By DAN KRISTIE, Staff Writer - Daily Local

WEST GOSHEN — West Chester Area was the only school district in the country to get one of the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Showcase Communities Grants.

The grants were awarded to community organizations that had developed plans to help their communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

West Chester Area received $150,000 for a program through which students will perform "energy audits" at local businesses and teach the business owners how to save energy.

During an "energy audit" an auditor examines a building, and the operation it contains, to see where energy is being wasted and could be saved.

As a result of the grant, students who are participating in the school district's Student Conservation Corps will learn how to perform the audits.

And a West Chester Borough environmental committee called BLUER will connect the students with local businesses.

The students will also audit school district buildings to see where additional energy can be saved.

EPA officials presented the grant check to the school district during a ceremony held last week.

District Facilities Director Kevin Campbell, who wrote the grant proposal that led to the $150,000 award, said that students make ideal environmental leaders.

"In environmental issues, kids always do better than adults and should be our leaders," Campbell said.

He said that, when writing the grant program, he was inspired by energy saving efforts the district's students had already undertaken.

One of the programs, called "Power Down Fridays," led the district to save $60,000 per year in energy costs, district officials said.

During Power Down Fridays, teachers and students at Henderson High School used as little energy as possible, officials said. This, they said, often involved turning off hallway lights and using only as much classroom light as was necessary to conduct class. Often, officials said, natural light sufficed.

To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.