About five years ago, several students at Mahtomedi High School (MHS) explored the possibility of implementing a small wind project on their campus. Shortly afterwards, a group of motivated citizens in the area concerned about energy conservation, renewable energy and sustainability formed the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative (MAGI) with a vision of seeing a turbine on the sidelines of the high school athletic fields. These community volunteers and Mahtomedi students, led by the MHS Eco Club, have banded together to work with neighbors, businesses, schools, churches and local government to gradually build a broad base of support for that initial dream: an educational renewable energy project to benefit the community and the environment.

With a solid plan, well-respected wind energy contractor and committed community behind us, students have played a major role in working to raise the $100,000 needed to build a 10 kilowatt wind turbine adjacent to the high school football field. The Zephyr Wind turbine, funded by private donations and grants, will be owned by Mahtomedi Public Schools. In the fall of 2009, the current group of Eco Club students got educated about the Zephyr Wind Project and made the decision to do what they could to support the fundraising and outreach components of the project. They planned, organized and followed through on the creation and sales of t-shirts to benefit the project. Through additional fundraising efforts, including several girl scouts in the club donating their cookie sales, the club has generated almost $3,000 for the project. They also participated in staffing and educating guests at a project fundraiser last summer that generated over $30,000.

Eco Club students have organized speakers to occasionally attend their weekly meetings to provide background and increase their knowledge of the issues. Through use of the student announcements, including parent e-mails, students, staff and parents from throughout the high school have been invited to attend the presentations. Students have also staffed several community events with the purpose of educating the community about the project, reaching several hundred kids and community members. Events included the Mahtomedi Farmers Market, the school district Halloween Ball, RITE of Spring (community Earth Day event), two community engineering education events, football and basketball games, Zephyr Art Festival in the town square and the Zephyr Wind Project fundraiser. Residents and community members repeatedly commented on the knowledge and maturity of the students involved in staffing the numerous events. Those of us helping to coordinate the project believe that we couldn’t have accomplished what we did or received the participation of so many partners without their involvement.

The Zephyr Wind turbine will produce electricity for our schools while at the same time linking to Mahtomedi’s impressive K-12 Engineering Leadership Program and nearby Century College. It will be equipped with performance and wind measuring devices that will generate real-time data accessible via the Internet for learning experiences in science, technology, engineering and math. Other schools will be able to tap into the Zephyr Wind Project by accessing the data from the wind turbine. Real-time data from the project will be available through the internet. We are pursuing a partnership with the schools of the White Earth Tribe in northwestern Minnesota as they have a similar turbine, which will enable some interesting comparisons.

We have enough funds on hand to begin construction of the turbine, which is planned to be completed sometime during the summer of 2011. Our partnership, fundraising and project model can be replicated in other communities, and we would welcome the opportunity to share what we have learned with others.

Jeff Ledermann, Mahtomedi High School Eco Club Advisor

Will Steger Foundation is proud to announce the winners of our Climate Generation Award. Launched in partnership with the British Council and California Air Resources Board, the Climate Generation Program is a school-based competition connecting youth leadership and environmental curriculum with climate action projects. High Schools in Minnesota were eligible to participate at no cost, and encouraged to submit action projects in the following focus areas: energy conservation, renewable energy, water conservation, transportation, purchasing, facilities, awareness/communication.

Our three winners were chosen through a competitive process with final judging provided by the Will Steger Foundation Climate Champions, 10 dynamic youth leaders between the ages of 16 and 26 located across the Midwest. Winning projects were chosen for their authentic youth engagement, their environmental impact, and their integration of curriculum and other formal/informal learning opportunities.

First place went to Mahtomedi High School for their Zephyr Wind Turbine Project. Students, faculty, administrators, and community members worked together to generate public support and funding for the project which has already broken ground on school property. The project also includes curriculum developed in partnership with the University of Minnesota. Mahtomedi High School will receive a $1500 award to honor their work and support next steps

Two schools were tied for second place. Edina High School was chosen for it's Water Bottle Filling Station Project, aimed at reducing plastic bottle waste and encouraging the use of reusable water bottles. The Project Earth group worked closely with their faculty advisor to create peer buy-in for the project, generate public awareness and build financial support through a series of creative fundraising efforts. Edina High School will receive a $500 award to honor their project and support further implementation.

Pine Island High School was also chosen for second place. The high school Environmental Club conducted an extensive survey of paper use and waste through out the school and was able to significantly expand it's recycling program by securing new bins for each classroom and large plastic collectors in the hallways. The club also presented to the school board in support of hand-dryers in school bathrooms as means to reducing paper consumption and waste. They are currently in the process of securing support for this installation. Pine Island also received the $500 award in honor and support of their efforts.

Not only is it exciting to see concrete examples of school-based solutions addressing the climate crisis, it is even more significant to see students taking an active role in selecting and launching these projects in their communities. With active peer engagement, project visibility grows. It is our hope that these projects will inspire continued youth initiative on solutions and create a culture-shift from consumption to conservation on these campuses, and in schools across the state.

Engaging Students in Environmental Stewardship Through Adventure Learning

In May 2010, Minnesota’s Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) allocated $250,000 to the Will Steger Foundation’s project, Engaging Students in Environmental Stewardship through Adventure Learning, to support the development of a new curriculum, teacher training, online learning and collaboration with schools. The overarching goal of the project is to build awareness and interest in Minnesota’s natural environment and the impact of climate change, and to provide educators and students with the tools necessary for active and life-long stewardship.

All grade 3-12 classrooms and homeschool cooperative or families are invited to participate in this exciting project during the 2011-2012 school year! Please Join us as a Participating or Explorer Classroom!

