passion for creating educational
material and events suitable for all ages means that Our Tide is the
perfect passion project for her.
Amy Collins
For over 20 years Amy has been running a Water Hygiene business
(Dantek Environmental Services). Amy’s interest in tidal power started
many years ago when the Severn barrage project was proposed, all very
exciting at the time but sadly yet to be proven viable. Amy brings
enthusiasm,common sense and a wealth of practical business knowledge to
the team and through Ourtide intends to increase awareness of the
incredible source of clean, environmentally friendly energy right on our
coast.
Bernard James
Bernard studied Aeronautics and worked for Aerospace companies for 10
years after graduation. After writing software for a few years, he then
found his niche managing software projects and building teams for the
next 30 years in the Aerospace, Defence and Computer games industries.
Now retired, he combines his interests of “messing about in the water”
with renewable energy technologies.