Monona Grove School District Charged Up to Conserve

Students, teachers, volunteers, and local businesses and groups were instrumental in creating the well-received inaugural Monona Grove Energy & Sustainability Fair on Saturday, May 22. Held at Monona Grove High School, the free, five-hour event was attended by over 250 people. Students and experts created twenty-eight exhibits and thirteen presentations. The ambitious program was organized to engage students, create curriculum opportunities, inform the public, inspire action, and create a buzz about energy and sustainability issues.  It succeeded on all fronts.

Student Kirsten LaBuda was pleased to have participated. “I made a poster and I got to volunteer and it was a lot of fun.” LaBuda staffed a table where people challenged one another in a cream-whipping duel – rotary hand mixer versus electric hand mixer.

Since this was the first time to hold such an event, organizers didn’t know how many people to expect, yet hoped for several hundred. “While our attendance was small, the comments were overwhelmingly positive,” said organizer Kathy Sanders. “The fair really generated high energy among the attendees.” The results were slightly more modest, but did surge substantially when families came to the 1:00 performance of the musical “Assignment: Earth, What Kids Can Do to Save the Planet” presented by the Winnequah third and fourth graders, directed by Jill Jensen.

Attendee Susan Graham was impressed with the content of the fair. “I didn’t expect this much information to be available, including figuring out how much carbon I put out with my own car every week.”

There were outdoor exhibits, including an oven using the sun’s energy to bake gingerbread and rhubarb crisp. Attendee Jeff Lardy, who had just visited the outdoor exhibits said, “I’ve enjoyed it so far. I have hit the MG&E trailer, the carbon meter, and I got a free bike tune up.” When asked if he would implement any measures he learned at the fair, Lardy said he was buying a composter right away.

Attendees were very appreciative of the efforts that went into the fair. Said School Board member Susan Manning: “I am so proud of the students and the families and the community (…) have come forward to do this presentation today. It’s just a wonderful event. It’s a great time.”

Organizers of the fair were the Monona Grove Energy and Sustainability Education Subcommittee, Energy and Sustainability (Core) Committee, High School Global Impact class, and the High School Environmental Club, with assistance from a number of MGSD community members, Alliant Energy, MG&E, and McKinstry Corporation.

The organizers plan to regroup soon to debrief about ways to make next year’s fair even more successful. The greatest reward for their efforts would be to know people who attended or participated in the fair were inspired by something they learned to take more strides toward conserving resources and energy.

If you missed the fair, you can see the information about the event at www.mononagrove.org/faculty/mgsd_energy.