HANAMA‘ULU — Some children are making hundreds of dollars a year from savings in utilities, said Adam Orens of A&B Audio Video, Monday, at the King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School PTSA “Go Green” community event. Orens was one of nine community
HANAMA‘ULU — Some children are making hundreds of dollars a year from savings in utilities, said Adam Orens of A&B Audio Video, Monday, at the King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School PTSA “Go Green” community event.
Orens was one of nine community vendors with interactive demonstrations and exhibits centering around energy, conservation and sustainability during the free community event at the school’s cafeteria.
“There are several software programs available which can track electrical usages in a home,” Orens said. “Through the use of these programs, homeowners can track the actual costs of what they are using, and in some cities, parents have made deals with their children to split the savings from conserving. This can amount to several hundred dollars a year.”
Orens said the typical residence utilizing some of these programs can realize cost savings of 10 to 25 percent over their current utility bills.
“This is the first time the school has done this,” said Karen Liu, the school’s principal. “We took advantage of April celebrating Earth Day and combined the entries from our science fair to invite the community to see what can be done to help conserve some of our resources.”
Marnie Crawford, one of the event organizers from the PTSA, said Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative had a special bicycle capable of generating power; the Department of Water had its prize wheel featuring some water conservation devices, including low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads; the Sierra Club had a video presentation featuring Cameron Diaz; and the 4-H Clubs were teaching how to make a bird feeder using locally available pine cones, “outdated” peanut butter and bird seed.
“We just wanted the community to know how easy conservation can be,” Crawford said. “The first 100 people also got a Walmart recyclable shopping bag.”
Crawford said King Kaumuali‘i currently hosts a Recycle Day every six weeks where students can bring in HI-5 containers.
During the event, guests could indulge in hard ice and chips distributed by the school’s Student Council with the proceeds helping to sponsor a school-wide carnival on May 20.
“The Student Council is sponsoring that event,” Liu said. “That means, they’re working at trying to pay for some of the items associated with the carnival. They can use some help.”
Also adding to the excitement, parents could view the science projects created the school’s fourth and fifth grades, one of the blue ribbon projects dealing with the impact on balance by some of the power bracelets and necklaces touting improved balance. The comparison of mold on bread (and beef) as well as a volcano created from a liter of soda were also show stoppers.
“We wanted the students to get started early on working on science projects so when they get to the middle school they’ll be familiar with what is involved,” Liu said. “This science project exhibit is also a first time event for us and hopefully, we can have it again.”
