Our Mission

The Bozeman High School Solar Club is fundraising to support the installation of solar panels on school buildings throughout the Bozeman School District. Our vision is to provide economic support for schools by investing in clean energy. An array of panels will lower the school's energy bill and provide more funds for classroom resources. Solar panels have a life expectancy of at least twenty five years, so every dollar we raise will keep giving back for decades. Installing solar on public rooftops will also help reduce Bozeman's impact, helping to keep summers cool and winters cold. Help us support Bozeman's legacy of stewardship for the “Last Best Place” and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

How will this affect you?

With solar panels on Bozeman school district buildings, less taxpayer money will be going towards the energy bill and more money will be available to help better the classroom with educational resources, professional development, or support for the arts and athletics, etc.,

How does this project affect the community?

• If we wait for others to solve our problems we'll be waiting too long. Students of the Solar Club are committed to thinking globally by acting locally. Installing solar may seem like a small step but its actually a monumental symbolic measure for furthering the conservation of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Last Best Place. Help keep summers cool and winters cold in Bozeman!

• Schools are a community centerpiece and as such they never sleep. Activities on school grounds occur day and night, on weekends and throughout the summer. Because of this, schools draw a lot of energy. Why should the energy demands of our public institutions create additional burdens on future generations? Utilizing the sun as a resource shining upon the large school rooftop makes cents. Every dollar contributed to solar on schools will ultimately be doubled by the energy savings harnessed by the sun over the next few decades. Contributions will support education and lower the town's footprint for year's to come. Consider a contribution an opportunity to offset your own carbon footprint!

• Think it can't happen to us? Think again. The signs are increasing in frequency and intensity. The unprecedented closing of the entire Yellowstone River watershed in 2016 due to a fish-kill was caused in part by the significant drought and record warm water temperatures. Closing all watersheds of the Yellowstone for recreation undercut millions of dollars from local businesses. Only a year later, record forest fires burned approximately 1.3 million acres in Montana during the hottest recorded August in Montana's history. Climate extremes leading to intolerable forest fires reduced environmental tourism, meanwhile the state spent roughly 270 million dollars trying to fight the fires. Some of this money was retracted from educational spending budgets statewide. During the summer of 2021, local rivers experienced drought conditions not seen since the Dust Bowl or before. These conditions severely impacted local sport fishing and rafting industries. In the same year, Bridger Bowl Ski area opened weeks later than usual. At the same time, forest fires decimated the town of Denton, Montana. Nobody we've talked with has ever heard of December forest fires in Montana.

• Recent research shows Montana's ecotourism industry promotes more than twice the economic impact of agriculture but an ecotourism recession is eminent in the next 20 years due to the adverse and extreme impacts of climate change. Annually, Gallatin County benefits from a billion dollars of tourism revenue. Unfortunately, the changing climate is rapidly impacting our local job market.

• It is clear that our environment drives our economy. Help us take action to preserve our way of life and the Last Best Place for future generations.

Solar panels last more than 25 years, so your gift is one that will keep on giving to future students!

It's no secret the world wants to fight climate change, but how is Bozeman affected?

Bozeman revolves around skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, rafting, kayaking, hiking, and biking. But with climate change, the snow season has decreased by 34 days since the 1980's. This means that we currently have over a month less of winter sports than others did 40 years ago. With global temperatures continuing to rise, this trend will likely continue. Imagine not being able to ski during January because the snow pack is either too low or rain puts a damper on your slope-style pursuits.

Now fast forward to summer.

There was a time, back around 2005, that homes in Bozeman didn't have any type of air conditioning. Controlling indoor climate is common now, especially when the Gallatin Valley is under a cloud of fire smoke ,as it was in the summers of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021.