BOONE, N.C. — Solar-powered, smart picnic tables were installed on Peacock Hall’s first-floor patio, providing extra form and function for learners on Appalachian State University’s campus.
Two of the tables were purchased by Appalachian’s Office of Sustainability and one was a gift from the Appalachian State Renewable Energy Initiative (REI), a student-led, student-funded organization that installs renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on campus. The tables feature charging stations — including wireless charging, USB ports and regular outlets.
Two Appalachian students charge their laptops and phones at one of the solar-powered picnic tables now available on Peacock Hall’s first-floor patio. Photo by Samantha Fuentes
The REI students worked with Appalachian’s Chief Sustainability Officer Dr. Lee Ball, Office of Sustainability Data and Assessment Specialist Jim Dees and the Walker College of Business to create the plan for the tables.
A ribbon-cutting celebration is tentatively set for Monday, April 16, as part of Appalachian’s Earth Month observance.
REI students were on hand to answer questions when the solar-powered picnic tables were assembled and installed on the first-floor patio of Appalachian’s Peacock Hall. Photo by Samantha Fuentes
About the Appalachian State University Renewable Energy Initiative
The Appalachian State University Renewable Energy Initiative (REI) is a student-led, student-funded organization that seeks to install renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on campus. Projects can be proposed by any member of Appalachian and are carried out by the REI committee with the help of faculty and staff advisors. Since its inception in 2005, the REI has funded over 20 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, including the Broyhill Wind Turbine, which, until recently, was the largest wind turbine in North Carolina. The REI works closely with Appalachian’s Office of Sustainability. Learn more at https://rei.appstate.edu.
About Sustainability at Appalachian
Appalachian State University’s leadership in sustainability is known nationally. The university’s holistic, three-branched approach considers sustainability economically, environmentally and equitably in relationship to the planet’s co-inhabitants. The university is an active steward of the state’s interconnected financial, cultural and natural resources and challenges students and others think critically and creatively about sustainability and what it means from the smallest individual action to the most broad-based applications. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs that focus on sustainability. In addition, 100 percent of Appalachian’s academic departments offer at least one sustainability course or course that includes sustainability, and all students graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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