The UW Sustainability Coalition hosted their annual Solar Fest on October 8th, in conjunction the Big Event’s concluding lunch.
This year the Solar Fest, held in Simpson’s Plaza, consisted of live music performed by local Laramie musicians: the punk band Stay Awhile and solo artist Molasses Flood.
The concert was powered entirely by UW Extension’s solar-powered trailer, a trailer equipped with solar panels.
“We are fortunate to be able to use [the university’s] solar charger,” Kami Grimm, Co-leader of the Sustainability coalition, said.
“Every year since [the solar charger trailer was developed] we have held our solar fest event, where we get live music and education on renewable energy, while powering everything off of the solar trailer.”
The purpose of the Solar Fest is to educate students on the potential of solar energy.
“In Wyoming there’s some pretty big barriers and some weird stigmas around using renewable energy resources. This is just an opportunity to show how easy it is to take advantage of the fantastic sun that we get year round,” Grimm said.
“It’s showing accessibility, but also leading as an example for community members in Wyoming.”
Leaders of the coalition are also happy to see members of the greater community take an interest in the potential of solar energy.
“At these events, it’s more student based, but there’s also community members who come and are interested,” Walker Koberlein, Co-leader of the Sustainability Coalition, said.
“It’s really cool just to see the community engagement happening at these in person events.”
The UW Sustainability Coalition aims to provide solutions to the university’s issues while emphasizing the need to be green.
“We look at problems on campus through the lens of environmental, economic and social justice. We tackle on campus problems through all those perspectives. The main three things that we work on are emissions reduction, food security, and zero waste.” Grimm said.
Solar Fest was held alongside the Big Event’s concluding lunch to increase the Solar Fest’s attendance of individuals unfamiliar with the Sustainability Coalition.
“A lot of the sustainability coalition is about doing community services and stuff like that, so it’s a really great opportunity to have so many students that are also doing community service stuff here, so they can see what we do,” Grimm said.
While efficiently increasing the number of Solar Fest attendees, the partnership also aimed to provide a more lively environment at the Big Event’s lunch.
“Sustainability is so interdisciplinary [and] all of these service projects today were so different as well, so it’s nice to be part of the celebration,” Koberlein said.
