About Us
Our Mission: Powered Up Baraboo is a 501(c)3 organization that empowers residents of Baraboo and Sauk County to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the use of renewable energy, energy conservation, and sustainable practices.
What Does PUB Work On?
Climate Change
Community Education
Cattle graze on the lush, diverse pastures during a PUB-sponsored pasture walk at Bula's Pleasant Valley Farm on August 12, 2024.
UW-Madison Wildlife Ecology graduate students record data from migrating birds during bird banding demonstration on May 11, 2024.
Native plant enthusiasts toured yards in Baraboo during a PUB-sponsored garden tour on June 11, 2022 featuring native and sustainable landscaping.
Cattle graze on the lush, diverse pastures during a PUB-sponsored pasture walk at Bula's Pleasant Valley Farm on August 12, 2024.
Influencing Community Norms Through
Advocacy and Initiatives
In a video from May 15, 2023, Lena Nissley explained her rationale for being involved in Low Mow May as a way of reducing frequency of lawn mowing in early spring to preserve flowers in the turf to feed early spring pollinators.
PUB has honored local Climate Champions since 2022, singling out individuals, businesses, and community groups for their efforts to increase energy conservation, use of renewable energy, or sustainable green spaces in the Baraboo area.
Regenerative agriculture practices can build soil health, which helps grow healthier plants, pastured livestock, and crops, and improve water quality. These increased vitality and diversity of the vegetation in a regenerative agriculture system also increases the amount of carbon those plants pull out of the atmosphere. PUB encourages people to support the local farms that practice regenerative agriculture by purchasing their high quality products.
In a video from May 15, 2023, Lena Nissley explained her rationale for being involved in Low Mow May as a way of reducing frequency of lawn mowing in early spring to preserve flowers in the turf to feed early spring pollinators.
Raising Funds for Renewable and Energy Conservation Projects
On Friday, March 14, 2025, 26 students from Hayley Kaylor’s Baraboo High School AP Environmental Science class, an engineering class, and Ecology Club and three adult chaperones traveled to UW-Platteville to learn about careers in Sustainability and Renewable Energy and UW-Platteville's majors and programs within those fields.
As part of PUB's outreach efforts to encourage energy conservation in the home, we have purchased LED bulbs to give away, including at the Baraboo Food Pantry and Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Bulb packages also contained a document prepared by PUB with tips for energy conservation.
In 2025, solar panels were installed on the roof of the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library, a project in which PUB volunteers were involved in planning, and for which PUB sought donations.
On Friday, March 14, 2025, 26 students from Hayley Kaylor’s Baraboo High School AP Environmental Science class, an engineering class, and Ecology Club and three adult chaperones traveled to UW-Platteville to learn about careers in Sustainability and Renewable Energy and UW-Platteville's majors and programs within those fields.
What is Our Purpose?
Why Take Local Climate Action?
We recognize the dire consequences of continued climate change to life on this planet and the role of greenhouse gasses in contributing to climate change. In addition, we recognize everyone in our community has a role to play in addressing this issue.
How Does PUB Take Local Climate Action?
In response to climate threats, Powered Up Baraboo seeks to increase energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy, and other practices which reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Baraboo and Sauk County area. Our aim is to do this through education, advocacy, grants/fundraising, as well as changing community norms of energy savings, renewable energy use, and waste reduction.
What Are Some Other Ways We Can Take Local Climate Action?
Other practices which reduce greenhouse gas emissions could include, but are not limited to, agricultural practices which help carbon remain in circulation through plants and soil systems, tree planting, preservation and promotion of public green spaces, native plantings and decreasing turf grasses in yards, use of electric vehicles, and walkability and bikeability of city streets.
Our Vision
Powered Up Baraboo works toward a vision of Baraboo as an energy-independent community whose carbon footprint is net-zero. Our community will be part of a worldwide network of communities whose local actions have ignited and supported their nations' climate-saving commitments and progress.
Our History
Getting an organizational structure in place
2015 – Leaders from Baraboo's First United Methodist Church and the Baraboo Range Preservation Association began congregational and community conversations about climate change and sustainability practices.
Powered Up Baraboo is a non-member organization guided by a board of directors. A copy of our bylaws may be downloaded here. Supporters connect with Powered Up Baraboo via signing on to receive periodic updates and taking part in action teams as individual time allows.
Early 2019 – The informal community group decided to incorporate as a non-profit using the name Powered Up Baraboo, Inc. so it could serve as a conduit for grants and projects if needed. Powered Up Baraboo "...seeks to increase the use of renewable energy and environmentally sustainable practices in Baraboo and Sauk County area through education, advocacy, grants/fundraising and other volunteer efforts.
First Project
Powered Up Baraboo began by focusing on a call for solar installations on Baraboo School District properties, especially the current Jack Young Middle School renovation. Mike Kohlman, Baraboo School Board member, credited Powered Up as the catalyst for the Baraboo School District to explore a solar installation project at Jack Young Middle School. Because solar was not part of the Jack Young Middle School renovation referendum, it must be funded outside referendum dollars. However, the district has contracted with Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction to provide preliminary design estimates and economic analysis for a solar project on its own merits.
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Building a base of supporters
Spring of 2019 – A small group of original planners, in cooperation with the Baraboo Public Library, decided to create a four-part public education series, Baraboo 2030, in hopes of invigorating community involvement in actions to reduce carbon emissions. The public information sessions, held in September and October 2019, culminated in the decision to form local action teams to work on specific projects.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 – Planners of the public library education series discussed how their work might fold into Powered Up Baraboo. On Friday, Nov. 8, Powered Up Baraboo’s Board of Directors accepted folding the results of the community education series into its work. This step brought an informal network of community members and potential projects under the umbrella of the non-profit. The advantages include streamlined coordination, communication, planning and enhanced leverage for specific projects.
