View larger image — At Appalachian’s REI Spring Forum, a participant grinds coffee by pedaling a stationary bike at the Coffee Gives You Energy (So Does the Sun) workshop, which explores the human and solar power it takes to make a renewable cup of coffee. Photo by Chase Reynolds

Appalachian’s REI hosts 2018 Spring Forum

By Alex Jansen

Posted May 2, 2018 at 4:51 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Building mini solar-powered cars. Grinding and brewing coffee using the power of a bike and the sun. Lifting weights to simulate the energy it takes to power a lightbulb. These are just a few of the components of sustainability workshops participants had a chance to experience at the 2018 REI Spring Forum held Thursday, April 12.

The Renewable Energy Initiative (REI) is a student-led, student-funded organization that seeks to install renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on campus.

The 2018 REI Spring Forum featured interactive workshops, networking opportunities with members of Appalachian organizations — including REI, Sustained Dialogue and Beekeeping Club — as well as sustainability professionals, a raffle for prizes and Caribbean soul food catered by Boone-based Coyote Kitchen.

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Need to recharge? Phones, laptops and other electronics can be charged at the state-of-the-art, solar-powered picnic tables installed on the first-floor patio of Appalachian’s Peacock Hall.

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Solar charging station ribbon-cutting draws lunchtime crowd at Appalachian’s Peacock Hall

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The ribbon-cutting for Appalachian’s solar charging picnic tables — which were installed in February and are located on the first-floor patio of Peacock Hall — coincides with the campus’ Earth Month celebrations.

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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. Learn more at https://appstate.edu/sustainability.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The 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 to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is 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.