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The 14th annual Community Energy Services North Country Sustainable Energy Fair, upstate New York’s largest community energy education event, was April 25-26, 2009 at the SUNY Canton Miller Campus Center in Canton, NY. Over 70 workshops and 60 exhibitors were free for a donation of $5 per day or $8 for the weekend. Over a thousand people attended from all over the region and southern Canada. We’re proud to offer people the information and inspiration they need to create more sustainable lives in this time of growing concern for the future of our planet.

Some things people said about the Fair:

“Awesome diversity of information! Many practical ideas for daily life.”

“Green energy all in one place! Knowledgeable presenters who live what they’re talking about!”

“Inspiring to meet like-minded folks doing things to change their lives! I loved the community feeling and the networking.”

“Made me look at how we come up with so many excuses why we can’t live sustainably. Helped me think of sustainable living as achievable.”

“One of the best energy fairs and I’ve been to them all. Prepare to learn lots.”

FRIDAY SCIENCE FAIR

The Energy Fair opened Friday April 24th at 10 with the YOUTH ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPO, a Science Fair for students in grades 4-12. There were 200 young people participating with projects showing how to save energy and the environment. Prizes were awarded in different age and type categories. Energy demonstrations, a bicycle generator, and a performance by well-known environmental theater group Quiet Riot completed the program.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON PROGRAM - The SUNY Canton Alternative and Renewable Energy Program sponsored Intro to Home Energy Audits from 2-5. Included was building energy analysis, blower door and thermal camera techniques, and an explanation of New York BPI certification programs.

SPEAKERS & WORKSHOPS

Doors opened Saturday, April 25th at 10 with a keynote in the theater by acclaimed environmental theater group Quiet Riot. Things stayed busy from 10- 5 on Saturday and from 10 to 4 on Sunday with a full schedule of workshops. An hour lunch break each day allowed fair goers to spend time in the Exhibit Hall, as well as enjoy the full food service in the cafeteria and at the Serendipity Cafe.

In addition to workshops on solar, wind, green building, peak oil, and more, this year’s Fair had a new focus on Green Jobs, and energy workshops for kids. A few of the new offerings: Climate Change in the North Country, Geothermal 101, StrawBale Construction, Off-Grid Wind, The Transition Towns Movement, Calculate Your Ecological Footprint, Use Your Bike as a Major Means of Transport, Community Supported Energy, Careers in Solar and Wind, A $20,000 Homestead IS Possible!, Food Not Lawns and Edible Forest Gardening, Make Your OwnWindow Insulation… and much more! Full listings on Speakers page.

HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS

Eight three-hour hands-on workshops were offered. They were pre-registration and cost $30. This year’s include: Make Your Own Biodiesel, Calculate Your Ecological Footprint, Solar Hot Water A-Z, Advanced Solar Photovoltaics, Make Your Own Window Insulation, Off Grid Wind, Food Not Lawns and Edible Forest Gardening, Make A Free Energy Motor Generator.

EXHIBITS

The Exhibit Hall was open from 10 to 5 on Saturday and 10 to 4 on Sunday with 6o exhibitors and vendors. Whether fairgoers were after solar panels and installers, a book about cordwood masonry, how to calculate and offset the CO2 they produce, more efficient light bulbs, pellet and wood gasefication stoves, natural foam insulation, peak oil groups, organic agriculture, or alternative vehicles, they were able to find the answers at the Energy Fair.

GREEN HOME TOURS

On Sunday afternoon, four guided Green Home Tours featuring local homes allowed people to see firsthand how their neighbors are implementing the ideas put forth at the Fair. The homes on the tours employ passive solar, super-insulation, energy efficiency, off-grid and grid-tied solar photovoltaics, wind energy, pellet and masonry heaters, strawbale and cordwood masonry. People always love crazy Jerry Bartlett’s tour of his older Colton home renovated on a shoestring with creatively set-up off-grid solar and lots more.

NEW THIS YEAR: THE ENERGY FAIR BUS!

St. Lawrence County Public Transportation offered a special bus on Saturday to bring people from the parking lots to the Campus Center. The bus allowed people to attend the Fair more easily.

VOLUNTEERS AND SPONSORS

We are committed to keeping this exciting event accessible to all. The price of admission is low, and children under 16 are free. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

The Fair depends on the generous support of our presenters, sponsoring businesses and organizations, and on our dedicated crew of 75 volunteers. If you believe that energy education is vital to the future well-being of our society and our planet, please consider joining us. To contact us: email fair@ncenergy.org or call 315-379-9466.

The Sustainable Energy Fair is a project of Community Energy Services (CES), a 501-c-3 nonprofit in Canton, New York that educates the public about energy efficiency. The Fair is produced in partnership with SUNY-Canton. Clarkson University sponsors the Keynote Address. The Fair is also a project of North Country Energy Smart Communities, a program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

We thank our list of generous 2009 sponsors:  NEW YORK STATE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (NYSERDA)  • NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY (NYPA) • NATIONAL GRID • SWEETGRASS FOUNDATION • BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE POWER •  ALCOA • CLARKSON CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT • ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY • CORNING CANTON PLANT • MAPLE RIDGE CHARITABLE FUND • WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE • NORTH COUNTRY SAVINGS • ALLIANCE FOR MUNICIPAL POWER • EVERGREEN ELECTRIC VEHICLES • SEACOMM FEDERAL CREDIT UNION • CURRAN RENEWABLE ENERGY • HOT STUFF HEATING • UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF CANTON • WOODRUFF BLOCK COMPANY • NORTH COUNTRY PUBLIC RADIO (Radio Media Sponsors) •  NORTH COUNTRY THIS WEEK (Print Sponsors)• WPTZ-TV (TV Media Sponsors)

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