If anyone ever questions the future of sustainable energy, look no further than Cindy Johengen’s fifth grade class at Allen Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
With the guidance of 32 engineering students from the University of Michigan who go by the nickname “Woven Wind,” these middle schoolers put up their own 15-foot wind turbine in their school’s backyard. MLive reports that this mini turbine — with its three three-foot-long blades — reportedly cost $600 and was just a temporary installation. (Woven Wind is working on securing permits for a permanent installation)
As for how much juice it provides, it can power small devices like cell phones. However, don’t scoff at the contraption’s tiny punch. There’s so much more to it than that.
MORE: Ask the Experts: How Can We Fix Early Childhood Education?
The student team — who usually build small-scale turbines to power rural villages in countries such as Guatemala — decided to work a little closer to home. The reason why? To educate and inspire these youngsters about sustainable energy.
“The greatest moments are when we see the ‘aha’ moments and the ideas click in their heads,” said Nick Kalweit, the lead engineer of the Woven Wind project and senior in mechanical engineering.
It’s more important than ever to teach the next generation the importance of sustainability, especially since the planet they will inherit is facing the impacts of climate change.
As Woven Wind team member Anastasia Ostrowski said, “When I was younger, growing up, I never had that education. I didn’t get the stress of renewable energies or the stress of finding ways to better our planet. These kids have a great opportunity that a lot of their education is stressed on that because of the times we’re in. Everyone is realizing that renewable [energy] is essential.”
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DON’T MISS: These Kids Are Powering Their School Just By Walking
Tag: environmental education
Want to Teach Kids About Food? Make Them Grow Their Own.
In Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, community farms are giving students hands-on opportunities to learn about nutrition, biology and food production. Many of the city schools in the area have implemented school gardens, and teachers collaborate with farmers to expose students to agriculture on a larger scale. The educational programs embrace the valley’s agricultural heritage and get more local food into school cafeterias and students’ homes. Kids are not only learning to cultivate plants and understand life cycles, but also trying healthy foods they may not have eaten before. An added bonus: the experiential learning gets students physically active as they dig, weed, water and plant. Talk about a fresh idea.
How a Bag of Mushrooms Can Clean A Polluted River
Maya Elson first learned about the cleaning power of fungus in Olympia, Wash., a city she refers to as the mushroom capital of the universe. It was there she and friend Peter McCoy started a grassroots movement called Radical Mycology with an equally radical goal: teach communities how to use mycelium (the root-like component of mushrooms) to help clean polluted land and water.
Decomposing things with mushrooms is hardly new; people have used mycelium over the years to break down everything from diapers to bodies. But Maya is hoping to place this knowledge into the hands of people who need it most—and empower them to create change in their respective communities. Along with projects in the U.S., Radical Mycology is working with the Amazon Mycorenewal Project, which has been field testing the use of mushrooms to clean up oil spills in Lago Agrio, Ecuador since 2007.
If You Want to Save the World, You’ll Need Help. You May Want to Check This Out.
Aspiring environmentalists these days face dwindling funding for research and environmental education. But not all is lost. Here’s a quick run-through of scholarships available to help visionaries in their quest to make a greener, better world for everybody. The ERM Foundation Sustainability Scholarship supports six international students who aspire to social entrepreneurship each year. The Hardwood Forest Foundation Educator Scholarship is awarded to a graduate student who is pursuing a career as an educator. And Annie’s Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship is geared toward students who have big visions in the realm of sustainable and organic agriculture. Check out those and more at Greener Ideal.
Why Does This College Professor Live in a Dumpster?
Jeff Wilson, an environmental science professor at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, lives in a dumpster as an educational experiment in low-impact living. “The Dumpster Project” started with a used, sanitized unit measuring just 33 square feet. Wilson and his students are going to start by making it comfortable, but not sustainable, with environmentally inefficient lighting, air conditioning, and plumbing. Once they establish its energy consumption baseline, they’ll turn it into a sustainable, efficient living space. Wilson plans to turn the project into a K-12 curriculum and traveling project so the self-proclaimed “Professor Dumpster” can teach a large number of students about his grand experiment in sustainable living.