HARRISBURG, PA — The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on August 26 the creation of the Keystone Energy Education Program (KEEP) to teach and track energy efficiency in school buildings and homes.

KEEP is a series of free workshops for middle school building teams that include three teachers from grades 5, 6 or 7, an administrator and a building maintenance manager. Workshop participants will learn about and explore energy issues, including fundamentals and impacts, electricity generation, transportation fuels, careers, energy conservation, student teams and school building energy benchmarking through presentations, tours and hands-on activities.

“Energy education is critically important for children, teachers and families. The KEEP program will enable participants to learn the importance of conserving our natural resources; the economics of energy sources and technologies; and the value of clean energy for our environment, while enabling the school district to operate the school building more economically to save taxpayer dollars on utility costs,” DEP’s Director of Environmental Education Jack Farster said. For more information, contact the KEEP Coordinator Susan Gove at 412/431-1010 or email at sgove@gove.org.