NGS Super Scholarship Awards — Jennifer Greenland’s story

Thinking differently about renewable energy

Jennifer Greenland of Grace Lutheran College, in Queensland, took out the 2021 Judges Choice Award, for a project to implement solar charging stations at the school with the aim to increase the school’s energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

The idea for the project came out of a conversation Jennifer was having with her colleague Helen Shepherd about the need for students to have easy access to chargers for their equipment. If this could also be solved using renewable energy sources, it would be a win-win for the students, environment and school. Together, Jennifer and Helen took the idea to the students in the schools Conservation Club and the project was born.

“I have worked in conservation for over 30 years, and this project was a way to get the students to see the opportunities in renewables. It was also about instilling a new belief, a new way of thinking that anything was possible, while tying it into their STEM subjects,” said Jennifer.

At the beginning of the project the team consulted with local renewable energy companies and engineers to ensure the project’s feasibility and discuss designs for the hardware that was developed.

The project kicked off in term one with an engineering coming to speak to the students about the specifications for the charging station. This included talking about battery storage, sun mapping and wind speeds.

Jennifer said, “The meeting with the engineer highlighted just how much we had to do to make the project idea a reality. But the students have been great and have worked hard to keep the project moving forward while focusing on their normal studies.”

The project is at the stage of deciding where the charger will be located. This is being done in conjunction with the local renewable engineer, who will be guiding and helping the team with the mapping of sun and wind to ensure the charger is placed in the right location.

For Helen Shepherd, the project ability to engage students in STEM, raise awareness of environmental sustainability and apply it to a real-world problem has been a big positive.

“I’m so excited about the opportunities the project has given our students to learn about renewables and the benefits we can bring to the school. I hope with our example other schools in the region might also try something similar,” said Helen.

With our focus on sustainability and building a carbon neutral portfolio by 2030, NGS Super is proud to support this innovative project. We’re looking forward to seeing the team from Grace Lutheran College take the next step towards building their solar charging station.

If you have a project idea that you think will make a real difference to the education sector find out more about the 2022 NGS Super Scholarship Awards.