Education

One of KETEC’s highest priorities is to promote environmentally responsible behaviors across the board - not only in energy use, but also in commercial and residential building, waste recycling, agricultural practice, water use and conservation, and every other human behavior that impacts our environment.   KETEC provides multiple opportunities for hands-on learning to enhance understanding of the green way of life. 

High Performance Building Rehabilitation Project.  KETEC’s headquarters must afford a top-quality demonstration of best practice in energy efficient building.  Professors and students at the new Penn State Center of Excellence for High Performance Building have agreed to make our cigar factory rehab a flagship design project of their school.  Members of the faculty will be present at the design charette, and will give oversight to the selection of high performance features and monitoring systems.    Once the rehab is completed and occupied, KETEC will make its real-time performance data publicly available, and interactive displays exposing all working systems will give an educational experience to visitors.  KETEC staffers intend to conduct regular tours of the facility for students, organizations, and the public.

Seminar hosting.  KETEC board members and staff regularly present public educational seminars on topics such as green building, LEED standards, how to apply for funding for research, development and commercialization of clean technology ideas.  They also participate, when asked, in panel discussions or other forums on clean energy.

Green career presentations.  The Executive Director and board members regularly speak on the subject of “green-collar” jobs and career choices at local colleges, community colleges, high schools, and career centers. 

Biweekly educational newspaper column.  Executive Director Stephen Bartos pens a biweekly newspaper column entitled “Green Light.”  Syndicated to the Times-Shamrock Corporation, the column appears most often in the Shamokin News-Item and covers local, regional, state, and federal regulatory matters affecting clean energy development.

Earth Day program in schools.  KETEC board members and student interns conduct day-long activities in area schools, geared to create awareness in our youth of how to conserve energy and resources and take responsibility for our environment.