IESA IN MINNESOTA
On April 20th -21
st, the Iowa Energy Sustainability Academy (IESA) Central Campus group took a trip to the Minnesota. To start our trip off we leave Des Moines at 7am. We stop for a lunch break midway to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once there our first destination was Target Stadium, home of the Minnesota Twins. Our group got to experience a behind the scene, exclusive look into the stadiums VIP sections as well as the stadiums energy efficient qualities. “Getting to go onto the field and seeing everything from behind the scenes was really cool” Said 2nd Year student Hunter Lee in the IESA program. From this tour we learned a lot about how eco-friendly something as big as a modern MLB stadium can be.
Our next stop would take us to the Como Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Como Conservatory is a combination of a greenhouse and a zoo. Getting a tour and presentation of the conservatory, we got to see the many types of plants that are growing that are not on display yet. We also learned about what it takes to grow the plants and having the best outcome. To complement the tour of the conservatory the group also got a presentation from one of the Zoo Keepers at the Como Zoo. This presentation included the showing of many animals including the Armadillo and the Snake Neck Turtle, as well as the story of what goes on daily at the zoo. “The conservatory was a great experience. There were a lot of plants that you don’t see in Iowa on a daily basis” said Marco Foster, a 2nd year student. This would be the last destination for the group who later went to the hotel for a pizza party and to relax.
The next day the group woke up to a big breakfast and a morning trip to Mall of America. The group was given a presentation on the energy saving solutions that it has built into the Super Mall, like generating heat for the building from the shoppers, and the installment of LED lights. The mall also recycles organic and non-organic wastes with the organic going to a local farmer as food for the animals and the non-organic being recycled and even being reused to work towards the expansion of the mall. “The mall was fun; it was cool how the building heating was produced from the people and the lighting of the stores” said Sabrina Sithiphong another 2nd year student. Then after a total of 6 hours at the mall the group leaves the mall headed back home to Des Moines.
Written by Madison Hawxby, Marco Foster and Sabrina Sithiphong of Des Moines Lincoln High School
