This month, Winona State’s Environmental Club is participating in the first national campus energy challenge in an effort to reduce campus energy use.
The challenge is a competition between 100 other campuses—state universities, private universities, colleges and high schools. It is part of the Student Sierra Club Coalition, an organization dedicated to promoting energy conservation solutions and protecting the environment.
Judges will look at the campus’ average energy usage from the past three years to compare to the energy usage from the month of February. Environmental Club is working with the utilities plant on Huff Street to calculate energy use on campus.
The results will be sent to the Sierra Coalition, who will determine national and regional winners based on the schools with the highest percent reduction. The prize will not be monetary but rather recognition of the school’s success online.
To create awareness about February’s campaign, environmental club members have had movie nights that promote smart energy use and have visited the campus dormitories to talk to students how simple lifestyle changes can make a difference in the effort to save energy.
“I think it’s hard for people to feel like they are making a difference. We have 8,000 people and if we all did a little bit, it adds up,” Environmental Club member Mallory Mlynarek said.
Environmental club members offered suggestions to students including turn off laptops when they are not in use, washing clothes less often and using cold water and taking the stairs rather than the elevator to classes or dorm rooms.
“The goal is to show students how they can integrate conservation into their daily life,” club member Callie Runestad said.
Runestad hopes that Winona State’s effort this month will allow the university to be a leader in the energy conservation movement.
“Students aren’t thinking about how much this will affect them in the future,” Runestad said.
Club member Aaron Heftly said that part of the problem with motivating action is students’ busy schedules.
“When you actually sit down and talk to students they really are enthusiastic about the environment. Being busy is part of the problem,” said Hefty, a senior ecology major.
Juliana Williams, the Midwest regional campus organizer for the Student Sierra Club Coalition hopes that the energy conservation project will promote additional environment initiatives and lead to changes in campus policies such as a lecture during first year students’ orientation that stresses ways to conserve energy.
“The national conservation of energy challenge is one part in many in the fostering of a campus culture to reduce energy consumption,” Williams said.

Contact Rachel at RDSmith5697@winona.edu