Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon

A group of diverse, highly committed students from the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) have been hard at work to continue the reputation of providing a “sustainable, renewable education” on campus. The projects and initiatives that already have been taking place at UMM (campus wide recycling, new geothermal energy, biomass gratification, renewable energy produced by a wind turbine, etc.) continue to provide a solid, progressive and encouraging background for this group of students to implement new projects.
Most recently, this group of UMM students applied for a CERTs grant. (http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/community-projects/request-for-p…). Hopefully, this grant will help to provide some financial assistance with the specialized labor that is required for their solar thermal project.

The main project that these ambitious students have decided to work on will be to put energy efficient solar thermal panels on the Regional Fitness Center (RFC). The RFC was chosen as the ideal spot to install solar thermal panels because individuals from both the Morris community and University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) use the RFC facility—this project will educate a wide range of individuals on ways to become more energy efficient. The main goal of this project will be to help heat the pool, thus lowering UMM’s natural gas consumption and carbon footprint.
The group, referred to as the SUN-E team (Students Using Natural Energy), developed a grant proposal for a Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon (MnSCC) grant. Stated below is the description:

“The goal of the project is to educate the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) campus and local communities in the benefits of solar thermal energy. The Students Using Natural Energy (SUN-E) team will use the MnSCC funds to recruit student volunteers from the campus to support the technical and educational outreach project objectives, support the RFC solar-thermal project by purchasing two solar panels, and educate the campus and local communities about solar-thermal energy. A solar thermal heating system is being installed on the Recreation Fitness Center (RFC) community pool, located in Morris, MN, serving as a demonstration site for the project. UMM shares the RFC with Stevens County residents and the Morris Area Education System (MAES). The benefits of a solar-thermal heating system for the pool are lowering our natural gas consumption and carbon footprint. This will be the largest demonstration site for solar-thermal technology in west central Minnesota.”

The grant itself was produced by the SUN-E team. This was done by breaking into two task forces- educational and technical, which allowed for a more efficient and smooth grant writing process. The SUN-E team brainstormed, collaborated and wrote out the application. When reflecting upon the grant writing process, the students confirm that the work and effort was worth it.

This project continues to attract more supporters (UMM faculty, students, and community members) and educate a wider range of people.