Welcome to Ponderosa PeaceJam!

PeaceJam is an international educational program that unites the youth of the world with Nobel Peace Laureates.  At Ponderosa, PeaceJam is dedicated to making our school and community a better place.  Since our beginning in 2006, our projects have focused on recycling, energy management, alleviating poverty, and global cooperation.    

Monday, January 17, 2011

Dedicating the "Mama PJ Mother Earth Wind Turbine"





Ponderosa PeaceJam hosted a very successful dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly installed wind turbine on Saturday morning. Over 75 people were in attendance, including representatives from the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Wind for Schools Program, and CBS4 news.

A surprise announcement was made by Chuck Puga, Principal of Ponderosa High School, that the wind turbine was being dedicated as the “Mama PJ Mother Earth Wind Turbine” in honor of Debbie Ruiz, the PeaceJam Club sponsor at Ponderosa. Debbie has put tremendous effort into making this club a success, and years ago was affectionately dubbed by the students as “Mama PJ” (short for Mama PeaceJam). The name has stuck ever since then.

Moments after the ribbon was cut, the wind turbine turned for the very first time. Although the morning had been calm until then, Mother Nature graced us with a wonderful breeze so everyone could see the turbine in action!

Afterwards, the guests joined us inside for a feast of homemade soups made by the PeaceJammers and their families.

Thanks to all of you who attended- what a memorable and special dedication ceremony!

Ponderosa Installs Wind Turbine!


On Thursday, January 13, a 3.7 kWh wind turbine was installed at Ponderosa High School! The wind turbine was funded through a $10,000 grant from the Colorado Governor's Energy Office allocated to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind for School Program. The turbine will be used both to provide energy to Ponderosa and as an educational tool for the 56,000 students across Douglas County School District.

The Ponderosa PeaceJammers have been eagerly awaiting the installation of the turbine. Over the course of one day, the turbine tower was assembled, electricity was wired, and the blades were attached. The turbine was finally raised up and mounted into place in the late afternoon. The students are looking forward to the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony on Saturday, when the turbine will be officially turned on!