KEEP :: Newsletter – November 2022

Dear KEEP community,

KEEP is proud to highlight the outstanding work of educators across the state of Wisconsin! Congratulations to Lalitha Murali and Patrick Bencher, the 2022 Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program’s Energy Educators of the Year.

Lalitha motivates students at Glen Hills Middle School to learn about energy conservation and renewable energy and use their knowledge to actively work to solve challenges in their community. Lalitha helps students see the connections between their actions, the effects on the environment, and their quality of life. She is an innovative energy educator who has empowered her students for over 10 years and shows no signs of slowing down!

Patrick has an enthusiasm for conservation, renewable energies, and the environment that inspires students and adults at Royal Oaks Elementary School. This past year, Patrick organized a team of students (R.E.S.T. - Rocket Energy Savings Team) to participate in the Renew Our Schools Energy Competition. The team’s efforts reduced Royal Oak’s average consumption of electricity by 18% and won the competition! Patrick has helped raise awareness, change habits, and inspire action in students and staff that benefit not just the school, but the entire community.

Recognition of KEEP’s Energy Educators of the year will take place during WAEE’s virtual Celebration of Excellence in Environmental Education on Thursday, November 3, 2022, from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Please join KEEP in celebrating the work of Lalitha and Patrick using the (free) link below.

Attend Celebration of Excellence

Educator Opportunities

Training

Energy Education: Concepts & Practices

Participants will gain fundamental knowledge of energy while participating in this self-paced online module which addresses energy concepts relating to energy definitions, natural laws of energy, energy flows in living and non-living systems, and their relationships to understanding and evaluating environmental issues. Module activities include exploration of energy readings and pertinent websites, home activities such as reading utility bills, home energy audits, and calculating the wattages of various home appliances.

Recommended for K-12 educators.

Date: Online module available on-demand

Cost: $25

Solar Energy Potential: Dashboard Technology as a Teaching Tool for Inquiry

KEEP's solar dashboard-based inquiry activities are designed for exploration of geographic and seasonal differences in solar power production. Whether or not your school has a solar array, solar PV generation dashboards are a powerful way to bring the topic of renewable energy to life in the classroom. Discover the benefits of using solar dashboards, electricity generation data, and pre-made online maps to connect concepts of spatial thinking, scientific inquiry, and data literacy.

Recommended for 5th-12th grade educators.

Date: Online module available on-demand

Cost: $25

Resource Highlight

Energy Audit Kit

The KEEP Energy Audit Kit provides educators a fun, effective way to integrate energy efficiency into math, science, and technology lessons. KEEP has two energy audit kits available to check out from the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education.

Request Kit

KEEP has also partnered with the following organizations for checkouts closer to you:

REFLO and We Energies – Milwaukee Area
Brown County Extension, Einstein Project & WPS – Green Bay Area
CESA 3 – Checkout information coming soon!
CESA 10 – Checkout information coming soon!

See all KEEP Educator Opportunities

Networking

Wisconsin Association of Environmental Education

Join KEEP at WAEE's Annual Conference and Celebration of Excellence in Environmental Education on November 3 as we celebrate the 2022 Energy Educators of the Year. Visit us at the WCEE exhibit table or attend one of our sessions during the live conference, November 4-5.

Attend Celebration of Excellence

Student Engagement

Renew Our Schools

Recruiting Spring 2023 cohort

Get your students excited about responsible energy use through Renew our Schools, a five-week energy conservation competition. School teams earn points as students learn key energy concepts and make behavioral changes to reduce energy consumption in their school and community. Top earning schools will be eligible to receive a cash prize to make permanent energy-saving changes in their school buildings.

Dates: March 6 - April 21, 2023

Cost: FOCUS ON ENERGY® is pleased to sponsor 10 schools for the Renew Our Schools challenge in Spring 2023. Schools will pay a small cost for enrollment which will be reimbursed by Focus on Energy upon completion of the challenge.

Interest Form Deadline: November 11, 2022

Learn More

I'm Interested!

KEEPing Green

This informal monthly gathering is a collaboration space for Wisconsin high school students starting or leading Green Teams in their school. KEEP staff will host the meeting and create a nurturing atmosphere for students to share leadership experiences, connect with clean energy or sustainability resources for their school, find out about upcoming events and collaborate for a clean energy future. Details about KEEP mini-grants for Green Teams will be shared at each meeting. Session recordings will not be published to protect student privacy.

Dates: Third Wednesday of the month 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. (virtual)

Cost: Free

Climate Change Solutions

Check out the October issue of School News to learn how students from Chippewa Falls High School have used a drone-mounted thermal camera to identify heat loss from their school building and their plans to fix some of the issues they identified.

KEEP Resources

Have questions or need additional resources? Contact us at keep@uwsp.edu. We are here to support educators and students with energy and STEM opportunities.

Workshops

KEEP Kits

Lessons & Activities

Meet with KEEP at these Upcoming Conferences!

November 3-5 :: Wisconsin Association of Environmental Education – Milwaukee area –

December 6 :: Better Buildings Better Business (B4) – Stevens Point. Submit Interest Form to be considered for funding support to attend this conference.

Jan 18-20, 2023 :: WASB State Education Convention – Find us in the Solar Schools Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall.

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The KEEP program is funded with generous support by: Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, WPPI Energy, and Xcel Energy.

Published November 2022