TOWAMENCIN-Walking out of a North Penn classroom, bathroom, locker room, or even audion; you may have noticed the “Last out Lights out” stickers on the light switches. Any student would think that either teachers or the custodial staff would be responsible for these smiley reminders, but they are not the ones behind the cheerful labels.  Actually, it is a small-unknown group within the high school known as the Energy Troopers. Comprised of about eight students, the group has been putting forth a strong effort to steer North Penn towards a greener, more energy efficient educational environment, and they have been very successful in doing so.

Two years ago, a national organization known as the “Green Schools Program”, which has since changed its name to “Power Save Schools”, chose North Penn as one of the area school districts in Pennsylvania to help train and endorse in their effort to eliminate the waste of energy. Schools in the district that are involved include the following: North Penn High School; Pennbrook and Penndale middle schools; and Bridle Path, Gwyn- Nor, Hatfield, A.M. Kulp and Oak Park elementary schools.

With the support of Power Save Schools, Science teacher Ms. Nina Ferrant started a small group of students in North Penn High School who were guided by the organization. These students all share an interest in green practices and saving energy and the Power Save Schools has provided them with the proper tools and training to allow them to go around North Penn and measure the amount of energy used throughout building.

Jacqui Baxter is the local representative from the Power Save Schools program who has been aiding the Energy Troopers in their quest to create a greener educational environment. Baxter provides guidance and a channel to larger organizations statewide and nationally that allow the Energy Troopers to learn more and be more successful. She started with the group when it was started, back in September of 2011. Helping guide the students through an eight hour course on a Saturday, she helped the students learn to use special tools and devices allowing them to go around North Penn and measure how much energy the building was using. With this information, the program helped the troopers over a two-year beginning period with saving energy and money around the high school.

The Energy Troopers are lead by President, Senior Matt Nejako who has helped the group’s presence truly be noticeable around the district. Last year Nejako put together a report based on the information and calculations that  he and the other members had put together after doing work around North Penn. This energy saving report included the objective, the methodology used, the numbers found, the calculations, the explanation of the calculations, and the recommendations given by the Energy Troopers to improve energy efficiency within North Penn. Matt won an award for his well-written report and also received the opportunity to present it in front of the North Penn School Board.

With the research and work of the Energy Troopers, the group was able to reduce 1,028,763 kWh (Kilowatt hour), which is a reduction of 27% annual energy usage within the high school. That’s equivalent to the energy used to power 21 homes for an entire year. These savings transfigure into a $154,241 reduction in energy bills. Matt is very proud of the groups work and continues to try and send a positive message to the North Penn Community saying; “Right now what we are mainly doing is awareness. It’s the cheapest thing and we are really trying to save money for the school.”

The Energy Troopers have received full support and applause from both North Penn High School Principal Mr. Burton Hynes and North Penn Super Intendant Dr. Curtis Dietrich. This year the Energy Troopers have teamed up with Mr. Michael Boyer from the technology department and the group he runs known as EPCS, Energy Projects and Community Service. With both of their combined efforts the students hope to use wasted energy sources around North Penn and transform them into productive producers that can help save money. “Part of our club that we do is taking a better look at bettering the community whether it’s in the North Penn community or the community at large, while at the same time teaching students about engineering. One of the ideas we had been figuring out a way to capitalize on energy lost around the building as well as looking into harvesting energy that was lost whether it was thermal or mechanical energy” said Mr. Boyer of EPCS. The idea that EPCS came up with was harvesting the energy produced from the spinning exercise bikes in the gym and using them as a source of electricity for the school. Mr. Boyer explained how both groups are connected saying “The discussion started opening up to well maybe we could have a competition and we can figure out how to harvest that electricity but also figure out how much energy is consumed by each human and then find ways to convert that energy. That’s kind of how the idea started and then we connected with the Energy Troopers. They have a great connection with the community and talking about how to better energy consumption, how to not waste energy, turning off the lights, things of that nature and we in EPCS have the engineering knowledge skills and tools that help that come to those ideas come to be.”

After the 2012- 2013 school year Jaqui Baxter and the Power Save Schools organization will leave the Energy Troopers on their own where they will be responsible to continue on their mission without the groups professional guidance. But Ms. Ferrant plans to continue the success of her troop by planning to implement some green practices into the school science curriculum. She is very proud of her students, and tries to stay out of their work as much as possible saying “It’s all about the kids. I just provide the forum and environment, but they do the work.” Matt continues to try spreading the Energy Trooper message around North Penn explaining “Right now what we are mainly doing is awareness. It’s the cheapest thing and we are really trying to save money for the school. We influence policy we don’t create it. We are still pushing towards awareness and are hoping to see the energy audit be approved and its less than a three year payback which is excellent.”

The Energy Troopers meet twice a month on Wednesday ninth periods in Ms. Ferrants room C-117. Any student is welcome to go to Ms. Ferrant and talk to her about joining the effort in creating a greener environment around North Penn. The Energy Troopers have won multiple awards and were even officially recognized by the state for the work they have done around North Penn over the past two years. For such a young, small group these students have certainly made a strong impact on the school and hope to continue to do so for years to come.

Jewel Rama contributed to this article.