National Native American Heritage Month! | |
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Join us in celebrating National Native American Heritage Month!
KEEP is a program of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (UWSP). The WCEE acknowledges the land and water in what is now called Wisconsin. UWSP occupies the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Menominee and Ho-Chunk People. We acknowledge and honor Menominee and Ho-Chunk people who work to sustain these places for many generations.
This month we’re excited to highlight the Beings on the Move activity as an opportunity to explore how beings that are culturally important to the Ojibwe and Menominee are affected by climate change. Also read on for more information on what KEEP has been up to and how you and your students can get involved!
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Beings on the Move is an excellent resource to help students understand how climate change impacts beings and motivate students to take energy actions in their home, school and community. | |
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In August 2022, KEEP staff participated in the Gathering of Teachers professional development climate teach-in at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota. During that conference, Hannah Panci, from the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission shared the Beings on the Move activity with us. KEEP received permission to use the activity and incorporated it as a kick-off activity when conducting energy audits with students.
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Looking for a way to introduce Energy Justice concepts to your students with a current, real-world example? Bad River is a documentary chronicling the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and its ongoing fight for sovereignty, culminating in the current fight around Enbridge’s Line 5, which crosses tribal lands and threatens the waters of Lake Superior.
The KEEP team found it a profoundly moving story that illustrates both the challenges within our current global energy system, and the people working to make it more equitable and just. But you don't have to take our word for it, check out Inside Climate News' recent interview with Mary Mazzio, the film’s producer, writer and director.
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The film is available for purchase via Vimeo On Demand (including a profanity-free version for classroom viewing) and Peacock, and has additional live showings at locations around the state. | |
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities | |
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• Mark your calendars! Green Team Mini-Grant Info Session |
4:00 - 5:00 p.m., February 3 or
4:00 - 5:00 p.m., February 6
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KidWind's Spark Sessions are monthly Zoom sessions taking a deep dive into different energy topics. | Climate Generation has some excellent webinars coming up in its Teach Climate Network Workshop series. | | |
Funding Opportunity - November 19 DEADLINE | |
The Power Your Future Challenge is a nationwide challenge inspiring high school students to envision clean energy careers.
The U.S. Department of Education invites teams to submit innovative action plans that will advance the use of clean energy in their schools and communities. Each team must include at least one CTE teacher, coordinator, or director. For this challenge teachers lead teams of students to develop ideas and submit their action plans for an opportunity to win one of 10 prizes of approximately $5,000 each.
| Youth Climate Conference in Madison - November 16 | |
The Dane County Youth Climate Conference inspires and empowers youth to take climate action by networking with their peers at other schools, learning about actions other youth are taking, and meeting organizations and allies who can help and support them.
The theme of this year's conference is "Building a Sustainable Future". The keynote speaker is McKenna Dunbar, the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Virginia Sierra Club and a passionate advocate for uplifting youth perspectives who believes that Gen Z holds the power to reshape our climate future. Sara Ostad Rahimi from UW-Madison will lead an interactive whole-group session about climate solutions and paths to positive futures.
The conference will be held at Madison College on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 10 to 4, and is completely free, including lunch. It’s open to all students from Grade 8 through college, from anywhere around the state. Student groups are invited to present and/or exhibit about their past or future climate actions at the conference, and those who do so will receive a $100 thank you gift. Contact Bob Kihslinger at bobkihslinger@gmail.com to do so.
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Registration open for the 2025 KidWind Challenge | |
The KidWind Challenge is a hands-on renewable energy competition that engages students in STEM. Student teams bring small-scale wind turbines or solar devices that they've designed to the Challenge where they will be tested for power output. Teams will meet with a panel of expert judges to present their design process, learn about clean energy careers, and tackle instant challenge activities at the March 1st event.
Participation is free and registration is open for teams of 3-12th grade students now through January 15th.
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Renew Our Schools - Sign up for Spring | |
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Sign up is open for Renew Our Schools 6-week spring competition where students use their own school building as an energy education tool.
KEEP, Focus on Energy and Resource Central partner to offer the competition to Wisconsin K-12 public and private schools. Because the competition requires installing an eGauge datalogger on the electric meter to chart the school’s real-time energy usage, make sure to apply early to allow time for installation
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KEEP's solar and battery station as seen from drone (image courtesy of Chippewa Valley Technical College) | School Energy Fairs recap | |
The Wisconsin Energy Career Pathway is a framework for high school students, educators, and employers to build a shared understanding of the breadth of career options in Wisconsin’s energy sector.
This fall 291 students and 24 educators from 14 high schools participated in one of two high school energy career fairs. Both fairs were coordinated by Slipstream, a Wisconsin-based company that provides education to empower the clean energy workforce. The events were sponsored by Xcel Energy and Wisconsin Public Service.
At each career fair groups of approximately 20 students rotated among seven energy career stations. Students spent 25 minutes at each station where they practiced several energy career skills or explored emerging energy technologies. The stations included: weatherization, solar planning and wiring, solar and battery storage, EVs, electric power distribution, and flying drones to survey building envelopes.
We will share information about high school energy career fairs that are being planned for next school year in future newsletters. Stay tuned!
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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. | | | | |
