SPRING MATERIALS SPECIALS
This spring, National Energy Foundation has been busy promoting its broad line of energy education materials. In celebration of Earth Day, NEF offered 50% off everything on its online store for the weekend of April 22-24. NEF is also offering a continuing promotion on two of its poster packs. The Renewable Energy Poster Pack and Energy Safe Kids Poster Super Pack are available now for $10 each. The Renewable Energy Poster Pack includes the Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and Renewable Energy posters while the Energy Safe Kids Poster Super Pack consists of NEF’s three Energy Safe Kids posters: Catch the Energy Safe Kid In You! (2009), Think Smart! You have the Power to Be Energy Safe (2010), and Power Up, Be an Energy Safe Kid (2011).

To order the Renewable Energy Poster Pack or the Energy Safe Kids Poster Super Pack, or any NEF materials, please visit www.shop.nef1.org or call NEF at 800-616-8326.

EFFICIENCY UNITED EARTH DAY CONTEST
Putting students’ creativity to good use to promote sustainability and a healthier planet.

Efficiency United of Michigan and National Energy Foundation have partnered once again, this time to present Our Earth, My Home. Our Earth, My Home is a poster contest for fourth and sixth grade students attending schools served by one of the Efficiency United utility company members. The contest encourages students to visually communicate how to use energy efficiently at home. Grand prizewinners will receive a $250 gift card and a prize-pack filled with fun, age-appropriate items; teachers of the grand prizewinners will receive a $250 classroom grant. The four finalists of the contest will also receive a $50 gift card. The deadline for entries was April 29th, judging will follow soon thereafter and the winners of Our Earth, My Home will be announced in late May. NEF would like to extend thanks to Efficiency United and its member utilities for their partnership in cultivating and promoting an energy literate society.

NEW PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITY PROGRAM
National Energy Foundation (NEF) is excited to announce the introduction of a new community-based program in PPL Electric Utilities (PPL) territory in Pennsylvania. NEF will be teaming up with Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) in order to present valuable information and resources on energy efficiency and sustainability to households in 20 school communities. By hosting an energy forum, the PTA of the school will be able to raise money correlating to the number of families in attendance. Attendees will learn how to save money and preserve valuable natural resources at home, work and in schools. Efforts to become more energy efficient are often rooted in the community and become more successful when communities work as a team. Community energy forums will help teams develop around a beneficial, objective cause.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST
The National Energy Foundation sponsored an iPod giveaway for employees of the State of Utah. State employees had the opportunity to log onto the NEF Facebook page and post an energy-efficient tip or behavior they performed once a day throughout the entire month of March. Each post equated to one entry in a drawing that took place on April 4th. Nearly 700 entries from over 100 state employees were received ranging from the most common tips, turning off the lights, to the surprisingly popular “lasagna garden,” a style of gardening utilizing multiple layers of organic materials resulting in rich soil.

The interactions between employees demonstrated their commitment to making workplaces more efficient. The actual drawing was filmed and posted on Youtube, (click here to watch it) where the winner Beth Wilkinson was announced. NEF would like to thank all the Utah State employees who participated in the contest.

STUDENT COMPETITIONS
Students share their ideas on energy through art, writing, media and more.

National Energy Foundation (NEF) is pleased to announce the completion of two of this year’s student contests. The Igniting Creative Energy Challenge (ICE), presented in partnership with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), was a roaring success in its 10th year of encouraging students to share creative ideas that save energy and preserve the environment. Kohler joined JCI and NEF as partners in the implementation of ICE and helped provide the addition of ICE Water for the 10-year anniversary of the challenge. The winners of ICE are in the process of being announced and presented with their awards via surprise classroom visits from JCI and NEF representatives. Stay tuned to www.ignitingcreativeenergy.org for the winners, and their projects, will be posted shortly.

Energy By Design (EBD) generated a record number of entries in its sixth-annual year. Over 1,500 student entries were received, enjoyed and judged by NEF and Nicor employees. This year’s contest winners, and their posters, can be found at www.energybydesign.org.

NEF would like to thank Johnson Controls, Nicor and Kohler for their continued partnership in promoting energy education.

TORONTO COMMUNITY HOUSING PROJECT
The Toronto Housing Community Project is a new program created in partnership with the Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) Academy of Energy Education. The program is aimed at reducing energy use throughout Toronto Community Housing. There was a wide array of topics discussed at the training meeting held February 16th, including energy efficiency, renewable resources, sustainability, recycling, air quality and transportation. In order to accomplish a goal of lower utility bills and reduced energy consumption, Jenell Brimhall, of NEF, led an educational workshop designed to “train the trainers.” These trainers will take what they learned back to their fellow residents and lead three different age-appropriate training sessions. They also learned activities and games to take back to their neighbors that will make teaching the subject of energy efficiency more fun and effective. 

ACADEMY WATER
In continuing the development of instructional materials for the Academy of Energy Education, National Energy Foundation and Johnson Controls Inc. have added Academy Water to its already impressive menu of educational products. Academy Water is a family of interdisciplinary curriculum materials designed to guide teachers through water basics, elementary water activities and then secondary activities that also include an exploration of technologies associated with water. The hydrologic cycle is explored as well as electric generation with water. Academy Water will also be available for purchase by the general public under the name Water Energy in Action. For more information on purchasing Water Energy in Action, please call NEF at 801-327-9507.