Benefits of Participating in Minnesota's Changing Climate

Participating classrooms and educators will receive:

• Tuition for one educator to attend the 2011 Summer Institute for Climate Change Education where curriculum training will be provided. Summer Institute 2011 will be at the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, MN August 11-12.
• A copy of Minnesota’s Changing Climate five lesson unit, aligned to Minnesota State Standards and focused on:
  • building awareness and interest in Minnesota’s natural environment and the impact of climate change
  • development of skills useful in exploring the natural environment
  • development of a environmental stewardship project
• Access to an online classroom that includes information and activities correlated to Minnesota’s Changing Climate Curriculum, as well as opportunities for statewide peer to peer interaction.
• Will Steger Foundation staff support throughout the year.
• The opportunity for students and classrooms to showcase the outcomes of their participation in a fair held in the spring of 2012.
• The opportunity to apply to be an Explorer classroom. Five Explorer classrooms from the throughout the state will be selected.

In addition, Explorer Classrooms will receive:

• A classroom visit from Will Steger during the school year.
• Recognition via the online classroom and WSF newsletters as an Explorer classroom.
• A classroom set of Explorer tools that may include weather instruments and digital cameras.
• Travel and accommodations for one educator to attend the Summer Institute 2012, as well as the spring fair.

Expectations of Participation

Participating classrooms and educators are expected to:

• Attend the 2011 Summer Institute for Climate Change Education.
• Use at least a portion of the Minnesota’s Changing Climate five lesson unit.
• Participate in short evaluation opportunities.

Participating Classrooms are Strongly Encouraged to:

• Use the online classroom.
• Implement the entire five-lesson plan unit.
• Plan and implement an environmental stewardship project in their school or community
• Attend the spring 2012 fair to showcase the outcomes of their participation.

In addition to the above, Explorer Classrooms are expected to:

• Interact with other Explorer classrooms via the online classroom, or webinar to be facilitated by Will Steger Foundation staff.

Summary of Time Commitment

The minimum time commitment for a Participating classroom:

• Participation in the Summer Institute 2011.
• Implementation of two one hour lessons throughout the 2011-2012 school year.
• (Total: Approximately 12 training hours, 3 classroom hours, including prep and lesson implementation)

The minimum time commitment for an Explorer classroom:

• Participation in the Summer Institute 2011
• Implementation of five one hour lessons throughout the 2011-2012 school year
• At least three visits to the online classroom for content
• Interaction with other Explorer classrooms
• Participation in the spring 2012 fair to showcase outcomes of the project.
• (Total: Approximately 12 training hours, 12 classroom hours and one day at final fair

Participating grades 6-8 classrooms from the the metro area are eligible for $500 grants due to a unique partnership with the National Park Foundation, Mississippi National River and Recreational Area (National Park Service) and Mississippi River Fund. For more info contact Kristen Poppleton, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Preview our Minnesota's Changing Climate teaser lesson today.
Are you ready to apply?Click Here to complete the application online now.

Letter from the Executive Director

Will Steger's Trans-Antarctica Expedition 20th Anniversary

We have some very important milestones in Will’s history and ours to celebrate! Will was the featured speaker at Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education 20th anniversary on November 4th, which he helped to establish in 1990.

In early December, Will Steger's Trans-Antarctica Expedition, the historic seven month, 3,741-mile International Trans-Antarctica Expedition in 1989–90 is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in Minnesota!

We’ll be sharing updates about these events and ways you can be involved in the coming weeks!

Just as we are excited about these celebrations, it is important that we also take a step back and understand the recent political shift and what it means for our work.

We’ve spent the past two weeks interpreting the midterm elections and what the results mean for our state, regional and national efforts to advance climate and clean energy policies. The scoop:

Nationally: Despite the national shift towards more conservatives in Congress, this did not stop California from defeating Proposition 23 and saving its landmark climate legislation, one of the first policies to price carbon and promote clean energy in the U.S. The legislation supports more than 12,000 clean tech companies, over 500,000 clean tech employees, and encourages $10 billion in private clean tech investment. It has been a huge success and an example of how climate policy can encourage economic growth. The top three election issues seemed to be the economy, healthcare, and the size of the government. While the party in power usually loses seats in the midterms, these losses were pretty significant (60-70 in the House, 6-8 in the Senate). Among Democrats in close races,who voted for Waxman-Markey (the climate bill that passed in the House), 61% lost the election (Source: E&E). Interestingly though, among Democrats in close races, 79 % of those who voted against Waxman-Markey lost – faring even worse. Also interesting is that 7 of the 8 Republicans who voted for Waxman-Markey were re-elected. So it looks like being a Democrat, rather than supporting climate policy, was the real fatal flaw in this election.

Midwest: Most of the newly elected Midwest Governors should be reasonably pragmatic and open-minded when it comes to clean energy, environmental protection, conservation and high-speed rail.  However, the results do not bode well for support of federal climate change actions or for early movement on the Midwest Governors' Association's climate initiative.

Minnesota: While Democrats lost control of the state legislature and the governor’s race is still in recount mode, we do have an opportunity to shape Minnesota’s role in growing a clean energy economy and continuing to follow California’s lead.

If all the news has got you down, we really loved this piece by The Onion.

Sincerely,

Nicole Rom, Executive Director

Letter from the Executive Director

As we move into fall and the beginning of school, our education and emerging leaders programs are taking off! With the support of our staff – Kristen who manages our K-12 Education Program, Abby who directs our Youth/Emerging Leaders Program, and Richmond Appleton who is coordinating our high school program, YEA! Minnesota, we are expanding our reach among youth and educators across the Minnesota and the Midwest this fall - join us at one of these many events and please spread the word about our resources!

Sincerely,

Nicole Rom, Executive Director