Climate Education & Sunsquatch Lessons from 2021

Sunsquatch & Friends after a composting lesson at Wells Reserve

ReVision Energy is on a mission to teach the next generation how to save the world! Working alongside our fearless friend Sunsquatch, our goals are:

  1. To educate the next generation, inclusive of all races, ethnicities, genders, and incomes about solving the environmental problems caused by fossil fuels while alleviating economic and social injustice.
  2. To support educators through providing environmental education tools and resources that promote awareness and inspire tangible behavioral changes.
  3. To spread joy and hope about the future of the planet to children’s lives.

We work toward these goals in a variety of ways, from school presentations (both virtual and in-person), to activity books, to contests and games. Below are some of the highlights from the past year. Want Sunsquatch and a Solar Expert to give a presentation at your school? Get in touch: [email protected]

Year in Review: Climate Education Highlights

Click the titles below to read more about our educational initiatives from this past year!

ReVision and Sunquatch love to team up and bring students outside to learn about the world we’re all working hard to save. In the spring of 2021, Sunsquatch and Brittany, a member of our marketing team, were able to visit the 4th grade class of Moharimet Elementary in their outdoor classroom and teach a lesson on solar. Through our homemade solar prints we experienced the true power of the sun and UV light.
The students led Sunsquatch through the forest as they found interesting shapes (fallen leaves, twigs, pine needles, etc.) to use on their solar prints. Moharimet Elementary School, in Madbury, NH, has the coolest outdoor classroom, and everyone had a wonderful time learning and playing outside together. Fostering a love and appreciation for the natural world is one of the strongest ways to teach kids and young adults to protect the earth and care about fighting the climate crisis.
Oh also….it was Sunsquatch’s first time on a tire swing.

Composting is a wonderful way for individuals to get involved in helping our earth and improving local environment!
Bridget, our VP of Marketing, taught a group of summer campers all about composting at the 100% solar-powered Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. We discussed what it means to reduce-reuse-recycle, and how keeping trash out of landfills helps fight the climate crisis!  The students found common household items to compost, and learned what other ingredients (dead leaves, grasses, and sticks) are necessary for the composting process to happen. And then everyone got to hang out with Sunsquatch!

Greeley High’s Climate Action Group in front of the Cumberland solar array.
One of the best ways to learn about solar is in front of a solar array! When it’s possible, we like to get students face to face with the renewable energy technology, such as solar arrays and EV chargers.
Greely High School has an incredible group of students called the Climate Action Group, who are working for a better future for their school and town. We were thrilled to lead these students on a tour of the Town of Cumberland’s municipal solar array, set on the town’s capped landfill.
Made up of 1,248 solar panels and offsetting 984,000 lbs of carbon annually, this array is producing over 630,000 kilowatt-hours of clean energy a year. The Climate Action Group brainstormed some incredible sustainability ideas while enjoying the sun at the array!

Co-owner Kaitlyn teaches Sunsquatch & friends yoga.
Due to COVID-19 and the pandemic, we had to get creative with many of our usual educational events and celebrations. To celebrate Earth Day, we combined all of our favorite things (Sunsquatch! The Earth! The word jamboree!) and made it virtual.
We mailed activity kits to the kids who registered for these two events, hosted during April school vacations. Then we all got together on Zoom for a morning full of fun – Sunsquatch led a yoga class, we made solar prints, we went on a scavenger hunt, and we had multiple dance parties with Sunsquatch!
Missed that part? Don’t worry, we saved the playlist for you.

There’s nothing better than a bit of hands-on learning!
The Farm at Eastman’s Corner, in Kingston, NH, has a variety of solar – from a rooftop array on their market store, to pole-mounted arrays in their fields. Heather from our Brentwood team gave a tour to a group of students from Seacoast School of Technology, and discussed the various job opportunities in the solar industry.
Then we brought out a bunch of conduit piping like our installers use to wire solar panels on roofs, and the students were able to bend the pipe into different configurations and experiment with designs they thought homeowners would want to see on their house.

As part of our partnership with AABE Chapter of Greater Boston, we worked closely with Dearborn STEM Academy students in Roxbury, MA, teaching engineering with a clean energy focus. During a solar energy intensive showcase, 11th and 12th graders got to learn from three of our employee-owners, and ask them questions about their experience in the solar industry.
They first spoke with thermal installer Frank about his path to becoming both a solar installer and an American resident. Next they got a full day of solar energy programming from our marketing manager Brittany, learning about the ins and outs of the business of growing access to solar. Finally our Director of RETC, Vaughan Woodruff, Zoomed in to answer all the students’ questions about entering the solar workforce.

Photo courtesy of Nottingham Parks & Rec
What’s better than an interactive, educational story about Sunsquatch and their earth-saving friends? A Sunsquatch story that is read along a gorgeous trail!
We partnered with land trusts around the region on our Sunsquatch Story Walk, which encouraged families to get outside and explore their local trails as they followed the story of Sunsquatch overtaking Baron Von Carbon with friendly climate solutions. The Story Walk ran at Downeast Conservancy, Wells Reserve, Hanover Conservancy, Kingston Public Library, Hill Library, Lowell Parks & Rec, and Nottingham Parks & Rec.
The story, created and illustrated by Lyndsay, a member of the marketing & design team, has been enjoyed by trail users all over New England. Sometimes Sunsquatch made an appearance in the form of the Sunsquatch Plushie!
(Interested in having the Story Walk at your local trail system or land trust? Email us!)

Using their 125 kw (DC) solar array on top of the ice rink as a case study, students at Tilton School learned all about electrical engineering and how the flow of electricity works. We also discussed the ReVision Energy Training Center and the various careers available in the solar industry, while busting some classic solar myths!

Sunsquatch.com and @sunsquatch_adventures

Last but not least, we launched a whole new website and Instagram account to focus on our climate education efforts! Focusing on Sunsquatch and climate education for younger students, we’ve created webinars, activity pages, and resources for students, parents, and educators. Check out sunsquatch.com here!