Regional Initiative Foundations Award Nearly $25,000 in Grants to Support YES! Team Projects
Students building geodesic domes, touring an ethanol plant, peering under the hood of an electric vehicle, Skyping a Swedish biomass entrepreneur, peering into a coal-fired power plant—these are just some of the activities students experienced at recent Youth Energy Summit (YES!) Winter Workshops. Even more exciting is that activities like these have spurred the students to take on energy action projects in their schools and communities, spreading their knowledge and excitement across Minnesota.
Alexandria, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Eden Valley-Watkins, Litchfield and New London-Spicer YES! teams spent a cold winter day at Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center. “PWELC is the perfect location to gather students around the topic of energy and the environment,” said Anne Dybsetter, YES! Coordinator. “Students can experience firsthand various technologies like a biomass boiler, tracking photovoltaic solar panels, an electric truck, and a wind turbine.”
Throughout the day, students explored energy topics with the help of several businesses and community representatives. Bob Ryan of European Energy Connections; Per Carlson, Swedish representative of European Energy Connections; LEED-certified architect Andrew Bjur of Engan Associates; Chuck Waibel, Growing Green Enterprises; Wes Hompe with Willmar Municipal Utilities; and Dan Tepfer of Kandiyohi Power Cooperative each offered their expertise to students.
According to Becca Bell, YES! Coordinator, one particularly valuable experience for the students involved a discussion at the Willmar Municipal Utility coal-fired power plant about the future of power generation. “One of the adult attendees was able to raise great questions for the representatives from Willmar Municipal Utilities and Kandiyohi Power Cooperative,” Bell said. “It was a great chance for students to be exposed to the types of questions homeowners have and the answers power providers have.”
Springfield, Windom, and Westbrook-Walnut Grove YES! teams gathered at the University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton for activities ranging from a tour of the Highwater Ethanol Plant with Brian Kletscher, CEO/GM to building geodesic domes with Jerry Cleveland, a retired education and energy-efficient design enthusiast from Spring Valley. Through discussions with a panel of community experts, students also learned what it takes to successfully bring a project to completion.
Brian Kletscher pointed out the importance of leadership and staying positive. “To be successful you need to believe in yourself, your project and your team,” Kletscher said. “You will hit road blocks, but each of you have untapped leadership abilities within you.”
The Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) and Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently awarded grants to YES! teams in their regions. SWIF awarded a total of $18,960 to teams in Alexandria, Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Lac qui Parle Valley, Eden Valley-Watikins, Windom, New London-Spicer, Cedar Mountain, Ortonville, Redwood Valley, and Marshall. SMIF awarded a total of $6,000 to teams in their region including Springfield, Northfield, New Ulm Putting Green, and Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.
“The Initiative Foundations are pleased to help offset the costs to participate in YES! and also to purchase supplies and materials needed for their energy action projects,” said SMIF Business Senior Program Officer Pam Bishop. SMIF joined as a partner of YES! in 2009 and looks forward to working with Eagle Bluff Learning Center and the current YES! partners as the program expands into southeast Minnesota in 2011.
This year’s energy action projects range from improving recycling, water and electricity usage in their schools to solar energy, composting, and garden projects in their communities. Many of the teams are also working with their elementary students, sharing the knowledge and resources they have gained through YES!. A key component of the projects is community involvement.
“It’s very powerful to have students connect with community leaders,” said Springfield Superintendent Keith Kottke. They not only learn communication skills, but also leadership, entrepreneurship, fundraising, and how to mobilize volunteers. According to Kottke, this was evident when Springfield YES! students took the lead in organizing a clean up after flooding in the community.
YES! is a team-oriented youth program empowering youth to inspire widespread adoption of renewable energy technology and energy conservation practices which contribute to the environmental and economic health of rural Minnesota communities. To learn more visit www.youthenergysummit.org. To learn how your school or community can participate, email [email protected].
