SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — In the Sahuarita Unified School District, the Anza Trail School installed solar panels. It's just one of the ways that the district is saving energy.
For the students like Sergio Martinez, it's about the little things.
"Usually we start with the little things like turning off our Chromebooks and using as little paper as possible," Martinez said.
Martinez and his classmates use laptops in class everyday and make sure to turn off lights when they leave.
"We're learning about google docs and excel spreadsheets," he said.
His teacher Ron Potts said they make sure that they conserve both paper and electricity in his classroom.
"We have the students use one charger and they keep track of the battery status, so we don't have multiple devices connected to electricity," Potts said. "Our classroom has the luxury of eliminating 99% of paper use."
The district installed LED lights, solar panels, water saving toilets and updated its heating and cooling systems. Each year, Tucson Electric Power presents this award to entities that have made strides to save energy. Because of this, the district has saved thousands of dollars.
"Allowing the school to save some money and reroute that money to programs or other things they need," Aracely Lucero, the account manager with TEP, said. "And we're proud of that.
In the classrooms, the teachers are able to teach by example.
"What a carbon footprint is, and how can we as humans mitigate the impact that we have," Potts said.
And the students are ready to learn.
"It matters for everybody to be honest like the trees and the ocean," Martinez said. "That's been a huge problem, but many of us noted that and we want to take action."
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
