(Bottom to top) David Pecotte, Kyra Shay, Gracie Hould, Abbey Beckworth, and Mia Cook. Photo by Antoinette Castanon
Teachers Pete Rankin, Molly Gibson, Ray Cressler, and Antoinette Castanon visited the Macho Springs Wind Farm with 9th grade students and the mixed grade level economics class to learn about career pathways, future growth potential, and sustainability issues within the renewable energy sector of the economy.

Students considered the full lifecycle of energy including energy generation to transmission to consumption, the American electric grid, and the basics of wind power.  In their reflection activity Rankin put the terms of electricity into context. One person working all day on YCC trail crew will generate about 70 watts/hour. An average household consumes 11,000 kilowatt/hours per year. Small power plants will produce at the scale of megawatts and the large hydro dam spanning the Yangtze River known as Three Gorges in China produces 2.2 gigawatts or 2.2 billion watts.

9th grader Mya Arrey-Gomez says, “I was surprised to learn that working at a wind farm offers the opportunity to travel and great health benefits.”

Aldo Leopold Charter School is a tuition-free public school with a focus on stewardship of the community and the natural environment. The school offers small class sizes, AP coursework, after-school academic support, opportunity for paid internship with YCC, dual-credit coursework with Western New Mexico University, and the opportunity to play team sports with either Silver High School or Cobre High School.