NORWICH – Sixth grade students at All Saints Catholic School in Endicott are getting help from the Chenango County Farm Bureau in a project that teaches them about alternative energy resources and how to minimize their carbon footprint.

Christine Horowitz, technology teacher at All Saints Catholic School, is having her class take part in Disney’s Planet Challenge, a project-based learning competition that teaches children about science and conservation while also playing a role in their community. While studying alternative energy resources, students in Horowitz’ class learned about the environmental impact of dumping used vegetable oil down the drain and together, they came up with a project idea to discourage community members from dumping oil and instead, use it for energy alternatives.

On Monday, Bradd Vickers, president of the Chenango County Farm Bureau, visited Horowitz’ class and talked about the benefits of using vegetable oil for biodiesel fuel. He taught students that biodiesel is clean, renewable, biodegradable, non-toxic and could be one solution to the nation’s energy crisis.

“By collecting and cleaning the waste vegetable oil and using it for energy, they will be helping the environment and reducing our dependency on foreign oil,” explained Vickers. Vickers was joined in his visit by Farm Bureau Secretary Rainy Vickers, who said the kids were curious about the process and eager to learn more.