Conservation and sustainability aren’t foreign concepts to Lawrence. But at the city’s ninth annual Energy Conservation Fair, the largest one to date, one student group used the opportunity to gain support for putting its car, an oil-guzzling Beetle, where they think it belongs: on the road.

The fair, held Saturday at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., ran in conjunction with the Sustainable Homes Tour and hosted several other student groups.

EcoHawks, a group formed by a class of mechanical engineering seniors, were promoting a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle they turned into a hybrid vehicle last year. In addition to gasoline, the car uses reused oil from campus dining for fuel. Now, the group is trying to make the car street legal.

Members of EcoHawks were at the fair explaining the car and looking for donors. Major advertising spaces on the car are being sold for $5,000 to $10,000, while other spots will be covered for $10 per square inch.

“This is big. There has been nothing like it before, and no one knows about it,” Brian Paddock, Wichita senior and Ecohawk member, said of the group’s car.

Michelle Gundy, field supervisor for the city’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Division, said 51 exhibitors participated in the fair, which was the most it had ever had. Other participants included companies that offered consultations for more efficient home energy use, installed solar panels and wind generators, and reinsulated homes. There were also speakers throughout the day.

“Because of the economic stimulus, there is a lot of interest in the auditing process and the money people can get back,” Gundy said.

The KU chapter of Engineers Without Borders was also at the fair discussing the group’s summer trip to Bolivia, where members installed six composting latrines, or communal toilets, over a five-week period. The latrines separate the liquid waste from the solid, and the compost waste is re-used on the fields so the community can be more self-reliant.

“There were extra materials, and after we left, they built a seventh on their own,” Lara Pracht, Garden City senior and president of Engineers Without Borders, said.

Other community organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and Cans for the Community, attended the fair. According to a Cans for the Community pamphlet, the organization has recycled more than 3.5 million cans during the past four years and given the proceeds, more than $41,000, back to the community.

“The community can come learn and see what can be beneficial for the community as a whole,” Gundy said.

— — Edited by Jacob Muselmann