Alaska
Northern Lights ABC School
2424 E Dowling Road
Anchorage, AK 99515
(907) 742-7500
Project Title: Energypalooza!
Project Adviser: Tammy Black
Our class has been teaching the Anchorage community about energy as part of our NEED energy project. We set up an information table at a Lowe’s Building Supply Store to collect signatures for the ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World campaign and received 482 energy saving pledges.
At our Energy Carnival, over fifteen classes participated. We taught students how they can be NEED Building Buddies at school and home. The topics of our presentations included ‘How to Save Energy and Save Money’, and ‘Our Alaskan Energy Plan’. We also made posters about different energy sources. Our local news station, Channel 2 News, broadcast these presentations. We also collected 517 student pledges and 203 family pledges at the Energy Carnival.
One of the parents from our class, Mr. Hughes, who works for ConocoPhillips, came to our classroom and talked about Alaska’s oil and gas industry.
California
Finalist Primary Level School of the Year
Urbita Elementary School
771 South J Street
San Bernardino, CA 92410
(909) 388-6488
Project Title: Energy Stars
Project Adviser: Linda Gregory
Student Directors: Taylor Ramirez, Travis Ramirez, and Maya Valtierrez
We learned about energy this past year in Earth Savers. We learned how we use energy at home and at school. We found out about forms of energy like light, sound, and electricity. We learned about energy sources like fossil fuels and solar and wind energy, all of which are very important. We learned the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Energy is important in our lives.
We taught other people about energy. We had an Energy Fair and showed other kids and adults how to save energy, how we get energy, and how we use it. We showed which resources are renewable and which are nonrenewable. Renewable is great! We are also going to share at the Earth Day Fair and Expo like we did last year.
We are helping our school and community save energy. We turn off lights and computers. We only use half our lights at school. We recycle paper, cans, plastic, and ink cartridges. CFL bulbs use less energy than incandescent bulbs and we are giving these away to people to save energy.
Earth Savers are Energy Stars!
James Foshay Learning Center
3751 S Harvard Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90018
(323) 373-2700
www.foshaylc.org
Project Title: Camp Energetic!
Project Adviser: Jennifer Trochez
Student Directors: Darwin Chavez, Sukeya Clark, Steven Pham, Moses Aubrey, and Jessica Patino
Camp Energetic! was held at Leo Carrillo State Park, Malibu, California. Camp Energetic! was a four-day, three-night outdoor camp for 4th and 5th graders where we learned about the ten energy sources. Ten student teams became experts on the energy sources, each team learning about one source and its chants, to present to others at camp. Special focus was placed on solar, wind, and hydropower. To learn about solar energy, we used solar ovens, UV light detecting beads, radiometers, and photovoltaic cells. To learn about wind and hydropower, we made windsocks and rain sticks, then learned songs to help us remember why and how wind and water are also energy sources.
We had so much fun at Camp Energetic! that we wanted to share what we had learned with others back at school. The campers taught the Energy Chants and energy source presentations to the 4th and 5th graders who didn’t go on the trip. Then, as a group, we decided to adopt the kindergarten class and teach them about solar and wind energy, specifically that the sun is a source of energy that gives us heat and light and that wind energy is harnessed from moving air.
Urbita Elementary School
771 South J Street
San Bernardino, CA 92410
(909) 388-6488
Project Title: Saving Energy Starts With Us!
Project Advisers: Andrea Schindler and Vanessa Fiacco
Student Directors: Amanda Ramirez, Brian Freeman, Christopher Cardenas, Amanda Ramirez, Kayla Belle, Scott, Freeman, and Brian Freeman
This year, we learned many ways to save and protect our environment. We learned how to recycle household waste by taking household waste products to hazardous waste facilities. We also learned how to save energy by using compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent. We also learned that it is important to recycle because trash that sits in landfills releases methane gas into the environment, contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change.
We wrote and acted in our own movie to teach the students and parents at our school how to recycle correctly. Our principal was so inspired that she bought more grey trash cans so that we could separate the recyclables from the non-recyclable trash items. Next we researched energy saving topics and created a display board that we presented at our school energy fair to inform others how to effectively save energy and recycle. We will be taking our display boards to the upcoming energy fair in our community.
