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Calls for a Conservation Nation Echoed at Durham, N.C. Middle School and EPA
Posted: October 6, 2009
On September 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored an environmental education event at Lowe’s Grove Middle School, in Durham, N.C., featuring Jeff Barrie, the award-winning film maker and producer of “Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-energize America.” Nearly 50 seventh grade students in the school’s Math Science and Education Network heard Barrie share his energy conservation message and learned how they can lead their schools, families, and communities in making small, yet meaningful, changes that save energy and help protect the environment.
The presentation featured visual aids that created interest (a pound of coal, a surge protector, and an electric hand-lotion warmer, for example). The event included a question and answer period (where students were awarded compact fluorescent light bulbs for their active participation), and a hands-on demonstration, lead by Kelly Leovic, program manager for environmental education at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Carly Carroll, an EPA student services contractor. Leovic and Carroll helped students use a “watts meter” to measure how much energy common electric household appliances use, including a toaster, hair dryer, alarm clock, a lamp with an incandescent bulb, and a lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb.
Students took a pre-test from the “Kilowatt Ours” Curriculum (http://www.kilowattours.org/curriculum-thanks.php) and a post-test after meeting with Barrie to gauge how much they had learned about where energy comes from and how it can be conserved. Results indicate that, on average, student knowledge increased more than 20 percent.
The event garnered interest in the local community and was featured in The Durham News: http://www.thedurhamnews.com/news/story/199503.html
After spending the morning with students, Barrie spoke to more than 100 EPA staff on the EPA campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C. His presentation was part of the EPA’s Cutting-Edge Speaker Series. Attendees viewed the film and followed with a discussion on energy and the environment.