DRI received a $100,000 donation from the The Robert S. and Dorothy J. Keyser Foundation in support of the K-12 school-based GreenPower Program.

GreenPower is a DRI program that educates students on the necessity of a sustainable approach to energy and the environment.  The GreenPower Program provides the knowledge and resources faculty need to explain renewable energy, conservation, and sustainability in ways that are tangible to students.

GreenPower provides each participating school a GreenPower toolkit that consists of hands on teaching tools and materials that can be used in the classroom to enable students to explore green concepts firsthand. These kits are provided to designated GreenPower schools free of charge.  They are filled with books, and solar, wind, and hydrogen experiment packages. These GreenPower toolkits have so far provided 51 GreenPower schools throughout Nevada with new learning programs to develop an understanding of energy and the environment.

Because the GreenPower toolkits have done so well, GreenPower is proposing to use existing DRI Science Boxes and update them to new science standards and additionally incorporate a sustainability message. These new boxes will be called “Green Boxes.” Serving as an optional supplement to the GreenPower kits, Green Boxes would travel between GreenPower schools and provide an in-depth coverage of science topics focusing specifically on the concept of sustainability. Green Boxes would require little-to-no teacher prep time in that they would include curriculum, all materials, and would serve as “canned” lessons for easy delivery and distribution. Green Boxes would be lent to the school with an expectation that the school utilizes the box and returns it to DRI within a six-week timeframe.

Green Boxes will be available only to participating GreenPower schools and thereby help increase the enrollment of schools into the GreenPower program as well as enhance the impact of the GreenPower message.  Through a three-year development and implementation cycle, the Keyser Foundation will help energize this program, while promoting a green approach in Nevada’s K-12 schools.  DRI will partner with several educational institutions to create a valuable resource for Nevada’s educators.

During the 2009 – 2010 school year, The Keyser Foundation generously supported the addition of customized on-site teacher trainings for participating GreenPower schools.  That donation enabled GreenPower to expand the reach of GreenPower from 300 to 1,500 students.

Through the $100,000 donation from the Keyser Foundation, GreenPower will expand the customized trainings to reach 3,000 students in 2010-2011.  By the end of the 2013 school year, GreenPower will be reaching more than 6,000 students annually.  Through GreenPower toolkits and the upcoming Green Boxes, young scholars will obtain the information and knowledge of a sustainable approach to energy and the environment they need to support America in the future.
Together, DRI is helping our state realize the benefits of promoting the education of Nevada’s K-12 students in renewable energy and incorporating conscious living practices into their daily lives.