Welcoming the new WCEE Director!

KEEP, which is a program within the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE), is pleased to announce Becca Franzen has been named the new WCEE Director. She succeeds Anna Haines, who retired this spring.

"KEEP is excited to welcome a director with a depth of environmental education leadership experience and a strong familiarity with our program," said Samara Hamzé, KEEP Program Lead.

Franzen will continue the WCEE’s mission of promoting environmental literacy and stewardship through hands-on education and outreach initiatives for both students and educators across the state.

"It brings me immense joy to embrace this new chapter with WCEE, and to join the enthusiastic professionals working in the Center's environmental education outreach programs," said Franzen.

Franzen is a Professor in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). She teaches courses in foundations of environmental education; environmental issue investigation and action; and masters and doctoral level courses. Her research focuses on pre-service teacher education in environmental education and environmental literacy.

Franzen is the program lead for accreditation of college and university programs for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). She also serves on the board of the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE), is an active member and Certified Interpretive Guide-Trainer of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), and is an advisor for the Environmental Educators and Naturalists Association (EENA) at UWSP.

A Summer of Energy Education Opportunity!

New Kit: Discovering Energy in Nature!

Explore KEEP’s Discovering Energy in Nature (DEN) lessons through our NEW hands-on DEN Kit! Filled with the materials to run Taking Temperatures, Energy Use in an Ecosystem, Photosynthesis Promenade and Food Chain Game, and Beings on the Move, this is a great way to look at energy outdoors.  

KEEP Kits are great for summer programs, and can also be reserved up to a year in advance, so you can plan out a whole year of hands-on learning for your students.

Summer Professional Development Opportunities

ANNOUNCING - Renew Our Schools Spring 2024 Winners

Congratulations to all schools who participated in the Spring 2024 Renew Our Schools competition – Ashwaubenon High School, Baraboo High School, Laona School District, Mount Horeb Middle school, North Crawford School District, Riverdale School District, Sun Prairie East High School, SAGES School.

You all succeeded in reducing your school’s electricity consumption and carbon footprint!

McFarland High School topped the alumni cohort while Hillcrest Elementary School in Chippewa Falls took home the prize among the new participants. 

Students in these two schools reduced their school’s electricity consumption by changing their energy habits. From identifying over-lit areas in their school to tracking down vampire loads, students reduced their building’s electricity consumption by over 5.5%, preventing 46,905 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere over five weeks! That is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2.8 average-size homes for an entire year! 

McFarland students work through KEEP's Watt's Your Appliance activity. The school's electric utility provider is Alliant Energy.

Hillcrest Elementary School was led by the youngest group of Wisconsin participants in the Renew Our Schools competition to date! A team of second graders, championed by teacher Colleen Kunsman, created an energy policy for their school.

Hillcrest Elementary School's "Electricity Cardinals" pose for a team photo. The school's electric utility provider is Xcel Energy.

Their participation was supported by a partnership from Chippewa Valley High School science teacher Nick Gagnon and his Green Team student members. McFarland High School students were led by Eco Club co-presidents Izzy Tobin and Riley Malek with Alternative Education Advisor Wendy Pliska serving as their lead educator.

This is McFarland’s second win as they won the Spring 2023 competition in the novice cohort. Both winning schools will use their $2000 in prize money to further reduce the carbon footprint of their school.

Click the button below to learn more about Renew Our Schools and how your school can participate.

Energy Educator of the Year - NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEEP is looking for nominations for the Wisconsin Energy Educator of the Year Award. Nominate yourself or others for this award by October 25, 2024. 

The award recognizes and rewards exemplary kindergarten through high school, formal and non-formal energy educators in Wisconsin who have made energy education a priority in their teaching and/or community outreach initiatives.

Awardees will be selected by a review panel and will receive $1,000 for their school and recognition at the WAEE Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony.

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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 May 2024