Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Chloe Pettit from Rocky Mountain High School found that paint has solid pigments that increase the opacity of water and its particles clogs up the gills of fish and cause other harmful effects on them. She also found that solvent based paints such as paint thinners contain mercury, zinc, lead, and chromium –which can cause tumors on fish and other organisms in the water. To address this, Chloe dedicated her time developing an informal website containing video tutorials on how to make paints from scratch using vegetables and fruits. This website was provided to kindergarten and first grade classes in Fort Collins to get students started with their homemade paint kits. Many of these classes created their DIY paints on Earth Day! Chloe’s eco-friendly paints and tutorials helped contribute to Targets 6.3 and 12.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
