Appropriate Technology Field Trip

I am trying to take my 7th Advance Green Architecture class on a field trip to Appalachian State University to learn about appropriate technology, visit a college campus, and see the mountains of North Carolina. Almost none of my students have ever visited
the North Carolina mountains and very few have been to a college campus. The bus ride is three hours away from our school but will cost over $600 in gas mileage. (Durham Public Schools charge $1.65 per mile on an activity bus and the trip from school to Boone
and then to Beech Mountain and back is 395 miles roundtrip.) My department said that they could not justify that cost, but they really want our students to get out on field trips. I figured if the school can't pay for it maybe people who want to help our future
generations can! My students are entered in the School of the Future competition which requires them to design and school that is sustainable and meets the needs of our community. I figured what better way to learn about sustainability and renewable energy
than to take a field trip to one of our nations leaders in sustainable energy in education. My students will spend the morning learning about solar panels, wind turbines, and other forms of sustainable energy. The students will then get to eat lunch in the
college cafeteria and see a bit of the campus. We will then take the bus to see the actual wind turbines that help power the campus and finish the day snow tubing. This will be a day the students will never forget and I really, really want them to be able
to have this experience.