MAPLE FALLS — Students enrolled in the East Whatcom County Regional Resource Center Head Start preschool program will now get to ride to school in a new fully electric bus, thanks to Puget Sound Energy.
The Opportunity Council, which manages the resource center, and PSE celebrated the new electric addition to the fleet with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at the preschool in Maple Falls. Speakers from both organizations recognized the impact an electric bus will have on the community.
“It’s really important … that we look for ways and be advocating for ways and fight for ways so that people who otherwise might not be able to benefit from climate-friendly solutions, or participate in those solutions, get to do so,” said Greg Winter, Opportunity Council’s executive director.
The donation of the electric bus is just one part of PSE’s Up & Go Electric pilot program, which aims to find ways to make transportation electrification more equitable in underserved communities.
“An electric school bus serving a more rural community and a rural route seemed like just an ideal situation where we could bring those benefits to families and children living here in east Whatcom County,” said Heather Mulligan, manager of customer clean energy solutions at PSE.
The donation includes a dual-port charging station for members of the resource center to use.
The Regional Resource Center’s preschool program provides early education at no cost to families who qualify. The program emphasizes that it supports not only its students but also their entire families — often connecting them with other resources within the Opportunity Council, including rental assistance and financial literacy classes.
In addition to the preschool, the Center is also a hub of resources for the entire community. From a basic needs pantry to a community garden — the center aims to increase accessibility to Opportunity Council resources in a more rural part of Whatcom County.
This collaborative effort between PSE and the Opportunity Council is not only in support of preschool students and their families, but also an investment in the greater environmental health of the community, Winter said
“A lot of people don’t know this because of just how beautiful it is out here and how remote it is, but this is a community that has a bit of an air pollution problem,” Winter said. “So every little bit we can do to reduce emissions, from vehicles for example, is going to be supportive of the community’s goal toward cleaner air.”
