cornell outreach
The Solar Decathlon has proven to be not only an excellent educational opportunity for Cornell University students, but also for community members in Ithaca and beyond. While we are committed to building our solar house, we are equally committed to educating the public about sustainability, green building practices, and the environment. In fact, one of the most important Solar Decathlon missions is to educate the public about our team’s work. Awareness of energy-efficient opportunities is an investment in our planet’s future, and we take this responsibility seriously. Through our team’s outreach, we not only look to educate our peers and ourselves, but we aim to start a dialogue with the community about renewable energy. The 2007 Cornell University Solar Decathlon team is continuing this tradition of community outreach set by our 2005 team. Examples of our outreach events include:
Ithaca Festival and Ithaca Earth Day – team members staffed tables and spoke about sustainability, the Solar Decathlon competition, and our home’s design
Tours of our Construction site – team members discussed passive and active solar systems and solar design techniques
Bring you Child to Work Day – team members worked with children of Cornell faculty to build model solar houses out of cardboard and construction paper
We are always looking for opportunities to teach the public about sustainability and our mission. Please contact our outreach coordinator, Jeff Gunther at jmg22@cornell.edu, to schedule an event.
