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2007-11-20 issue:

Junior high team brings energy suggestions to church

Members of a robotics team that attend Kern Road Mennonite conduct energy audit.

by Anna Groff

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A team of young minds have ideas to make their church building more energy-efficient.

Members of the junior high FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League at LaSalle Intermediate Academy in South Bend, Ind., gave suggestions for energy efficiency to Kern Road Mennonite Church members—one aspect of the league’s competition requirements.
















Brian Sutter runs the Legos robot while teammate, Kyle Rice (in background), programs it to complete the mission. Photo provided.

In the FIRST program, junior high students build robots from Legos to accomplish missions related to energy use, as well as conducting an energy audit of a building.

With four of the 10 team members attending Kern Road Mennonite Church, South Bend, Ind., and adult members eager to help, they chose their church’s building for the audit.

The four Kern Road members, ages 9-14, are Brian Sutter, son of Dave and Janice Sutter, pastors of Kern Road; Mark Streeter; Cameron Flanagan and Chris Waggy.

Sutter says they chose Kern Road because of the architects and engineers who attend Kern Road and the access to the blueprints, energy bills, a 3-D model of the building and other resources.

The team presented their findings at a congregational meeting at Kern Road on Oct 21.

“I think they really liked it,” Waggy says.

He says their short-term suggestions included outlet covers for insulation, a regular recycling system, dimmer switches and bicycle racks. The long-term suggestions include rain water collection, solar panels and wind turbines.

The church was built in three stages, in 1962, 1978 and 1997. Most of the problems the building has are from the first section.

For example, Sutter says, the hot water boiler, which dates back to 1962, is not energy-efficient, so insulation suffers in the old section.

He says he thinks it was better to have the energy suggestions come from young people in the congregation.

“I had never seen anyone younger than 30 present at the congregational meetings,” he says.

The project was a two-way street with the children on the team and the adults brainstorming together.

The team worked with members of Kern Road’s Sustainable Living Group, which is a group of people who want to look at the environment and live more responsibility. The team met with the group to present their preliminary findings and ask for feedback before making the final recommendations.

“When this group found out about the energy audit the kids were doing, they were excited,” says Deanna Waggy, member at Kern Road and one of the coaches. “Most of their meetings have concentrated on their own lives … but they have also talked about the building being used so little during the week but lots of energy still being used.”

John Martens, one of the group’s members, and his wife are installing solar panels for their home and has done a lot of research on wind turbines, so he could offer his “expertise” and information to the team when he saw them at church.

Ron Troyer, PE, LEED AP, of the Troyer Group met with the team and provided suggestions. The Troyer Group designed Kern Road’s large worship space and other additions over the past 30 years.

For example, when the children suggested a wind turbine for the church, he helped them see the pros and cons and what size turbine would be realistic. “[The team] saw how you make those kinds of decisions,” says Deanna.

Troyer says he explained Indiana’s weather situation, with cloudy days making many solar energy systems “nonviable” but good options when considering the environment and sustainability issue.

It is difficult for people to see the eventual pay-back when the initial costs for energy-efficient systems are so high, while the utility costs are still reasonable. In contrast, the West and East Coast electric utility costs are triple what Indiana is being charged.

However, there are short-term options such as insulated window blinds, an awning system for summer shading and allowing for passive solar heating in the winter, energy efficient fluorescent lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

If these less-costly suggestions are implemented, the kids will see their ideas being used, this should instill a sense of pride and “allow them to actively direct the church family in green strategies,” he adds.

At the regional competition on Nov. 17, they participated in the Lego robot competition and presented their building findings. The team was chosen as one of the top three presentations. They will go to the state tournament on Dec. 8 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Sutter says the league is founded on a teamwork ideal called “gracious professionalism.” He says the league is still a competition, but there’s an expectation not to show off, help people who are struggling and see if teams can work together for solutions.

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