2015 STEM Summer Camp

We had a wonderful time with the students at the 2015 STEM Summer Camp! Students began the session with learning about point source and non-point source pollution using an Enviroscape Model. From there, we learned about the effects that pollution has on both abiotic and biotic factors in an underwater ecosystem. They ended with going outside and playing an interactive game of Macro Mayhem!

Imaginations Abound Early Learning Center

     It was our pleasure to have been invited to a local daycare center to teach a little about water quality! The local daycare is called Imaginations Abound Early Learning Center in Alexandria, Kentucky. The cute little daycare had five students for us to teach to that ranged in age from two to five years. We did not teach for very long, but they thoroughly enjoyed our Buddy the Fish lesson. Buddy the Fish starts out in a clean tank of water, but as he swims past factories, construction sites, and trash dumps, his water becomes increasingly gross. The students get to dump the different pollutants into the water, making the lesson relevant, fun, and engaging with the students usually being eager to dump stuff in and genuinely concerned about Buddy's well-being. This experience was fun for all and we look forward to being invited to more daycare centers in the future!

Celebration of Student Research and Creativity

     This week was the culmination of a project and presentation we have been working on for a little while here. At Northern Kentucky University, we had the amazing privilege of being able to do a twenty minute presentation at this year's Celebration of Student Research and Creativity about what we have accomplished over the past couple semesters and how the 5E Model is more inclusive and modern than the preceding front-loading and teacher-lead models of the past. We began the presentation with talking about what the 5E Model is and how the students we were teaching to were involved in this model both on an individual lesson level and also as a week-long module level. Then we went on to talk about how we, as student workers and student instructors, were experiencing the 5E model ourselves while we learned the content we needed to in order to teach and as we actually learned about the 5E model. Afterwards, we described our personal experiences and how being involved in the program has impacted us both on a personal and professional level.

The $4.99 App about Water Quality and Now an App for All the Carbon Footprint Competes in Washington.

     Sixth-graders going to a creek. It is fun, they get to be in the water, they learn about water quality, but the experience doesn’t have to end there. There’s so much to continue learning about water quality and you can’t constantly bring the people physically to the streams for it, so the idea of an app that would be on the hands of children that tend more to be outside would make them interested on how all the environmental aspect and sustainability come together.

     "They are more interested on the bugs than the app” says Rosemarie Santos, interim Director for the Center of Environmental Education, which is good. The app helps be civically engaged, more responsible, and by doing that with children and elementary-school teachers the impact is even bigger as they are the new generations.

     This first app actually inspired a second one. This one goes beyond water and gives visibility of a person’s carbon footprint. The interesting aspect is that a prototype is being developed as part of a phase 1 grant and if successful (compete and win in April 2015 in Washington) it can go to a phase 2 for further development. The app helps the person economically (‘you can save this $$ if you used the bus or walk versus using the car’), at a health level (‘you can burn these calories if you walked there versus driving’), at an environmental level (‘you can reduce these metric tons of CO2 if you walked versus drive, or lower the heater in X degrees’), and at a social level (‘given traffic conditions you can reduce the CO2 if you waited’).

     Dr. Christine Curran is proud of the students’ coordination from Marketing, Informatics and Environmental Sciences. All the best for them in April 2015!

Sources: The Northerner. "Environmental Evolution" December 2014 http://goo.gl/2GZ5ZV  and WNKU. “Students create an app to track carbon footprint” February 2015 http://goo.gl/hDrtzi

NKU Jumps Right in the Middle of Environmental Evolution

     The Northener (the independent student newspaper of NKU) is doing a great job sharing the advancements in Environmental Education and Sustainability as strategies that are setting NKU apart. The online article gives a lot of existing examples of these efforts. Here is a preview of some of them.

     A Director for Energy Management and a Sustainability Manager will be hired to solidify and bring to life the sustainability agenda as part of NKU’s Strategic Plan. This will ensure NKU catches up with compliance commitments (e.g. it hasn’t reported its carbon footprint since 2009) and coordinates efforts that so far were one-off’s. NKU wants carbon neutrality by 2050, only 35 years away and a lot to do and fund.

     Griffin Hall is a lead case for environmentally sustainable construction and the new Health Innovations Center follow the LEED standards which ensure sustainable Energy & Environmental designs. LEED has categories (certification, silver, gold, and platinum) and the higher means more expensive construction but the on-going return outweighs the initial investment. NKU seeks Silver as a minimum standard for every construction in campus.

