Tucked away near Owen Hall on the University of Minnesota – Crookston campus is the Nature Nook. With the recent help of the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), a new solar-powered LED light now helps illuminate this little oasis.
We spoke with Laura Gabrielson, now a Senior majoring in Software Engineering with an ITM Minor, and Linda Kingery, Executive Director for the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, to find out more.
Joel Haskard: Linda, how did this project come about?
Linda Kingery: This LED demonstration project surfaced during the Northwest regional session at the CERTS conference in February, 2013. It was developed by students in the Crookston campus.
Joel Haskard: Laura, what did you do on this project?
Laura Gabrielson: What I did on this project was fill out the grant paperwork along with research on finding the type of light that fit our campus in Crookston the best. I worked with facilities on campus to obtain the proper clearance to have the light installed and to make sure that they could install it.
Joel Haskard: What was the best part of the project? What was the most difficult?
Laura Gabrielson: The best part of the project was the day that I was sitting in class during lecture and I saw the light being lifted up and placed in the Nature Nook. This felt like a huge accomplishment for me and great progress towards sustainability as a whole. The most difficult part was finding the correct light. The Nature nook does not get full sunlight all day so the light needed to be with the on-grid electric system. Also, most of the lights available were too tall. I finally found one where it was small enough for the Nature Nook, and the panels located on the pole of the light.
Joel Haskard: What have been the reactions of folks so far?
Laura Gabrielson: Reactions so far have been very positive. People enjoy finding out that the light is solar powered, because you cannot tell for the most part that there are solar panels on the pole.
Joel Haskard: Finally, Linda, can you tell us a little more about the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships? Note: the RSDP are one of CERTs’ five parent organizations
Linda Kingery: The NWRSDP contributes to a vibrant future for northwest Minnesota. We bring together talent and resources in northwest Minnesota with University of Minnesota knowledge and seed funding to drive sustainability in agriculture and food systems, tourism and resilient communities, clean energy and natural resources. Our innovative initiatives are community identified and valued, citizen led, University engaged and collaborative, so we are local in many places.
Joel Haskard: How can people learn more?
Linda Kingery: To view a 360 picture of the Nature Nook (with the old light), click here. Community members interested in serving on the board or on a work group, or who have a sustainability idea should contact me at kinge002@umn.edu or 218-281-8697. All of the Regional Sustainable Development Partnership regions may have funding available via their Idea Brief.
Want to learn how your community can get a CERTs Seed Grant to advance your work? Applications for the next round of grants are available and due October 26th. To get started, visit the Seed Grant page and see other awarded projects from past years.
