Ever since the election, my students have had a lot of concern for our country. We have worked on a garbage pick up project and collected hundreds of pounds of food but they still feel worried. This kind of concern for our world will help them to become advocates for the environment and folks who need a little help but their shoulders are too narrow to hold the weight of the world.

Whenever the world gets scary, I always think of Mr. Rogers, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” It’s time for us to see the helpers, those who are the everyday heroes planning for a better future. When Hanni suggested a trip to the wind and solar facility that towers over our town, I thought it was a perfect idea, we could see things going on right now, in our community, that are part of the solution.

We knew it would be 20 degrees with 20 mph winds but we weren’t deterred. We bundled up and made the treck. Snow was in the forecast for later in the day but it looked like we would beat the storm.

*We started our tour in the visitor center. The trip from cars to the front door was intense! We had gusts of up to 40mph.*

We enjoyed an amazing presentation in the conference room which detailed what causes wind, costs of the wind and solar facility, the history of windmills, how the turbines work, how the site was prepared and the process of construction. Did you know the site is 11,000 acres and home to a rare hedgehog cactus? Next, we suited up in safety gear and got ready to caravan over to the tower to take a look inside.

Our guide showed us the controls to make an emergency stop, the system to make technicians 125 pounds ligher as they climb and we all looked up into the top of the tower.

Afterwards, we headed back to the visitor center where hot cocoa with marshmallows were waiting.

At school the next day we all had plenty to write about!

“We piled into a windmill. The wind was very strong.” Van

“I went to the wind farm. We went in the windmill.” Callum

“I went to the wind farm. I had fun. The wind was blowing so hard me and my mom were blowing away.” Ramona

The kids were so excited about the adventure. I can’t wait to see what else we can do with this project.

WILD HORSE SOLAR AND WIND FACILITY FIELD TRIP