Johnathan Van Roekel

Meet Johnathan Van Roekel (he/him/his):

Johnathan was born and raised in the rolling farm fields and hardwood forests of South Eastern Minnesota near Northfield. After spending a year abroad in Košice, Slovakia, in a cultural emersion program, Johnathan attended University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He graduated in the Spring of 2020 with a Conservation and Environmental Planning major and a Geographic Information Systems minor. During his time in River Falls, Johnathan worked on natural resource and recreation mapping projects with the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and enjoyed spending time on the river fly fishing for trout. Here, Johnathan intends to spend his free time outdoors, exploring the Warner Mountains and the great state of Oregon. Johnathan is serving his second term as a RARE AmeriCorps. Johnathan started his service last year with no prior experience or training in the energy sector, but was excited to learn about renewable energy design and finance and how it can best be applied to serve rural communities, and now he shares the knowledge he has gained with the other members of the RARE AmeriCorps program.

Community and Organization:

Lakeview is a small community of approximately 2,300 people. The overall population density for the county is less than 1 person per square mile. It is, by all definitions, rural, and is referred to as “frontier country.”

Lake County itself is an outdoorsman’s paradise. There are endless opportunities to recreate in all months of the year. There is seemingly endless National Forest access, hiking, biking, hunting, rock hounding, photography, wildlife viewing, mushroom picking, and anything else that comes with being less than a five minutes’ drive away from backroads. If you are a snowboarder or skier, don’t miss out on taking advantage of the local ski hill. The snow is great and there is never a wait at the lift. Lake County has a very rich natural history and remnants of indigenous life, such as arrowheads are often found off trails. The natural beauty and absence of sound (highway buzz) are likely two of the first things you will notice. There is not a Wal-Mart, shopping mall, movie theater, or typical fast food. These are the things that make Lakeview unique and contribute to a simpler and less cluttered lifestyle.

Project:

As the Renewable Energy Coordinator at Lake County Resources Initiative (LCRI), Johnathan provides renewable energy and energy efficiency project assistance to small businesses, farms, and agricultural producers throughout the state of Oregon. Johnathan’s work includes remote education and outreach, technical-expertise, and project-specific consultation and grant writing guidance that is free to qualified participants. Through his position, Johnathan helps rural Oregonians connect with as many cost saving resources as possible, such as incentives, rebates, and grants, while removing technical barriers to their access. This helps make projects feasible and affordable, saving farms and business owners money and time, and moving them towards energy independence.