...from the October/November 2009 issue of The Trailblazer

With the windy, wide-open spaces of the Hilltowns just outside her classroom window, fourth grade teacher Carol Willsey sets the stage for a class debate about wind energy.

“The kids really get into talking about the pros and cons of it,” Willsey says. “We know people have mixed views on wind turbines, and some kids talk about what they hear their relatives discuss regarding what’s good and bad about wind turbines.”

This is one of many activities Willsey plans throughout the school year to introduce her students to many different forms of alternative or “green” energy, such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and nuclear power.

Although Willsey has included alternative energy discussions in her class curriculum plans for the last four years, she feels the topic has taken on a special relevance within the last year, as green energy became a hot topic nationally during the presidential election.

Locally, green energy – particularly wind energy – inspires spirited debate among Hilltown residents who favor or oppose wind turbine construction in their neighborhoods.

Further, the BKW district is now considering an energy performance contract that would use alternative energy and conservation measures to help the district save money and operate more efficiently. The district’s review of a possible energy performance contract and the local green energy discussions provide a perfect backdrop for her green energy lessons, Willsey says.

“We talk about the vocabulary of renewable energy, the different types,” she says, “then students pick one and write a report on the pros and cons of that particular type of alternative energy.”

In the spring, the class visits an “off-the-grid” home in Knox that makes use of wind and solar energy where Willsey makes sure to point out the “solar clothes dryer” – otherwise known as a clothesline.

Thanks to a $300 grant from Colonial Plumbing of Albany, the students have the materials necessary to build their own model wind turbines, which they will connect to generators and then test for efficiency by altering blade angles and turbine positions.

“The kids are very interested in alternative energy, and I think it’s because they hear about it so much in the news and from the adults in their lives,” Willsey says. “The students understand the controversy. But I don’t want to tell them what to think about alternative energy. I tell them, ‘This is for your generation to figure out.’ They will be the ones working in this industry, and I always tell them I can’t wait to see what they come up with!”