GMS students focus on energy savings

Greencastle Middle School students (from left) Gus Manion, Preston Headley, Colin York and Megan Friars hold up an Energizing Indiana Enery Savings Kit. Each sixth grade student received one, valued at $90, to help reduce the environmental footprint in their home. Debbie Nispel from Duke Energy showed kids how local companies are helping to protect the environment.

Sixth grade students at Greencastle Middle School participated in Environmental Footprint week, where they learned ways companies and community members are helping to protect the environment.

Energizing Indiana, presented by Duke Energy, provided each of the 165 students with an energy savings kit valued at $90.

Stacie Stoffregen, a teacher at Greencastle, said when she applied for the program, she had no idea they would get such a large donation.

It took 20 minutes to unload the truck filled with kits, which students took home on Friday.

The kits include a high-efficiency showerhead, six CFL bulbs, an efficient faucet aerator, a digital thermometer, an LED light, a FilterTone Alarm that signals a dirty air filter and measurement devices to see how much energy would be saved by implementing these products.

"The kids have been excited," Stoffregen said. "They've been dying to get these."

On Thursday and Friday, local community members and business gave students presentations about how they are helping to protect the environment.

Students heard from Debbie Nispel of Duke Energy, cement company Buzzi Unicem, a poet, the Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District, a college student, a local farmer and a farm chemical company.

Students were also given a packet to take home and share information with their families.