Energy rebates power sustainability grants at Millersville University

ELIZABETH DEORNELLAS | Staff Writer, LNP News
September 6, 2024

Millersville University’s Lombardo Welcome Center produces up to twice as much energy as it consumes, and the school is leveraging that excess energy to fund sustainability projects that will nurture native plants, build solar arrays, augment nature trails, and support local Latinx students.

This fall’s recipients of Positive Energy Fund grants, which began in 2020, received up to $2,500 for projects that align to United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The goals offer a wide framework for defining “sustainability” - including quality education and economic growth alongside climate action and clean energy.

Rebates and energy savings from the construction of the Lombardo Welcome Center established the initial grant fund, and the university continues to participate in testing programs through grid operator PJM that provide compensation for proving the welcome center is capable of offshedding energy when necessary to help the regional power system.

The Lombardo Welcome Center opened in 2018 after a year of construction. The building uses roof-based solar panels and solar glass in windows to generate electricity, employs geothermal heat pumps to regulate heating and cooling, and includes energy efficiency strategies like LED lighting and triple-pane windows.

The Positive Energy Fund grant committee prioritizes projects that reach out to the local community.

“It encourages partnerships,” said Millersville University Sustainability Manager Kaitlynn Hamaty, “not creating a silo in Millersville.”

Planting native perennials

Millersville University biology professor Dominique Didier is partnering with Homefields farm to grow native perennials.

An organic farm half a mile from the Millersville University campus will become a supplier of native perennials that will beautify the school campus and could eventually be sold to local gardeners as biology professor Dominique Didier’s project progresses.

“There’s an increasing demand in local communities, this community being no different, to have native perennials available, and they’re not that easy to find,” Didier said.

Twenty saskatoon berry bushes—also known as serviceberries or juneberries—were planted at Homefields this spring. The nonprofit farm offers housing and work opportunities for people with disabilities. The berries are a native, edible alternative to blueberries, which prefer more acidic soil than is available locally.

In the fall, Didier will continue to put her $2,450 grant to work, purchasing 500 to 800 native perennials to grow in the Homefields greenhouses. When transplanted to the Millersville University campus, those plants will showcase how native species can beautify the local landscape and support pollinators.

“Because the campus is a focal point in our community, it’s a great way to show the community what this will look like,” Didier said.

Learning to install solar

A dozen ground-mounted solar panels might seem modest in comparison to the 528 roof-based panels that power the Lombardo Welcome Center, but students will be able to hone their solar installation skills through disassembling and reconstructing the new array.

The 5-kilowatt array will cost $10,000 -- counting the $2,500 Positive Energy Fund grant, about half the project funds are now in place. Those wishing to contribute to the project’s completion can contact Len Litowitz, professor of Applied Engineering, Safety and Technology, at Len.Litowitz@millersville.edu.

Working with the university’s facilities team, Litowitz has identified two potential locations close to the department’s home in Osburn Hall that could house the solar array.

Litowitz is planning to retire this summer after completing 39 years at the university. He foresees a long academic life for this project as well, as solar panels can last 25 years.

“We’ll be able to get a little more hands-on with this than the other things we can take a look at but we can’t really tear into,” Litowitz said.

Informing nature trail visitors

The nature trail next to the university’s Watershed Education Training Institute runs along the Conestoga River and is used by both college students and visitors from local school districts.

Educational signage will highlight how streamside plants block pollutants from entering the water, as well as explaining the damage invasive species can cause.

Using $1,988 in grant funds, graduate assistant Liz Rickrode will aim to provide eye-catching, informational materials to supplement the nature trail.

“The signs will provide new ways to explore and understand watersheds, stream health, and the broader environment,” Rickrode said in an email.

Building students’ Latinx pride

George Washington Elementary School in Lancaster city will gain art and dance instruction focused on Latinx culture through $2,500 in grant funds awarded to Christina Williams, Millersville University director of pre-college programs. Williams calls her project “Mi Orgullo Latinx,” or “My Latinx Pride,” to emphasize its focus on Spanish-speaking countries and their heritage.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals include improving education and developing workforce opportunities, and this project will expose young students to university educators and set them up to take advantage of postsecondary programs, Williams said.

“It’s really giving them the opportunity to participate in something that’s going to instill pride in their culture and identity,” Williams said, “providing that educational piece that they’re not often privy to within the classroom setting.”

Starting in October, Washington Elementary will host a couple of art workshops a month in which Pennsylvania College of Art & Design instructor Kathy Rodriguez will focus on Latinx history and culture. Both Rodriguez and Williams are Washington Elementary graduates, and Williams said they’re excited to make the arts accessible for families who can’t typically afford classes.

In January, the workshop focus will shift to Latinx dance, taught by Jasmin Pantoja from the Mambojaz Dance Company in Lancaster city.