UWSP’s energy education program awarded $230,000 grant

The Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education’s K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has received a grant totaling $230,772 from the Energy Center of Wisconsin (ECW).

The grant allows KEEP to continue its core services and programs, pilot in-service training for Wisconsin’s teachers through an Energy Education Institute, and organize and conduct a statewide environmental and energy education conference next spring. To date nearly 500 teachers and over 2,500 students have benefited from KEEP’s assistance in Wisconsin’s classrooms. The Energy Center’s fundraising efforts will enable an additional 400 teachers to join the KEEP network.

"KEEP’s main focus is to give Wisconsin’s teachers the necessary energy education resources to be successful in the classroom," said KEEP coordinator Jennie Lane. "The ECW grant goes a long way in helping us fulfill our mission for the teachers and students of Wisconsin. From staffing needs to teacher education programs and the energy education conference next April, this grant ensures Wisconsin’s leadership position in environmental education."

"The potential effects of KEEP are enormous," said Kathy Kuntz, ECW project manager for KEEP. "Teachers throughout the state are praising the program and, more importantly, using it to increase students’ energy literacy. "By improving the energy literacy of Wisconsinites we can, ultimately, enable our state to use energy resources more effectively."

KEEP will co-sponsor "Energy! Experience the Power," a high school environmental and energy action conference at UWSP, with the Energy Education Institute. Scheduled for April 28, 1999, the conference will give teachers an opportunity to partner with community energy resource professionals, including utility experts to integrate energy-related skills into the classroom. Along with a $16,000 grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, funding from ECW allows KEEP to publish, print and distribute 1500 "Promising Energy Education Practices: Creating a Network of Energy Educators in Wisconsin." The book will highlight successful energy education lessons and projects that teachers are currently practicing in Wisconsin.

UWSP supports KEEP and its mission. According to Lane, a UWSP matching grant of $13,112 will help reduce overall costs.

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