Students from Woodland and Pioneer high schools as well as Woodland Community College have been working to install solar energy systems for an elderly woman.
Woodland High students and college students worked on Friday at the home in the southeastern part of town. Pioneer High students will be on the job today.
All the students are part of the Math Engineering Science Achievement program and are working with the nonprofit GRID Alternatives to install the solar system.
The students are the first of a number of student groups to join GRID Alternatives in service learning projects as a result of a partnership between the nonprofit, Yolo County Office of Education and Woodland College.
The partnership pairs GRID Alternatives” program to help low-income homeowners save on their utility costs with YCOE and WCC efforts to provide hands-on experiences in energy technology to youth, with real-world applications.
The home was located off County Road 102 in the southeastern part of Woodland.
“In all of our programs, our goal as educators is to provide youth with the knowledge, skills and experiences that will prepare them for success in college, careers and life as active and informed members of their community,” noted Jorge Ayala, county superintendent of schools. “This is one of many partnerships YCOE is developing as part of Project SOLAR to provide service learning opportunities throughout the county that engage students and teachers in understanding and addressing local energy issues.”
YCOE recently launched Project SOLAR, a STEM Energy Education Initiative to teach students alternative energy and provide opportunities for career exploration.
Project SOLAR also supports ongoing efforts between YCOE and WCC to develop programs articulating learning from middle school through community college.
“This partnership offers MESA students a unique opportunity to explore the fundamentals of solar energy science and technology in action,” says Veronica Torres, director of the College”s MESA Program, of the partnership. “More importantly, the project is bringing awareness to students to compassionately serve in their community.”
GRID Alternatives is a national nonprofit with a mission to bring the benefits of renewable energy technology to communities in need. The North Valley regional office of GRID Alternatives has helped more than 250 low-income homeowners to date save millions of dollars off of their utility bills through their solar program.
“Our program not only expands classroom education for students, but shows students the value of their contributions to the community through volunteerism,” says Rebekah Casey, with GRID Alternatives. “GRID Alternatives” triple bottom line benefits families and the environment while provides hands-on experience to thousands of volunteers in the solar energy industry.”
This Woodland installation kicks off the nonprofit”s Yolo County program. GRID Alternatives has plans to install more than a dozen more no-cost solar systems for Yolo County households in the coming year.
It was established in Chico in 2011 and serves a 20-county region in the North State. GRID Alternatives has installed more than 10 megawatts of solar power saving more than $100M in energy costs for more than 3,700 households.
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