Hopkins Academy will be participating in their first (hopefully annual) Cooler Communities Expo. Cooler Communities is a non-profit advocacy organization that targets the following environmental concerns: 

1. Reducing Waste
2. Adopting a lower-carbon diet (this includes consuming locally sourced foods)
3. Reducing transportation-related carbon emissions
4. Choosing cleaner energy 
5. Educating the community on steps to become more energy-efficient

Trying to do their part, several towns have been adopting these goals, and we are hoping that Hadley can be added to this growing list by working with Cooler Communities. Since the environment is such a relevant, pressing, and important topic, we aim to inspire members of the Hadley Public Schools community to become more environmentally conscious in order to ensure environmental sustainability for generations to come. 

To accomplish this ambitious goal, with the help of Dr. McKenzie, I have taken on the responsibility of organizing a 2020 Cooler Communities Expo. The grant for the funding of the Expo has been accepted! The Expo will be held in the evening in late spring, and is expected to run for an hour and a half to two hours. Eight to fifteen students will have the opportunity to showcase projects related to the previously mentioned topics. Both students and teachers are invited to participate in this event. I will be working closely with a Cooler Communities mentor that will help me along the process of planning this event. 

As previously mentioned, we are hoping to have eight to fifteen groups between Hadley Elementary School and Hopkins Academy who are interested in showcasing their own personal project that correspond with the five Cooler Communities goals. If we are able to reach our minimum goal of two hundred people to show up to the Expo, the Hadley Schools District will be rewarded with a substantial grant to go toward environmental concerns throughout the district.

I am very excited to help run this Cooler Communities Expo, as this is a growing topic that the student body is becoming very passionate about. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns.