Groundskeeperbot

2017, Carmen de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

EES N°2 “Mariano Moreno” of Carmen de Areco: Student: Paula Perez Bianchi

This project is based on robotic and artificial intelligence technologies. At its first stage,Paula developed a robotic module that meets the irrigation needs of a garden. The system uses Arduino microcontrollers and an artificial intelligence node in charge of learning the different biological conditions to be able to make irrigation decisions based on soil moisture and plant demand.

The University of San Antonio de Areco (UNSAdA) sponsored a trip to the student to participate.

App Life

2017, San Andres de Giles, Buenos Aires, Argentina

app life EET N°1 of San Andrés de Giles. Students: Tomás Pellegrini,Valentina Miranda, Joaquín Coarasa, Cecilia Yucra Ramos.

This project suggests the creation of an application for mobile devices that warns about agrochemical spraying in the local areas and rural schools of the Areco river basin.This application is called APP VIDA, and has already been developed to be executed on phones, tablets and other mobile devices. This project is an easy and effective solution to a current problem of high social impact in the basin surroundings.

Status: The students have created the platform and are waiting for the Municipality to administer the rest of the information required for launch.

Reducing Water Use with Faucet Aerators

2016, Sacramento, California, USA

Faucet Aerators student implementation project California winner photo Brian Shan was proud to place first in the 2015 Caring for our Watersheds contest for his proposal to install aerators on faucets in his school. Faucet aerators deliver a mixture of water and air, limiting how much water is released while maintaining pressure and reducing splashing. The aerators, relatively inexpensive and easy to install, help conserve water and reduce energy use and costs.

Brian met with his school principal and facilities director to obtain permission to make this easy upgrade that would have the potential to reduce water use from hand washing by 40%. After obtaining approval he purchased aerators and installed them in 18 sinks located in bathrooms on his school’s campus. Knowing that this relatively simple project can save a lot of water, Brian plans on extending his project to other schools in his district.

Water Conservation….easy as 1, 2, 3 (or at least installing the aerators!)

#KanivaWater

2016, KANIVA, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

In 2014 Kaniva College students Louise, Jaden, Duncan and Luke took first place in the final competition for their proposal #KanivaWater. Since then, Louise and Jaden have been working tirelessly to put their idea into action. Their idea consists of providing their town with free, fresh drinking water to reduce the amount of plastic bottles purchased by the local community and visitors.

Kaniva is known as a highway town. Located on route between Melbourne and Adelaide, thousands
of people pass through Kaniva each day using this small country town as a rest stop. The students saw this as an opportunity to help the community and visitors reduce their impact on the environment by helping them to reduce or even stop buying plastic bottles.

Bottling water produces 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, and it takes 3L of water to produce just 1L of bottled water. Additionally, 2015 figures showed over 40% of litter picked up throughout clean up Australia Day was plastic.

Until now Kaniva had no free potable water in town, so the only option for the community or visitors was to purchase bottled water.To address this issue, a water filter and fountain were installed on already established rainwater tanks at the Purple Starfish on Kaniva’s main street. After numerous tests by community partner GWM Water, Louise and Jaden officially opened the #KanivaWater fountain on November 2^nd 2016.

Their project has also been set up to educate people about this important issue and solution via social media, hence the # in the title. You can continue to follow their journey on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by searching for #KanivaWater.

GREEN “GUTTERS”

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Green Gutters
Sycamore High School suffers from a poor drainage system, with runoff from the roofs falling down onto the school grounds without the help of gutters, and Nate Halstead, Jessica Wei, and Dani Abramovitz wanted to change that. They proposed the implementation of a green wall, which would prevent excess water collection on the school grounds as there are many unutilized exterior walls which do not have adequate gutters.

The runoff from the school goes into the Little Miami watershed, which is notorious for flooding during the excessive amounts of rain the region receives. To lessen the impact of the excess water damage on the western wall of the school building, the group implemented a system of greenery on the brick walls. The plants were selected to best benefit the watershed, as the redirection of the roof’s drainage through the plants will act as the gutter, filtering the runoff while also adding a modern touch to the traditional school building. By providing a natural buffer for Stormwater from directly entering storm drains, the wall will serve to improve the general health of the watershed while increasing the natural beauty to the school that the community can enjoy.

WETLAND FLORA CONSTRUCTION

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Wetland Flora Construction
Jared Bulla, Josh Rademacher, Logan Bush, and Justin Zhou of the Summit Country Day School wanted to help alleviate the problem of overabundant chemicals in the Little Miami River. This local river feeds into East Fork Lake, which in recent years has shown an increase in nitrogen and phosphate levels, resulting in algal blooms. The Valley View Foundation is working to create an area of wetlands that would serve as a natural drainage system for wastewater before it went into the Little Miami. The group’s project was then to ensure that the proper floras were planted in the wetlands to maximize the uptake of chemicals by plants.

The boys selected reeds, iris, and cattails as the primary plants due to their winter hardiness and affordability. They are effective in removing excess phosphorus and do well on their own after planting. The implementation of this program would be significant, as it would reduce the number of algal blooms in East Fork Lake. By choosing plants for the wetland that would do the most good, Jared, Josh, Logan, and Justin hope that they will be able to create a noticeable impact in their area.

AUTOMATIC FLUSHERS: TIME TO SAVE WATER

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Automatic Flushers
Bennett Heyn was concerned by how much water Sycamore High School’s automatic flush toilets and urinals were wasting. Looking at the men’s restrooms specifically, with each “phantom flush” of a toilet 1.5 gallons of water were wasted alongside an additional 0.5 gallon per urinal. To create a solution to this problem, Bennett decided he would need to purchase additional sensors for the bathroom. These mirror devices attach to the automatic sensors, but require the user to hold their hands in front of it for a few seconds in order to activate the flush.

Installing four new sensors would save around 5,830 gallons of water per year, and a small start could lead to more being installed down the road. This project would benefit the environment by preserving the amount of natural water in it. Bennett’s high school would be reducing their water bill while also keeping the Little Miami Watershed clean. This project would be a great start for larger changes Sycamore could make down the road.

A RAIN GARDEN A DAY KEEPS THE DIRT AWAY

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
A rain garden a day keeps the dirt away
The Mill Creek, one of Cincinnati’s main waterways, has a water quality that is often defined as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ due to the large amounts of contaminants that runoff into it. Aleeyah Nurredin’s high school, Mount Notre Dame, is next door to a convent with a stream that runs into the Mill Creek. To prevent the problem of damaging runoff, she proposed to create a rain garden. This garden would increase the water quality and reduce the flooding potential into the stream by the convent too.

This project would engage the larger MND community, collaborating with students to create the garden itself while educating residents of the convent next door. A rain barrel would first be installed after a group digs up a space for the garden, diverting water from the gutters. The underground basin would then be lined with stones to prevent erosion before being filled with soil and appropriate native plants. These plants would be arranged based on their water tolerance in order to promote the most success. Finally, once the plants are in place, the rain garden would be covered with a layer of mulch to keep the soil most. The rain garden would create a space of community enjoyment while also making positive changes to the environment due to the cleaner water going into the watershed.

CLEAN WOMEN, CLEAN WATER

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Clean Women, Clean Water
Abigail Aubrey, Taylor Schmidt, and Alex Herbert attend Mount Notre Dame High School, whose student body is entirely female. They learned that a major problem for watersheds is that girls are flushing their menstrual products down toilets, impacting plumbing and creating waste that sits in landfills. To combat this problem, the group wanted to educate their peers and encourage them to try reusable pads and menstrual cups.

Women throw away and flush hundreds of disposable products and their packaging every month, driven by an industry that promotes the mindset of “out of sight, out of mind”. Disposable pads or tampons aren’t out of sight or mind, however, they are everywhere. To avoid toxins and the waste from traditional products, there are reusable alternatives. One menstrual cup or reusable pad will prevent waste and the cost of disposable products each month.

To educate the women of their school, Abigail, Taylor, and Alex created a week-long event called “Pad Wars”. During this week each grade is challenged to raise the most feminine hygiene products to send to Uganda so that young girls can continue to go to school. If someone brings in reusable products, they will receive extra points. Then after school, students would be able to attend a workshop about the importance of the watershed and receive a reusable menstrual cup. Through education, the group’s hope is that their peers are called to change their habits. In that way, they will be helping their watershed while taking care of their bodies!

AUTOMATIC RAINWATER TERRACE SYSTEM

2016, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Automatic Rainwater Terrace System
Creating a solution to the blindness of water usage and supply is imperative to saving the watershed and protecting the environment of the future. Molly Bonino of Mount Notre Dame High School focused on utilizing stored rainwater to make a difference in the Little Miami Watershed. To do this, she planned to put her attention to the issue of Ohioans dumping and overusing water and polluting storm drains.

To address this problem, Molly wanted to create an automatic rainwater terrace garden. This structure would be created with a boxed chamber, made of biodegradable plastic, with a soil moisture sensor. The sensor will send an electrical signal through the relays, allowing the box to open and release water for plants.

Conserving rain water and using it for tasks like watering a garden will not only prevent pollution of storm drains, but also positively maintain the growth of vegetation and soil richness. This sort of garden could be implemented at a home or school, starting small then growing in order to create awareness and contribute to the global push for change.