Students at a residential school outside Aberdeen are making connections with the wider world in a pair of new, zero-emission Mercedes-Benz minibuses.
Founded more than 40 years ago, Beannachar is one of 11 independent Camphill Community schools in Scotland – five of which are located in and around Aberdeen.
Set on a 28-acre estate at Banchory-Devenick, near the River Dee, the school is attended by 20 residential and 16 day students, with learning difficulties. A team of 30 staff members and volunteers also live on-site. Only a couple of miles from the city, Beannachar enjoys a peaceful rural setting – but the price for this pastoral idyll is a lack of public transport options, with the nearest bus stop more than a mile away.
Choosing the fully electric Mercedes-Benz eVito Tourer, though, means students and staff to travel to and from the site in safety and comfort – while also minimising potential harm to the local environment.
Community Director Andrea Spence-Jones said: “Beannachar supports young adults with learning disabilities to discover and strengthen their unique talents and latent potential as they transition into adulthood. Young adults need to have the chance to find themselves and their place in the world. Those with learning support needs are no different in this respect.
“We are a ‘life sharing’ Camphill Community with up to 30 staff and volunteers who live and work alongside our students. The vehicles are available for residential staff and volunteers to book, via a transport-sharing scheme, so they can provide informal support for students and enjoy shared interests.
“The scheme has distinct environmental and social advantages and breaks down barriers between ‘cared-for’ and ‘care-givers’. Staff and students have been making great use of these vehicles throughout the summer, and the ability to travel whenever required is really helping to enrich their daily lives. Students have already benefited from visits to the beach and shopping trips, and are planning excursions further afield.”
She continued: “Our battery-powered eVito Tourers are ideal for this role. Both student and staff really appreciate the fact that they’re now able to make more sustainable choices when it comes to mobility.
“The students are very proud of their vehicles and enjoy the fact that they run almost silently, which makes a huge difference to a person with sensory issues who previously had to endure noisy diesel engines in our old minibuses.”
One resident student, 30-year-old Harry, added: “This is the best vehicle we have ever had. We get out more now sometimes just because it is a nice day and we can go to the beach.”
Beannachar Camphill Community was able to take advantage of available grant schemes which provide support for flexible and accessible community-led solutions, in response to unmet local transport needs due to a lack of safe and easy access to public transport.
“The reduced running cost of these vehicles also produces a significant saving, which can be reinvested to the benefit of our students,” said Andrea Spence-Jones. “The ethos of Camphill Communities stresses the importance of caring for our environment and surroundings, and we’re delighted that reducing pollution by using electric vehicles allows us to take a significant stride toward Net Zero.”
