Bryant Ranch School’s Green Team launches energy conservation campaign

Five years ago, the Bryant Ranch Green Team was just a dream to help the community become more aware of our environmental concerns. As the team grew so did their dedication and hard work to educate and advocate for the planet. Through their years of journey, the Green Team has won prestigious awards and grants to help further their goals and aspirations.

Having won the title of “Best Elementary Impact” in a Global Climate Solutions Campaign in 2019, the Green Team is once again competing for a title and environmental award for their school. This year’s topic is on energy conservation and the Bryant Ranch Green Team chose an awareness campaign aptly named, “Combat Energy Vampires”.

The dedicated team of fourth and fifth graders created a campaign for participants to unplug small electric appliances when not in use and to track each household’s energy usage. Many people are not aware that plugged-in appliances drain energy thus creating an ongoing power strain for our environment. These plugged-in appliances are sometimes called “energy vampires” or “phantom loads” as they constantly use up power even if they are in the “off” position.

The Green Team’s “Combat Energy Vampires” Campaign hopes to bring awareness to households on the dangers of power drain and their harmful effects on the environment.

Their goal is to educate the community on how to reduce energy usage and use natural resources whenever possible. Natural resources could be solar power and wind energy and could be as simple as unplugging an appliance when not in use and using natural sunlight instead of lamps and ceiling lights. Participants are given stickers and a tracking sheet to calculate their kilowatt usage between January and March. By the end of March, the Green Team can see how much (if any) energy was conserved in each household.

Bryant Ranch Green Team also demonstrated how to conserve energy through an interactive booth at their Seuss Night. Students and parents gained valuable insight on the importance of unplugging appliances and devices when not in use.