Powering the World, One Step at a Time

2022, JOHNSTOWN, COLORADO, USA

Lilian Pham, a student at Roosevelt High School, took a proactive approach to combatting air

pollution by inventing an innovative method of electricity generation. Due to the escalating levels of greenhouse gases, Colorado has been facing an enduring drought. To address this challenge, Lilian designed and developed a groundbreaking prototype known as the Rug-Watt—a rug capable of producing electricity. By harnessing kinetic energy, the Rug-Watt utilizes rotating gears to generate electrical power. Even though a single step and one rotation of a gear produce approximately 0.2 volts, the cumulative effect is significant. When every student in the school takes a step on the Rug-Watt, a single panel can generate an impressive 209 volts. This solution addressed Targets 7.1 and 9.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Let’s Be Plastic Free: A Social Media Advocacy Campaign

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Student standing with $1000 Environmental Contest Winner cheque
Clara Nordahl, a student at Mira Loma High School, took first place in the 2022 Caring for Our Watersheds competition. Clara demonstrated her design skills and political savvy with her project to advocate for passage of the 2022 California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations (CPWRR) Initiative and a reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic. Clara aims to raise awareness and garner support for the initiative and cause, and to that end, has designed several appealing infographics which she shared online through public social media ads. Clara’s proposal was well-written, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented. By implementing her project, she was able to further education and outreach on the monumental problem of single-use plastic waste.

Infographic on the plastic waste reduction regulations initiative Recycling poster

PERMEABLE PAVERS IMPLEMENTATION

2018, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Pavers
At Walnut Hills High School, thousands of students walk across campus seven hours a day, 5 days a week. Because of this, during rainy conditions, it is very common to find soil and litter running into sidewalks and parking lots and clogging drains in multiple locations. To address the ongoing erosion issue, a project was proposed to use permeable pavers to limit erosion, sustain plant life, and lessen water runoff that leads to pollution. Patrick Carroll and Spencer Jones selected to implement permeable pavers because they are a realistic and financially reasonable solution to the environmental problem of soil erosion and water runoff. They allow rain and melting snow to go into the ground, reducing runoff and lessening the amount of pollutants that go into sewers.

Since the project occurs on a Cincinnati Public School property, the team members met with the AP Environmental Science teacher, principal, and alumni director of Walnut Hills High school. The team made a formal presentation, discussing the negative environmental impacts of not using permeable pavers at Walnut Hills High School. With the funds in place and a positive impact on the school, the administrators indicated that the school was supportive, and the alumni department was positive about the project. However, the team was notified that the Cincinnati School Board would have to approve a project of this kind before implementation.. The team expects that Cincinnati Public School will approve the project and implementation will move forward in the near future. Patrick and Spencer are aware that they chose an ambitious project but believe it will make an important ecological impact at Walnut Hills High School. In addition, the completed project can encourage other schools to make similar changes to help the local watershed.
Pavers

Silence Please

2018 San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

EES N° 1, San Antonio de Areco. Students: Aylén Lucena, Melina De Sorbo, Tomás Tapia, Martina Heredia silence please student action

This project is based on the recycling of waste materials and the impact of sounds as a health issue. It proposes to use different materials to improve the acoustic problems in the classrooms of this High School. After trying out different recycling materials, based on acoustic measures made by the students, they confirmed that this intervention is beneficial for the classrooms.

They will choose a classroom as model and will alter its walls and roof with different “layers” that will help improve the noise levels. The idea is to measure the impact of this intervention as a previous step to proposing a school-wide intervention of all the classrooms in the school.

*This project received the donation of floor from Nutrien Ag Solutions, cardboard tube, and its waiting the final approval for the class intervention.

GREEN ROOF

2016, Fairfax, VA, USA

Fairfax, VA, where Lanier Middle School is located, is the site of many new housing developments. After learning about the adverse effects of stormwater runoff on the Potomac River, students became concerned with the increase in impervious surfaces in their community, which inevitably will lead to more urban runoff. Through their research, the students came across the redevelopment of Kamp Washington, which proposes putting gardens or lawns atop high-rise buildings in Fairfax.

