The University of Wyoming Sustainability Coalition hosted its annual Solar Fest on Friday Oct. 27, 2023.
The UW Sustainability Coalition puts on an outdoor, solar-powered concert every year that is powered entirely by solar panels. Students and community members were invited to the event to witness the opportunities offered by solar power.
Due to weather issues, the concert this year was held in the West Ballroom in the Union. Despite this decreased number of people that attended, there were still approximately 80-100 people that gathered in the ballroom.
Kellyn Chandler, the Sustainability Coalition leader, has been working for months to put the event on. Chandler studies Wildlife Biology and Environmental Natural Resources with a minor in Sustainability.
“The Sustainability Coalition focuses on sustainability on campus through three pillars: The economic, environmental, and ecological pillars,” Chandler explained.
She went on to explain the organization’s role on campus saying, “We try to tackle sustainability from all sides in order to encompass the entire campus because sustainability is interdisciplinary and really multifaceted. And the goal is to be able to get people from all walks of life, all fields or career paths.”
Chandler explained that the Solar Fest is a national event and UW participates in the event by showcasing music via solar power.
Madeline Dalrymple, the President of Laramie’s Alliance for Renewable Energy was at the event and explained that her organization supported and worked with the Sustainability Coalition to bring the event to life.
According to Dalrymple, “The Alliance for Renewable Energy in Laramie is a community organization and we are looking to help our whole community, including the university, get to carbon controlled emissions by 2050.”
The Alliance for Renewable Energy is striving to encourage and advise businesses in Laramie as well as the city and county as a whole to find grants and to implement solar power methods. Dalrymple noted that the Alliance fostered the implementation of solar power in the Laramie fire station as well as the ice skating rink.
She went on to say that, “The Solar Fest is a fun event and it introduces students to the idea that solar energy is very doable and easily accessed.”
Kurtis Richins, a student majoring in Environmental Natural Resources, Political Science, and Journalism, helped set the event up. Richins is a member of both the ENR and Sustainability clubs on campus stated that his goal in the clubs is, “Building community around something that I know that I care about and people that I’m with usually care about. I care about the environment and sustaining places that I love.”
This year, the Gem City Drifters and Thomas Safely were invited to the Solar Fest and played for nearly three hours.
