“Green Dream Gingerbread House” Workshop
Area students joined the Green Iowa AmeriCorps team at the Decorah Public Library to build their very own “Green Dream Gingerbread House.” Five AmeriCorps members walked students through the basics of home energy, alternative wind and solar energy for power and energy efficient design with fixtures and materials.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps Education Coordinator Max Molzahn shared, “We wanted to host an event that would tap into the holiday season excitement, as well as get a group of kids thinking about energy and what that means for their homes. ‘Green’ Gingerbread building seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine both bits of inspiration.”
Some students went above and beyond the basics of home energy planning by adding water and soil conservation elements, home food production, and more – creativity at its best. “Besides the fun snack we hope that the kids took with them some new ideas about where energy comes from, along with new and more efficient ways that energy can be used in and around the place they live,” said Molzahn. Thank you to the Decorah Public Library and Youth Services Coordinator Heidi Swets for making the event possible.
In addition to energy-related education and outreach events within Winneshiek County, the Green Iowa AmeriCorps team provides all Winneshiek County residents with Direct Installs. The Direct Install program is designed to help households reduce their energy consumption through low-impact, high-performance energy efficiency upgrades.
Through combustible appliances safety checks, lighting retrofits, air sealing as necessary, and water fixture efficiency improvements, the program strives to make houses more comfortable while keeping emissions and utility bills low.