The group wanted to incorporate this kind of green infrastructure at their school and received approval to build a model green roof on a shed in their school garden. The green roof will serve as a teaching tool for students and a model for community members. Developers of the Kamp Washington redevelopment project were invited to view the roof upon completion, in hopes that they will implement some of the designs in their project. The students also created a model of the Kamp Washington redevelopment and included suggestions around how it could be more ‘green,’ including solar panels, green roofs, and pervious surfaces. They will present the model to City Council on June 6 and talk through the project and how what they learned can be applied to Kamp Washington. The project will receive about $700 in funding from Nutrien to purchase reinforcement materials for the roof and plants.

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.

Areco, a River of Ideas

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project aims to motivate youth to actively participate in the design of public spaces in their
towns. It was proposed as an exercise – inspired by a successful project carried out in Madrid in 2004 – to invite all young students to upload design ideas on the Internet. The criteria of the designs were that they should illustrate how a busy public place on the Areco River should look. Unlike the Spanish proposal, which ended in a paper publication, they proposed to post the proposals on a Facebook page, called “Areco, a river of ideas”.

Just Like a “Hornero”

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project was implemented in a small rural community called Cucullú. The main business activity of this small village with a population of 1300 inhabitants is the making of clay bricks, and the income for these workers is very low.

CFW brought an architect to the school to assist the students. With the help and guidance of the architect, who specialized in sustainable constructions, the students proposed an architectural creation and architectural education organized in a small building in the town. This particular building is a place where the community gathers for training, meetings, and special events.

The aim of the project is to use this place as a small educational space for the town; the students, their parents and siblings will be trained in the craft of sustainable construction, helping to improve the primarily poor conditions in which the community lives.

As a first step, they created a “Russian chimney” that it is a sustainable way to cook and maintain heat, which will keep the place very warm in the winter.

Rooftop Gardens

2012 Berthoud, Colorado, USA

Alex Liebman is a senior at Berthoud High School. She placed 4th at the Northern Colorado watershed contest with her project to implement rooftop gardens on the schools in the Northern Colorado area. The gardens will serve as insulation for the school, reduce water runoff that could potentially be polluted, lower erosion levels, and provide a learning experience for students at the schools.

rooftop-2 The garden consists of a square foot section of the roof that is covered with plants that will greatly benefit from the rain water that would otherwise be directed into the gutters, and sent into the school parking lots where the water will mix with possible toxins that could potentially be harmful to the watershed. Berthoud High School will serve as the pilot project.

Green Roofs of Colorado, LLC the company that installed the rooftop garden on top of the EPA building in Denver, Colorado, (photo to the right) will use Berthoud as a referral to have additional schools in the area also install a green roof.

“I am extremely thankful to Nutrien for their donation of $1,008.60 to implement the project from the estimated cost budget.” Says Alex.

Escape To The World Of Xeriscape

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

Josh Croft & Stephanie Lopez, Northridge High School, xeriscaping project started out as four pieces of land located in their school’s front parking lot, but because of a new set of greenhouses installed on the east side of the building, the project was relocated.

Croft & Lopez completed most of the planning, landscape design and budgeting during the spring of the year. Ruth Quade, Water Resource Specialist with the City of Greeley, continued to mentor the team through the selection of the type of plants, planting arrangement and purchasing locations.

Removal of the existing plants was delayed throughout the summer. Both students graduated in the spring and headed off to college but before packing their bags, they passed off the 2nd place proposal to the Northridge Horticulture students in order to achieve full implementation. The Horticulture students contacted Eaton Grove Nursery to purchase the selected xeric plants. The low-water landscaping has been installed in front of the newly constructed greenhouses and will be part of the entry way to plant growing spaces. Future plans include placement of signage by the club to identify the plants, water saving advantages and to help inform others how this idea really works.

The Northridge Grizzles appreciate the support from Nutrien to bring the contest to Colorado and the donation of $1000 to implement this solution at our school.