Off-Grid at a Seattle Middle School
Christopher Dymond, renewable energy analyst for the Oregon Department of Energy often says, “You can’t have your renewable energy cookies until you eat your conservation vegetables”. The value of installing renewable energy on one’s home or work place can be made dramatically cheaper by first understanding the energy loads in the space and investigating ways or reducing energy consumption first. Jessica Levine, a Solar 4R Schools teacher at Eckstein Middle School in Seattle, Washington takes that message to heart. She bikes to school, rain or shine, parking her two wheel transporter underneath the white board at the front of her classroom.
Her commitment to sustainable living permeates the classroom space and she furthers her personal example of low impact teaching by posting mantras around the room that help to motivate students to relax, and remain present and mindful when making decisions. Jessica is eating her conservation vegetables and helping her students develop a taste for them too.
