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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Alexander Brock

You can charge your phone for free at this sculpture in Millennium Square

Most people who live in Bristol have probably seen the huge, 15ft metal tree which sits in the heart of Millennium Square.

The Energy Tree, designed by Bristol artist John Packer and the Demand Energy Equality project, was installed back in 2015 as part of the city's year as European Green Capital.

The metal sculpture features an array of solar panels instead of leaves, which harness the power of sun and coverts it into energy.

This means passers by can actually use the tree to charge their mobile phones and access free Wi-Fi without using electricity.

In fact, it is the only official spot in Bristol city centre where you can charge your phone using solar energy.

Today, Bristol Live launches its #Do1Thing campaign, which aims to get people in Bristol making small changes to their lifestyle in order to fight climate change, we've compiled a list of things you can do to make a difference. And using solar energy is just one.

Solar tree in Millennium Square (David Betts Photography)

According to the Bristol Green Capital Partnership,  the solar-powered tree was inspired a 13-year-old naturalist, who suggested arranging solar panels to resemble natural tree growth to see if they capture more energy.

The company said: "He explored the relationship between the the Fibonacci sequence which dictates the angles at which tree branches grow and the collection of energy by solar PV.

9 small changes you can make to reduce your carbon footprint

"He proposed that by mimicking the way in which trees grow it might be possible to increase the energy captured per unit of surface area over the course of a year by an array of solar panels."

So next time you're in Millennium Square, don't forget to do your bit and take advantage of Bristol's very own solar-powered tree.

Solar tree in Millennium Square (David Betts Photography)

For the latest news in and around Bristol, visit and bookmark  Bristol Live's homepage .

You can follow us on Twitter  here  and on Facebook  here  and  here .

You can also join our  traffic and travel,   crime  and  parenting  Facebook groups.

 
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