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Our Mission

Explore. Contribute. Connect.

The Nebraska Master Naturalist Program is a public and private partnership supported by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Nebraska Master Naturalist Foundation. Our program recruits, trains, manages, and provides resources for our Naturalist members participating in interpretation and outreach, resource management, citizen science, and outdoor skills and recreation in Nebraska.

Photo by Adrian Olivera

Our Impact to Date Since 2010

  • Trained Master Naturalists

    685

  • Volunteer Hours

    109,473

  • Volunteer Projects

    9,000

  • Impact Value

    $3481241

News & Notes

Today the National Audubon Society received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to support the Bird-Friendly Maple program. The investment is part of $145 million in...

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LENEXA, KAN. (MARCH 15, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 103 U.S. manufacturing plants, including four in Region 7 states, that earned the Agency’s ENERGY STAR certification in 2023, a designation reserved for manufacturing plants in the top 25% of energy efficiency in their sector.

Together, these plants prevented more than 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the emissions from the electricity use of over 1.5 million American homes. 

“President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is breathing new life into energy-efficient domestic manufacturing, and industry partners like those recognized today are leading the way,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These ENERGY STAR-certified plants demonstrate that cutting the embodied carbon of our industrial products through energy efficiency doesn’t just make environmental sense, it makes economic sense.” 

The industrial sector accounts for 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from energy use in manufacturing plants.

Four Region 7 manufacturing plants earned the ENERGY STAR certification in 2023, including one that appears on the list for the first time:

  • Iowa: Iowa Fertilizer Company LLC in Wever (nitrogenous fertilizer)
  • Kansas: CHS Inc. in McPherson (petroleum refining) – This is CHS Inc.’s first time appearing on the ENERGY STAR-certified plants list.
  • Missouri: Buzzi Unicem USA in Festus (cement manufacturing)
  • Nebraska: Koch Fertilizer in Beatrice (nitrogenous fertilizer)

ENERGY STAR-certified plants reduced their energy use through a variety of energy efficiency projects and management practices. For example:

  • Koch Fertilizer’s Beatrice, Nebraska, fertilizer plant reduced steam use and the number of continuously running pumps, while the Enid, Oklahoma, plant improved steam utilization and implemented advanced process controls.
  • Ardagh’s Houston container glass facility operated a highly efficient furnace, used recycled glass, and installed energy-efficient lighting fixtures, among other initiatives.
  • Bimbo Bakeries USA installed advanced controls and high-efficiency burners in ovens, oxidizers, and boilers and expanded investments in metering systems, enabling real-time monitoring and control of energy usage.
  • Ash Grove’s Seattle cement plant saved energy by increasing the amount of limestone in its Portland Limestone cement, thereby reducing the energy needed for clinker production, and improving equipment automation.
  • GCC’s Rapid City, South Dakota, cement plant upgraded its preheater and improved kiln combustion efficiency. This plant and GCC’s Pueblo, Colorado, cement plant integrated alternative fuels, lowering carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining high levels of energy efficiency.
  • J.R. Simplot Company’s Helm, California, nitrogenous fertilizer plant commissioned an on-site, one-megawatt solar photovoltaic project, reducing source energy consumption and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Anacortes, Washington, refinery reduced steam trap failures by over 20% by equipping operators with handheld trap-testing devices to instantly identify leaks. The St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery completed a three-year effort to reinforce insulation across the entire site, cutting carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by nearly 16,000 metric tons per year.
  • Nissan North America Inc. replaced over 20,000 light fixtures with LEDs across all U.S. manufacturing sites and conducted a combination of energy treasure hunts and third-party assessments targeting energy efficiency.

View the complete list of all U.S. ENERGY STAR-certified manufacturing plants.

Manufacturing plants use EPA’s ENERGY STAR energy performance indicators or, in the case of petroleum refineries, the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index scoring system to assess their energy performance. Plants that score at least 75 out of 100 – indicating that they are more energy efficient than 75% of similar facilities nationwide – are eligible to earn ENERGY STAR certification. ENERGY STAR certification is available for 21 manufacturing sectors from cement and steel to glass and commercial bakeries. More than 270 plants have achieved ENERGY STAR certification since 2006.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations – including nearly 40% of the Fortune 500® – rely on their partnership with EPA to deliver cost-saving, energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses avoid over $500 billion in energy costs and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.

For more information, check out these links: 

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Learn more about EPA Region 7

View all Region 7 news releases

Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us on X: @EPARegion7

NEW YORK - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $1.2 million, in funding to 16 college student teams to research and develop innovative solutions that address environmental and public health challenges as part of the Agency’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Program.

 EPA is pleased to mark the 20th anniversary of our P3 program by announcing this impressive round of projects that are tackling critical issues such as removing PFAS from water, combating harmful algal blooms, and materials recovery and reuse,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “I commend these hardworking and creative students and look forward to seeing the results of their innovative projects that are addressing some of our thorniest sustainability and environmental challenges.” 

EPA's P3 program features a unique competition that offers teams of college students hands-on experience to turn their creative design and engineering ideas into reality, while also helping solve real-world environmental challenges. The 16 recipients announced today will receive grants of up to $75,000 to fund a two-year project. Students will propose innovative and sustainable ideas and concepts and carry them through the research, design and demonstration stages. During the second year of the award, student teams will have the opportunity to showcase their designs at EPA’s National Student Design Expo. 

Teams from the following NJ and NY institutions are receiving funding via EPA’s 20th Annual P3 awards: 

  • Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, New York, for Developing Reusable and Antiviral Face Masks from Plastic Waste 
  • The State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, for Sensor on Wheels (SOW): A Field-Deployable Environmental Pathogen Detection Tool
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for Two-dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2)-Based Field Effect Transistor Sensors for Airborne PFAS Detection 
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for Zirconium-modified Mica Coupled with Nanobubbles for Enhanced Phosphorus Removal, Recovery, and Reuse 

Learn more about this year’s recipients

Learn more about EPA’s P3 Program. 

Learn more about EPA’s National Student Design Expo Experience

Follow EPA Region 2 on X and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

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Photo by Allison Dush
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