We are excited to offer the following Winter Workshops to YES! teams this year. Each unique educational event offers hands-on learning opportunities designed to help teams with their specific projects. Read more about each of the Winter Workshops below. Those interested in participating in any of the Winter Workshops are encouraged to contact us.
- Exploring the Ethanol Industry and Automotive Design Practices in Glencoe on January 16th: Meet people in the ethanol and automotive industries while exploring the Supermileage Competition. Expect a day filled with lots of information and hand-on learning related to the ethanol and automotive industries!
- Composting and Recycling at the College of St. Benedict on January 30th: Learn from college students at the College of St. Benedict about their campus composting program. Compost material is collected from the campus cafeteria and brought to compost site where it is turned into usable soil. Teams will also tour the green student housing residence where college students put their thoughts into action as they live green. A guest expert will meet with students to discuss successful composting and recycling collection strategies and tips including assistance in finding a location for their compost to go to, if not being used on their campus.
- Energy Reduction and Green Building in Mankato on February 6th: Meet the people of Paulsen Architects, a LEED accredited architecture firm and a member of the US Green Building Council while touring several LEED certified buildings in the Mankato area. In addition, an energy auditor will meet with students to talk about energy auditing and will demonstrate how this works with cool tools! Expect a day filled with lots of information and hand-on learning related to energy reduction and green buildings.
- Tour Kennedy Elementary in St. Joseph on February 6th, one of the first Green Ribbon Schools in the nation. See first hand how they reduce, reuse and recycle! In addition we will explore hydration stations and other waste reduction techniques at the College of St. Benedict. Doug Lien, expert on recycling systems in central Minnesota will be available for questions on tracking and measuring waste and how to work with your waste hauler.
- Greenhouse and Local Foods Tour in Milan on February 13th: Learn all about passive solar greenhouses and local foods! We will meet with Milan’s Sustainable Energy Utility to hear about what they have done in their community. Then we are planning to tour Chuck Waibel’s passive solar greenhouse where he will show us the tricks of the trade when it comes to growing produce year around in the harsh Minnesota climate. We will also visit Earthrise farm and have representatives from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy present as well to help teams establish their local foods programs.
- Turning Waste into Energy, Recycling Systems, and Solar Tour in Alexandria on February 13th: This day will include a tours of Solar Skies, a solar thermal collector manufacturer, as well as the Waste-to-Energy facility (where garbage is turned into steam, creating energy for the local 3M plant and hospital) and recycling programs at Pope Douglas Solid Waste. Then we will walk to Alexandria Technical and Community College for lunch and a tour of their schools energy efficient strategies such as hydration stations, recycling and an energy management system.
