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The BioBus – which runs on used vegetable oil – will make its first-ever stop in North Carolina on Monday, Dec. 10, when the bus and its crew visits Ravenscroft to promote the message of sustainability.

The goal of the BioTour is to demonstrate a tangible example of renewable energy technology by taking its vegetable-oil powered school bus equipped with solar panels to colleges, high schools and community events across the nation. This fall, BioTour has traveled to Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Washington, D.C. At these stops, BioTour has presented information on renewable energy, sustainable living and climate change.

At noon, students will see a presentation and then be able to tour the bus, which will be in the parking lot outside of the Middle and Upper School Library & Technology Center. Throughout the day, the BioTour staff will also visit with Upper School and Lower School science classes.

Shana Cothran, a Ravenscroft junior and president of the Global Action Warming Group on campus, first met the crew of the BioBus while attending a student environmental convention in College Park, Md., in November. After talking with the crew and school administrators, she helped arrange for the BioBus to visit Ravenscroft.

“I felt like this was a great opportunity,” said Cothran. “It’s an important step in raising awareness among students on our campus about the environmental challenges our generation will be facing. There has definitely been increased spirit among the students already, and I’m hoping that bringing the BioBus to Ravenscroft will help student interest continue to grow.”

According to the BioTour Web site, “in August of 2006, friends and students Ethan Burke and Alan Palm purchased the BioTour bus. Joined by six other friends, they traveled from Massachusetts to Nevada fueling their bus with fryer grease from restaurants. The two were amazed by the reaction from the hundreds of curious people wanting to know more about energy alternatives … and this inspired Ethan and Alan to transform and expand BioTour into a year-round full-time project.”

http://www.ravenscroft.org