     Transportation is also a key opportunity: students and faculty need to use bus, car-sharing and bicycles much more to lower the CO2 footprint. Since NKU is in a suburban location it makes it comfortable to come by car, each student or faculty on their own. Creating awareness that TANK, for instance, is free for students is a key aspect of the Transportation planning and perks to make people choose public transportation.

     Lastly, the Center for Environmental Education (CEE) created ‘Environmental Lessons’ that would be shared at schools nationwide. This was funded by NASA (yes! NASA…) and will radically change the environmental literacy of children. CEE also runs reforestation events, chats, field trips with local K-12 students, and even an app development that for $4.99 teaches helps you learn about water quality.

Source: The Northerner. "Environmental Evolution" December 2014 http://goo.gl/2GZ5ZV

This is why I love where I work.  You never know who is going to come by and visit or what you are going to be doing.  Life here is one adventure after another. 

Thanks Lloyd High School for inviting us to your Annual STEM Expo.  It was wonderful meeting your students and introducing them to our worms.  It was great to see them so excited about learning the connections between worms, engineering and geology.  Can't wait see you again. 

We braved the cold on March 28th and had a great time planting trees with the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council at the Reforest Northern Kentucky 2015.

It was a amazing to be with 280 people all dedicated to improving the environment.  

We had so much fun, we forgot to get pics.  :(  Boo hiss.  Luckily the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council has a bunch.  Check it out at http://on.fb.me/1bU9S8J.

Why Worms in Your Office can Actually be a Very good Thing.

     In a project that started in February 2015 and lasts for 10 weeks The Northener (the independent student newspaper of NKU) is highlighting 10 cool offices in NKU. Each office tenant tells the stories behind why their office looks and how it creates a good environment. It turns out that one of the offices has several hundreds of worms! But that actually is a VERY GOOD thing. How can that be?!  Read on…

     The operations hotspot for the Center of Environmental Education is Rosie Santos’ office at Founders Hall. Among the lively wall colors, postcards and plants Rosie keeps a special green box with worms. What originally was brought into the office to explain and teach about decomposers in the nitrogen cycle, turned out to be an addition to the office that actually helps being friendlier to the environment without much especial or extra effort. The worms eat scraps from biodegradable food. You just need to add the small pieces of left-overs, things like meat, dairy, egg shells, or coffee grinds. Even shredded paper! The office space is evidently a great place for this, it doesn’t produce smell or noise, doesn’t require special sunlight, and also doesn’t require special attention apart from removing their soil every once in a while and keep on adding small amounts of their ‘food’, which is your biodegradable waste.

    The result is a type of soil that is rich in nitrogen and it can be used as a potent fertilizer for the plants that for sure people have in the offices. This helps create a virtuous cycle in which you eat healthy, you put biodegradable waste to be organically recycled, then the produced soil is put to nurture more and healthier plants, and why not food! 

This certainly helps the office spaces be more sustainable but it is also useful for people’s homes. Setting the box isn’t difficult, you can buy in the internet (a simple search for ‘worm composer box’ gives several results with prices for all budgets) and there are many videos on the internet that explain everything in under 5 minutes. It’s a simple, free and a direct way of helping the planet.

Source: Carrie Crotzer, Kody Kahle, Lindsey Rudd, Wyatt Nolen. "Top NKU Offices" 9 Feb. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. 

<http://thenortherner.com/multimedia/top-offices/index.html>

Building Bird Houses and Feeders at Erpenbeck Elementary was a Blast!

Thank you Erpenbeck Elementary and Rex McBride from the UK Ag Boone County Extension Office for inviting us to join you in helping the fantastic 5th graders to build structures to improve the habitat of the avian community.  We were so impressed with the student's construction and problem solving skills  as well as their creativity. 

I hope they had as much fun as we did.

 

Hope to see you again soon. 

Our Rain Barrels are Complete and Released into the Wild.

Ara and Pollock have been dropped off at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. 

We are so proud to have been a part of the Rain Barrel Art Project.  Not only is this a great project to bring awareness to water quality and conservation, it was a lot of fun.  It was a wonderful opportunity for us to stretch our artistic talents while promoting Environmental Education.  Thank you Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and Regional Storm Water Collaborative for this opportunity.

Goodbye Ara and Pollock we wish you luck.



 May you have a great time with your new friends.

So go to the zoo and check out our rain barrels and all the other wonderful creations by very talented artists. 

Do You Really Want to Miss This Second Opportunity?

