March 10th, 2022Schools saving energy and emissions
Hepburn Energy’s Impact Fund has provided $10,287 to help six Hepburn Shire schools save energy and emissions with demand management and education.
These six schools, Daylesford Dharma School, Daylesford Secondary, St Michael’s, Daylesford, Hepburn, Trentham and Bullarto Primary, received free packages from Solar Schools that offer educational resources on renewables and emissions, and smart energy devices that help schools monitor and control their energy use.
These devices come from the Australian technological platform Watt Watchers, that’s looking to help businesses and households be more energy-efficient and maximise their renewable energy use.
As the Hepburn Shire seeks to transition to zero-net emissions by 2030 Hepburn Energy’s General Manager, Taryn Lane, said that there is a big opportunity to reduce energy costs and emissions through these smart energy technologies.
“These tools offer insight into when and how schools use energy, helping staff and students reduce their use when energy is most costly, helping to lower energy bills.”
The Daylesford Dharma School was one of the first schools to jump at the offer.
“Being aware and mindful of our energy use is such an important responsibility for us all. This opportunity to be able to actively engage our students in an interactive and educational way is a meaningful and important gift to the school.” Stated Jennifer Willis, the principal of the Dharma school.
Hepburn Energy is not only supporting schools to reduce their energy use but finding new ways to engage local students in our changing energy and climate future.
Hepburn Wind partnered with CERES School of Nature and Climate to create a free, bespoke curriculum looking at climate change, renewables, town planning and systems change.
“After engaging with our members and local schools, we discovered the huge appetite for educational resources on climate change and sustainability in our region. We will be launching our climate and renewables curriculum in 2022 and we really encourage school staff to get in touch.”. To find out more about the program, jump on the Hepburn Z-NET website here: https://hepburnznet.org.au/program/energy-smart-schools/
