When I found out in December that I’d be traveling down to the Southeast US for two weeks to give ACE presentations to thousands of high school students, I was pumped. Even better, Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, ACE Educator from DC, was joining me for part of the trip.

Thanks to a partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority, we have the opportunity to travel through three states for two weeks, work with 17 different schools and see what kind of carbon-cutting projects students are rocking down South.

Last week, I packed my sunscreen and headed down South, only to find myself in the middle of a crazy snow storm and temperatures almost as cold as Chi-Town! “Global Weirding” has definitely been a hot topic with students since we arrived.

Thankfully, our reception down south has been anything but chilly. This past week, Daisy and I have been trekking through Tennessee and Alabama to talk to students about climate science and solutions, with warm welcomes from schools across both states. We sure have seen just how sweet Southern hospitality can be!

Students have been telling us some pretty inspiring stories about what they’re doing to fight climate change – including one student who walks everywhere, even to a town 24 miles away!

Through the Alliance to Save Energy, green teams at each of the high schools have been finding ways to conserve energy at home and at school. They’ve even done energy audits of their classrooms, helping their schools to save a ton of money and reduce their carbon emissions. Check out the video, coming up soon…

Daisy has headed back to DC, but I’ve got one more week traveling through Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee…stay tuned for tales of next week’s adventure.