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago… The second best time is NOW”

     Write a book, have children, plant a tree… Or this other one… If a tree dies, just plant another! These sayings might go by unnoticed but there’s tons of wisdom in them, especially the portion about trees.

     We many times don’t realize the tremendous benefits that having trees implies to us. It can reduce electricity and gas consumption in our houses up to 30% (we talked about this in a past blog). And this website about Forestry Education http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/tp/tree_value.htm makes a strong with 10 good reasons: trees produce oxygen, clean the soil, control noise pollution, slow storm water runoff, are carbon sinks, clean the air, provide shade and cool, act as windbreaks, fight soil erosion, and increase property value (finally some human economics in the list!). 

However, all of these are easier said than done. Easier to read about them than doing something. So here is a tip: start small, start at home. What homeowners keep forgetting is something as simple as planting a tree can give them more benefits than what it thinks it’s going to be extra work. When the right trees are planted strategically they can bring all the benefits that were mentioned above. Trees that are deciduous lessen the need of air conditioning use at home. Choose the right tree to plant. Bring in expert advice (you’ll notice is affordable and will pay off in time!). They will know what type of tree you should grow that isn’t going to be dangerous for your home’s foundation. They also help in determining which one can be of easy maintenance. Lastly, experts help determine the right tree placement to avoid issues with the electrical, phone or cable lines.

     So… Sure you want to miss this second best time? Don’t let it pass and learn about useful tips to easily plant a tree with this video: http://video.about.com/gardening/How-to-Plant-a-Tree.htm

“Where do we park, honey? Go there, dear, under that Solar Forest, the car needs charging”

     Sometimes we lose sight. Sometimes we think that Clean Energy is about engineers, chemists, biologists or hard-core ecologists. We don’t see that it’s actually part of our day to day, and if it still isn’t, then in short it will be everywhere. Designers, architects, artists will blend their imagination with the functionalities of different clean energies not only to beautify the spaces we live in, but also to serve the community. Clothes, means of transport, buildings, public areas... Everything will be the canvas of these new players that will transform the technology into functional solutions.

     An example is the electric car. The designs are becoming attractive (who doesn’t like how a Tesla looks!) and the prices are becoming more affordable (maybe don’t think the Tesla for this one, right now). The demand is on the grow and disruptors are entering the industry (can Apple and Google be the new Mercedes Benz or Volkswagen?) and all that benefits the consumers, the economies and the planet.

    The dutch architect Neville Mars presented not so long ago a project to create solar forests. The idea is simple, build tree-like shapes that have solar panels on top and also move to accommodate themselves to get more sun exposure. They would generate electricity and also give fresh shade and protection to the cars that would park underneath, discounting that the electric energy they produce would be used to charge those cars that are expected to be electric. Right now the design is ready to be taken to production and we could see the first examples in a few years. We certainly want to see these solar tress to take strong and deep roots in the cities around the world! 

Source: Mars, Neville. "Solar Forest." BURB. BurbTv, 7 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <http://goo.gl/2byveW>

ELEMENTARY STEM DAY IS ALMOST HERE

It is going to be MAYHEM!  Macro Mayhem that is. 

This Friday, we are going to be teaching 4 groups of 4th graders from local schools about how water quality can impact macroinvertebrate populations.  This is going to be part of Elementary STEM Day which is being hosted here at NKU's campus.  Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can let the mayhem happen outdoors.  Outdoor classroom activity, interdisciplinary with biology and math, kinesthetic learning, and engagement is what makes Environmental Education rock!

During Spring Break, some of us came in to work on Ara so she would have time to dry in between applications.  Here she is with more of her details. 

Now we need to add the leaves to the trees, highlight the water and the information about the water cycle. 

We are getting excited about her debut at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens in April.   

Ooops we forgot to give you an update on Ara and Pollock before we left on Spring Break.  We are so proud of them and they are growing up so fast.  Pollock is all shiny white waiting for his set of black fish to define his white fish.  Ara has more details in this picture you can see her lakes and mountains and our wonderful artist Lizzy Anderson. 

1 Tree = Cooling Effect of 10 Room-sized Air Conditioning Units

Trees can add value to your home, help cool your home and neighborhood, break the cold winds to lower your heating costs, and provide food for wildlife.

Check out these very interesting facts:

► Trees have an impact on the energy used for heating and cooling a building, reducing air conditioning costs by as much as 30 percent and saving 20 to 50 percent on energy for heating. This is because as well as providing shade, a large tree can also transpire as much as 378.5 liters (100 gallons) of water into the air per day.

