Fundraising

Moreland Energy Foundation's outreach work is largely about support for energy-saving initiatives. One of the ways we can help out is with fundraising.

For schools and kinders our main fundraiser is the newly-completed Juice Bike, a bike that generates energy as you pedal and runs an electric juicing-machine.

Two kindergartens' efforts to raise funds for energy-saving improvements were helped out with a low-energy light bulb drive (like selling chocolates but much healthier!). MEFL provided admin support and contacts.

Our new "save money by saving energy" poster lists ten cheap and easy ways to save energy. We can now supply at cost all or some of those bits (low-flow showerheads etc) in a "save money by saving energy" kit to sell on to parents.

Juice bike

This year MEFL has a toy, the infamous Juice Bike. Created from the motor of a washing machine, specialized chain-wheels, an old bike and lots of scrap metal, the bike generates up to 400 watts of power to run an electric juicing machine. A turn cycling on the bike is rewarded with a fresh juice made on the spot that can be sold to raise funds. The novelty of the bike attracts attention, is great fun and educates kids and their parents about energy-generation at the same time!

The MEFL team commissioned the bike from artist Basil Eliades and sculptors Paul Turbitt and Philip Goss after being inspired by a similar juice bike at the Castlemaine market. As with many of Moreland Energy Foundations projects, this one was largely a labour of love for its creators who donated much of their time to the experimental project.

On trial recently at the Hume Multi-cultural Planting Festival, the bike was a huge success with both kids and parents alike.

"The juice bike is a great tool for raising awareness about how we use and generate electricity. It is a fun way to engage the public and make concrete connections between physical and electrical energy. And it's a great conversation starter." said MEFL CEO Esther Abrams.

The juice bike will be available for community events and fundraisers in the Moreland municipality once insurance issues are sorted. The juice bike generates around 40 cups of juice in one hour, and costs run at about $0.40/juice depending on the season. We have found small children have legs that are too small to pedal well, and are now being excluded on a height basis. Generally kids 9 years and over are tall enough to operate the bike.

Please contact Kerry Wise or Anna Strempel for further details.

Low-energy light bulbs

Installing low energy-light bulbs into your home can save you hundreds of dollars. Why not make use of our at-cost bulbs for a fundraising drive in your school or kinder and use the money on putting some easy energy-saving ideas into practice?

Case study
Implementation of the Brunswick Kindergarten's energy-efficient cooling plan required some fundraising in order to go ahead. We used the opportunity to trial a fundraising drive with kindergarten parents selling energy efficient OSRAM compact fluorescent lamps to the Moreland community.
These 17W lamps use 75% less energy than a 75W incandescent lamp to provide the same light levels and last a lot longer. The necessary funds were raised ($1,200) and now 260 compact fluorescent lamps are being used in the local community!

Download info on Low-Energy Lightbulbs below

Please contact Kerry Wise or Anna Strempel for further details.

Documents

• Low-Energy Lightbulbs Fundraising
  Info sheet on this "bright idea" for Schools! (PDF, 56k)