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A Brighter Future at TFT: Walking the Talk on Sustainability

 

Before we begin to tell you the tale of change here at Trees For Tomorrow (TFT), let us remind you of who we are and what we stand for.

 

Mission Statement: Trees For Tomorrow promotes sustainable natural resources management through transformative, real-life educational experiences.

 

Vision Statement: Trees For Tomorrow envisions a future where every individual is inspired and empowered to be stewards of our natural world.

 

Core Values:

• Balance: Managing natural resources for the long-term benefit of everyone.

• Sustainability: Proper management and responsible use of our natural resources is essential.

• Collaboration: Strong, mutually supportive relationships with a variety of partner organizations.

• Professionalism: The highest standards of excellence are maintained by professionally qualified staff.

• Fun: Experiences at Trees For Tomorrow include enjoying the environment and sharing our enthusiasm with others.

 

When you read the above statements, it’s glaringly obvious that TFT puts a huge amount of emphasis on sustainability. We follow that daily by teaching public workshops on skills  that help people lead a more sustainable life (like maple syrup making, composting, or foraging). We also teach our students about the importance of balance and resource stewardship through all three levels—elementary, middle school, and high school—of our curriculum.

 

In fact, energy education is a foundational pillar of what we do. Through our standard curriculum frameworks like the SOLE (School Outdoor Learning Expereinces) for K-12 Journey, we offer courses specifically tailored to energy and climate. These classes challenge students to look at their own footprints and understand the critical balance between human consumption and natural resource management.

 

With a resume like that, how could we not jump at the opportunity to improve our own campus sustainability?

 

Recently, when Focus on Energy reached out to us to discuss options for boosting our campus energy efficiency, we were all ears. With a expansive 40-acre campus, four dormitory-style lodges, and heavy annual use from roughly 10,000 visitors, we needed to sit down and decide what changes would be the most impactful, while still fitting within the budget of a small nonprofit organization.

 

Because we believe in true collaboration, we are incredibly proud to acknowledge that this project was a team effort. We worked closely with Focus on Energy alongside our local utility, the City of Eagle River Light & Water Utility, to identify the best solutions.

 

For an aging facility that sees constant love and heavy use, we had plenty of room for improvement! Ultimately, we decided to focus our efforts on replacing outdated fluorescent lighting in our Education Hall and upgrading our ancient water heaters. Thanks to the expertise of Superior Electrical Systems, the comprehensive upgrades were completed seamlessly, and the results are night and day.

 

Focus on Energy and our partners helped us replace nearly 140 fluorescent light fixtures with brand-new LED fixtures. Brightening up our classrooms with these new LEDs does much more than just save energy—it directly impacts student performance. Studies show proper lighting improves alertness and engagement. Now, our students can stay focused, easily see the board from the back of the room, and get a crystal-clear look at the animal artifacts and natural specimens we pass around during class.

 

New lighting in the TFT Education Hall

 

We also upgraded seven of our water heaters across two cabins and the dining hall to new tankless models! Some of our old storage water heaters were nearly 50 years old and trying their best, but tankless models are much more energy-efficient for facilities with massive fluctuations in occupancy.

 

Sometimes our dorm rooms are swarmed with energetic 7th graders who really need a hot shower after a long day exploring the woods (we assure you… we can smell… I mean, tell!), and other times we may go several weeks without occupancy in a particular dorm. Why waste energy keeping massive tanks of water hot 24/7 when nobody is there? Tankless is truly the way to go for us, heating water only exactly when it's needed.

 

Making these changes helps us lead by example and put our money where our mouth is when it comes to teaching conservation. It is an investment in the future of our organization and a prime example of our commitment to our mission and values.

 

The numbers speak for themselves. It’s predicted that our simple changes to light fixtures will provide a yearly savings of 23,300 kWh, and our water heater upgrades will save around 852 therms annually. Focus on Energy converted that into terms we can easily share with our students: that's an environmental benefit equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide that 20.2 acres of U.S. forests absorb in a year!

 

It doesn’t hurt that making energy-efficient changes also protects our financial resources. These combined upgrades will save Trees For Tomorrow an estimated $3,900 every single year. As a nonprofit, that is nearly $4,000 that we can immediately reallocate where it matters most: funding school scholarships for students who wouldn't otherwise be able to visit, upgrading our hands-on classroom supplies, and expanding our SOLE for K-12 programs.

 

We are so very grateful to Focus on Energy, the City of Eagle River Light & Water Utility, and Superior Electrical Systems for guiding us through this process. Together, we are ensuring a brighter, more sustainable future for every generation of students yet to pass through these historic halls.

 

Check out focusonenergy.com/blog/planting-knowledge-for-a-better-future