YMCA camp to get net-zero education
CGE Energy, in its coalition with YMCA of Greater Toledo, is close to completing the first phase of its pilot Net Zero Energy Experience project at YMCA Storer Camps of Jackson, MI.
As part of the experience, the entire campus will act as a total-immersion learning environment engineered to ignite STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) interests in future leaders, all with the goal of becoming more socially responsible.
The students will discover the energy around them in a hands-on renewable energy laboratory as well as in their living quarters that show the effects of energy use in real-time.
“YMCA Storer Camps redefines ‘camp’ both in the grandeur of our facilities and our focus on sustainable living,” said Glen King, chief development officer for YMCA of Greater Toledo.
Located in the Irish Hills of southeast Michigan, YMCA Storer Camps has a 1,200-acre campus with 15 different ecosystems. As an extension of the classroom, program participants choose from over 50 curriculum offerings, including the newly added Net Zero Energy curricula.
To facilitate bringing investors and collaborators to the camp to experience this endeavor, CGE Energy entered into a 20-year “life lease” with YMCA Storer Camps. This property overlooks a 40-acre field where multiple WIND•e20®’s are identified as potential locations of installation.
The ribbon cutting for the Net Zero classroom is anticipated for the spring with full operation in the 2016-2017 school year.
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