YES! students from New York Mills recently toured Lida Farm in Pelican Rapids where they learned about organic farming, wind turbine maintenance and how to mix really great soil. Tour guides Ryan and Maree Pesch, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) owners and organic farmers, had the kids mix up blood meal, bone meal, and other nutrients into a soil mixture Ryan uses throughout the farm.
Events
Reducing School Lunch Waste in New London-Spicer
Standing on the second highest point in Kandiyohi County, 20 YES! students, coaches and staff learned they were standing on 100 feet of trash. The Kandiyohi County Landfill receives over 37 tons of garbage a year and over 3 million gallons of paint and stain waste. This makes the Kandiyohi County Recycling Center a vital piece of the solution to reducing the amount of waste going to this
The Sun Shone Down on the Local Foods Workshop
Throughout the Milan Local Foods Workshop, every speaker and tour mentioned the power of the sun. Audrey Arner of Moonstone Farm started the day off by inspiring the students and explaining to them, "every one of you is a spot of light and creative potential to change western Minnesota through harvesting the sun". She mentioned that this included everything from high-tech approaches such as
Renewable Energy at St. John’s University
Over 40 students from 3 YES! teams met last week for the Renewable Energy Winter Workshop held at St. John's University. The day started with a warm welcome from Alex Chocholousek from the Office of Sustainability at the College of St. Benedict. Next Dan Backes from Blattner Energy gave an excellent explanation of how wind turbines are produced and installed and expressed the importance of
An Exciting Day in Mankato
At the wastewater treatment plant in Mankato, they were able to identify when half-time of yesterday's Super Bowl occurred without having to watch the game. No, they weren't listening to it on the radio or tracking it on their cell phones-all they had to do was watch the influx of water that occurs in their facility about an hour after half-time. The 30 YES! students and coaches from Mankato
Learning About Automotive Engineering and Biofuels
What do a 3-D printer, ethanol, fund-raising, and automotive engineering have in common? They are all things that 20 YES! students from Glencoe-Silver Lake High School and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School learned about at the recent Exploring the Ethanol Industry and Automotive Design Practices Winter Workshop in Glencoe. Both teams have hopes of completing a vehicle for the MTEEA Supermilege