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The mission of
the PEBC
is
to be a vehicle for understanding
and appreciating the natural
wonders in our own backyards.
What's New |
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The road before the PEBC is daunting but filled with opportunities and challenges as we grow this organization. It's been a wildly frenetic pace these last months and it only seems to be picking up speed with the advent of new projects, new staff, new round of summer programs, new backpack programs, park improvements, development of our Master Plan, and the arrival of our new Ecology Bus! An exciting future is definitely in store for us. Be sure to join us to see what happens next! |
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Michael Swenson |
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The Prairie Ecology Bus Center is excited to welcome Michael Swenson to its staff as the new Project YES Coordinator! This part-time position is funded in part through a grant from the Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace: An Alliance for Talent Development (MNREM) and is in partnership with the Southwest Initiative Foundation and the Prairie Wood Environmental Learning Center. Here's Michael to introduce himself to you: |
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I was raised & reside in Storden, MN and graduated from Red Rock Central High School. I have a son, Dawson (11), and am active as Secretary of the Storden Fire Department. I graduated with an Associates in Applied Sciences degree (AAS - Marketing) from Alexandria Technical College. Since 2002, I have been employed as a Renewable Energy Sales Engineer with Backup Power Source of Slayton, MN. I have marketed & designed solar photovoltaic, wind, and hydro power systems for private, commercial, and government clients. Prior to that, I worked in various other sales & agricultural professions. In my previous position, I spent a good share of my time educating consumers on renewable electric energy, green building methods, conservation & efficiency. I see the YES! Program Coordinator Position as an exciting opportunity to rely on my renewable energy experience to help youth understand & undertake green projects, simultaneously creating positive long term benefits for the participants and the communities, schools and organizations involved in the “YES!” program. For more information about Project YES! opportunities and programs click here...
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Sabrina Gentz |
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The PEBC has had a wonderful opportunity to benefit from the talents of this summer’s intern, Sabrina Gentz, of Lakefield. Through Sabrina’s efforts, the PEBC now has mini-habitats set up for educational animals including a red-sided garter snake, tiger salamander, prairie skink, painted turtle, an American toad and two leopard frogs! These have made exciting additions to the PEBC community education programs, public programs and county fairs this summer! We look forward to sharing them in future programs! Sabrina was integral in getting our new Children’s Community Garden underway, starting from scratch, and it is now up and growing. This has been a tremendous undertaking and her hard work is paying off in veggie and flower dividends! We’ve enjoyed Sabrina’s help on numerous programs this summer and now wish her well as she returns to her Environmental Studies at Iowa Lakes Community College. Good Luck, Sabrina, and thank you! |
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Online Memberships
The Prairie Ecology Bus continues its journey down the internet super highway as well! To make giving easier for our members, we have now added an opportunity to give online. To find out more, click on the membership on the left-hand side of the page or click here.
Our Mission Statement
The PEBC Board of Directors gave much serious and creative thought to the development of a revised mission statement to better reflect the needs of the youth tht the PEBC primarily serves. Educating about the science of our natural world will always form the foundation of PEBC's programs, however, it has become increasingly apparent that today's youth are in more need of being made aware of what natural resources we have in this region than ever before. Our new mission statement is: A vehicle for understanding and appreciating the natural wonders in our own backyards.
Prairie Winds Kite Fly
The Prairie Winds Kite celebrated its sixth year with a great turnout! Held at the Jackson Municipal Airport again, the added room and its location near Interstate 90 attracted numbers of kite flyers and those who just wanted to watch. Check out some of the photos of the event at our kite fly page!