James Madison University Alternative Fuels Program
Community
Outreach is the foundation of all AFV activities. Each year we visit several local area schools, festivals, and charitable events to bring information about alternative fuel developments to the general public. In addition, we are currently in the process of developing an educational curriculum designed to bring alternative fuel education to elementary, middle, and high school students, while still addressing the Federal and State mandated Standards of Learning (SOL's). Last year we reached over 20 schools with our program.
"It is now essential, for the large-scale implementation of renewable energy, to develop an educational program that promotes science literacy and facilitates the development of the next generation of scientists and engineers." - DOE press release, Energy Department Science Education Initiative Launched, Palo Alto, CA, July 8, 2004.
We also conduct community based projects. Two examples are provided below.
As seen in the bus' mirror, students at Freshman Orientation crowd on the bus to obtain points
in the 1st Annual Centennial Challenge, a scavenger hunt that took the students through campus and downtown.
Downtown Harrisonburg Resource and Utilization Study
Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance is leading the effort to revitalize our City's core. Significant progress has been made with the successful "Friday's on the Square" Program and the designation of Harrisonburg's downtown as part of the Virginia Main Street preservation effort. As part of JMU's effort to work closely with the community, students from the Integrated Science and Technology Department (ISAT) have conducted research on downtown resource utilization. Resource management is often thought of in terms of preservation of natural resources, such as Shenandoah National Park. However, resource management also applies to preserving and nurturing historic places, such as Harrisonburg's downtown. Accordingly, as their Fall '04 semester project, students quantified how downtown is used and by whom, and suggested improvements that can be facilitated by Downtown Renaissance and other organizations. The students results will be posted here shortly.
Harrisonburg Transit Improvement Projects
"Get On the Bus" was an information dissemination effort to encourage freshmen to ride the buses. The University Schedule Change Committee found that freshmen in particular have back-to-back classes on opposite sides of campus. While virtually impossible to walk across campus in the15 minute passing period, the Inner Campus Shuttle (with new schedule for '04-'05) gets students to class on time. Freshmen obtained information on the transit system via their Freshman Advising Packets, the Resident Advisors, and through the bus event that was part of Freshman Orientation's Centennial Challenge (the well-known scavenger hunt). Additionally, Harrisonburg Transit set up information stations on campus during Orientation to assist students with reading the new schedules. We are currently working cooperatively with Harrisonburg Transit to incorporate to develop interactive, web-based maps that can be used in lieu of traditional schedules.
Check here for a look at the new and improved schedule and information.
