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Energy Action Month

Energy Action Month 2023

Energy Action Month is a national campaign to raise awareness of the prevalence of energy in all parts of society – homes, schools, healthcare, food, transportation, and even in the unbuilt environment of natural habitats.

Events for Educators

Discovering Energy in Nature

Recommended for educators of grades K-6, adaptable for 7-12. Part of the DPI’s 2023 Fall Climate Series

Join the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) to discover energy lessons that can effectively be taught outside. Take temperatures to investigate how shading, coloring, and other factors affect temperature; survey different environments to determine how sunlight, soil moisture, temperature, and wind affect living elements in an ecosystem; and spend time in a beautiful setting while making curriculum connections.

October 11, 4:00 – 5:00 – online via Zoom

Learn More or Register

Energy Efficiency Education: Your School Building as a Teaching Tool Workshop

For teachers of grades 5-12 and schools undergoing energy management services

Empower students and staff to be part of the energy solution through relevant experimentation using cutting-edge technology. This workshop utilizes the school building as a teaching tool to explore energy efficiency concepts and evaluate energy use through hands-on discovery and advice from energy professionals. Participants develop energy-savings action plans that meet demand for project- and STEM-based learning and link to future career options. The workshop will include time for collaboration and lesson planning, and a variety of ready-to-use activities will be supplied so teachers can integrate relevant lessons right away.

October 19, 8:00 – 11:00 – Fennimore, WI – CESA 3

Learn More or Register

Renewable Energy Education: Solar Energy Lessons

Recommended for teachers of grades 4-12. This workshop is ideal for Science and Social Studies teachers.

Solar PV applications are seen everywhere from road signs to enormous arrays for generating utility-scale electricity! Get your students excited about solar energy and the implications it has for our environment and economy while exploring potential careers in the energy industry. This workshop provides hands-on activities that utilize the KEEP Solar Tilt Kit and standards-aligned companion lessons. You will learn how solar panels work, use professional tools for siting solar PV installations, and use the Solar Tilt Kit to discover how the angle of the sun impacts the electricity generated by a solar panel.

October 19, 8 12:00 – 2:30 – Fennimore, WI – CESA 3

Learn More or Register

KidWind Renewable Energy Educator Workshops

For formal and non-formal educators of students in grades 4 – 12

The Wisconsin Energy Institute, KEEP, and KidWind are excited to bring the KidWind Educator Workshop to communities across Wisconsin. Join us and learn how to explore the power of wind and solar with your students! Participants will leave with the resources and confidence to use wind and solar energy as vehicles into hands-on science, technology, and engineering exploration in the classroom.

October 20, 10:00 – 3:30 -Platteville – University of Wisconsin-Platteville
October 24, 8:00 – 2:30 -Milwaukee – Ingeteam

Learn More or Register

Events for Students

Green Team Mini-Grants

For high school students

Support your students’ sustainability ideas! Do you have students in your school who would like to reduce the carbon footprint of your school, but need funding to get their project off the ground? Suggest they apply for one of KEEP’s Green Team Mini-Grants.

To learn more about the program, invite them to join a free informational Zoom meeting October 9 or 18 at 4 pm. Teachers are welcome to join too!

Once students have a basic project concept, they’ll share that idea with KEEP via our Idea Form by October 27, then meet with KEEP staff to help refine their project. With those suggestions and baseline energy data for their schools, they’ll develop a full grant proposal, due December 8. Schools which are awarded grants will receive their funds in early January and have until May to work on their projects. A second round of grants will open spring 2024 for shorter-scale projects.

Learn More or Register

1st Annual High School Energy Fair

Inspire your students with new energy technologies!

Bring up to 25 students from your school to Osseo-Fairchild on October 11 for a full day of interactive experiences.

Students and staff can learn about solar energy, wind, battery storage, hydrogen fuel cells, EVs, and more. Register by September 22nd.

Learn More or Register

KidWind Renewable Energy Educator Workshops

For formal and non-formal educators of students in grades 4 – 12

The Wisconsin Energy Institute, KEEP, and KidWind are excited to bring the KidWind Educator Workshop to communities across Wisconsin. Join us and learn how to explore the power of wind and solar with your students! Participants will leave with the resources and confidence to use wind and solar energy as vehicles into hands-on science, technology, and engineering exploration in the classroom.

October 20, 10:00 – 3:30 -Platteville – University of Wisconsin-Platteville
October 24, 8:00 – 2:30 -Milwaukee – Ingeteam

Learn More or Register

Renew Our Schools

For teachers, students, administrators, and facilities personnel in all schools!

Win money for your school by saving energy! Schools that participate get an eGauge installed on their school electric meter. This tool shows live data on how much electricity their school building is consuming. Then, the schools compete in a five-week competition to see who can conserve the most energy along with earning additional points for completing energy education activities.

The school with the most points will win $2,500 to make permanent energy efficient updates within their school. The best part is that once the eGauge is installed, it is yours to keep and use in your curriculum to help with hands-on learning for your students.

Resource Central, a nonprofit based out of Colorado, runs the competition and KEEP and FOCUS ON ENERGY® are here to support Wisconsin schools throughout the competition. Enrollment fee and eGauge installation are reimbursed by FOCUS ON ENERGY® so there is no cost to Wisconsin schools to participate. Sign up now to compete Spring 2024!

Learn More Fill Out the Enrollment Form

Don’t forget to share all your energy-saving stories with us on social media!

#EnergyActionMonth   #EEDay2023   #CareersinEnergyWeek #WiSciFest