If the sun's out, schools in.
Our renewable energy education program, Solar 4R Schools, educates children and their communities about the importance of renewable energy. Today's children are tomorrow's leaders, and we want to familiarize them with renewable energy technology now, so that in the future, they will consider using it as normal as flipping a light switch.
To educate students about renewable energy, Solar 4R Schools works with teachers, school administrators and facilities staff, parents, local solar installers, and municipal permitting officials to manage small-scale solar installations. Through this program, students see solar technology at work and have various opportunities for hands-on learning related to renewable energy, working with the Solar 4R Schools in-class activity guides and science kits. Plus, the kids say learning about solar energy is a real bright spot in their day.
Learn more about our Solar 4R Schools program
The following steps bring Solar 4R Schools projects from concept to classroom:
- 1.Companies and individuals buy BEF Carbon Offsets, and a portion of BEF's net revenues from those sales are reinvested to support renewable energy education programs like Solar 4R Schools. Some companies and individuals fund this program directly, too. Contact us if you would like more information.
- 2.Schools apply through the open-solicitation process on the BEF Web site. BEF reviews these applications, choosing schools that are committed to energy efficiency and exceptional educational use of their solar-electric system.
- 3.Schools that best fit the program are notified that they have been chosen to host a project, and key players at each school demonstrate their support by signing the Solar Supporters Petition.
- 4.BEF solicits bids from local solar installers and signs a contract with the most qualified and cost-effective bidder. If the area doesn't have any local solar installers, BEF works with a local electrician to train him or her to install photovoltaic panels.
- 5.The system installation is scheduled and completed by the contractor.
- 6.BEF works with the installer and Fat Spaniel Technologies to set up data monitoring for the system and displays live data and information about the project on www.solar4rschools.org.
- 7.BEF provides teachers with lesson plans, classroom activities, science kits and a training workshop so they can start using the solar-electric system as a teaching tool right away. The activities are instructive and fun, and include tasks such as designing solar-powered racing cars, making solar cookers, building small wind turbines, etc.
- 8.The school, the funding partner(s), and BEF work together to plan community outreach activities that may include a presentation of the newly installed solar-electric system, an eco-fair or a display of students' environmental inventions.
- 9.BEF provides ongoing educational support for school faculty and staff, data-monitoring support to ensure proper functioning of the system, and technical assistance with any operations and maintenance questions that may arise.
- 10.With regular updates from BEF's Education Manager, the school's teachers continue to create innovative, fun, new programs and techniques to integrate renewable energy curriculum into classroom instruction, while the installed systems continue to generate clean, renewable energy that offsets a small portion of the school's electricity bill.