This is why the net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day!

► Trees enhance the storm water management and water quality by reducing runoff and improving water quality when absorbed and filtered rainwater.

► Properly planted trees reduce pavement maintenance: their hade can slow deterioration of street pavement, decreasing the amount of maintenance needed.

► And the most important, they improve the quality of life by providing aesthetic value, habitat for many species and reducing noise.

Source: EPA. "Trees and Vegetation | Heat Island Effect | US EPA." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. http://goo.gl/1JENuX

  Let's be honest one of the reason's a lot of people don't have rain barrels is their lack of curb appeal.  

Well, the CEE is involved in an environmental art project to fix that problem!

 2015 Rain Barrel Painting Event and Benefit Auction Project

The CEE is painting not 1 but 2 rain barrels.  

These rain barrels will be on display at the Cincinnati Zoo during April and then will be auctioned off in a silent auction during Party for the Planet on April 23rd.   Proceeds will go to education programs focused on the reduction of stormwater runoff and promotion of healthy habitats.  

We have gotten our rain barrels and have put on the first coat of primer paint.  We are excited to begin the background next.  Check back to watch our progress and don't forget to go to the zoo during April to see ours and all the other 49 rain barrels on display.  Remember, if you need a pretty rain barrel the auction is April 23rd.    

Without further ado, let me introduce to you our two projects.  They might look like twins that are wall flowers but come back over the next couple of weeks and see how they develop into their own personalities.  

The one on the left is Pollock - a type of fish, and artist :-)

The one on the right is  Ara -  which means  "Brings rain" in Persian (thinkbabynames.com)

2nd Annual Rain Barrel Art Project

Artists are needed to participate in the 2nd Annual Rain Barrel Art Project, hosted by the Regional Storm Water Collaborative and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. This joint effort continues to educate the community about water conservation and pollution caused by storm water runoff. A great way to reduce that runoff is to harness rainwater in your very own rain barrel. Typically, rain barrels are a drab color, but with the touch of the artists, they come alive with scenes of nature, wildlife, Cincinnati, and many other designs, making them much more appealing to install on the side of your home. Utilizing a rain barrel could save a homeowner up to 1000 gallons of water in just one summer. - See more at: http://blog.cincinnatizoo.org/2013/12/27/calling-all-artists-2/#sthash.OnhJOCzz.dpuf

Nature's Help Against Greenhouse Effect? Earthworm Excretions Could Help Raise more Plants that Use Carbon Dioxide

   The whole idea is that worms’ fecal matter (yeah… yuks!) transforms carbon into its more decay resistant form, gets deeper in the soil, and it’s nutritious to plants which are the ones helping transform CO2 into O2. These excrements also add physical structure to the soil that holds the carbon, reducing erosion and making it crumbly which helps plants grow. On top of that, earthworms also burrow in the soil creating passages that aerate and help water circulate, which is what plants need to be healthy.

   But is it all good? Why are we finding this now? There are some other investigations that actually show the contrary, that earthworms just contribute adding to the greenhouse gas emissions. How is that? As they go through their soil-transforming business, eating from the soil and digesting it, they are actually releasing the already trapped carbon in such soil. These investigations indicated these worms could be causing one third of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions.

   Even if such researches do seem to collide and pull in different directions, they both agree the earthworms have unmistakable benefits. This is why more studies are being conducted to determine if the earthworms’ fertilization of the soil can truly boost plant growth and outweigh their own carbon footprint, which we know, we all do by just existing.

Source

Kerling, Kat. "'Global Worming': Earthworms Contribute to Climate Change: UC Davis News & Information." UC Davis News & Information. UCDAVIS, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. http://goo.gl/3SgUUi

Cattle and garlic. How a Natural Change in Eating Habits can Help the Environment.

    Livestock farts a lot. Cows and other cattle account for 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions releasing millions of tons of the potent methane each year. An easy solution (besides starting mass vegetarianism which is less probable) to this could be feeding cattle a bunch of garlic and oats, which are known to kill the methane-producing stomach bacteria that cause deadly flatulence. This could cut the stinky emissions as much as a quarter so these new diets could reduce to 3% the greenhouse responsibility that cattle has.

    There were serious researches run by Aberystwyth, Bangor and Reading universities measuring the amount of methane burped out by farm animals in specially designed polytunnels. Still, it’s admitted there could be side effects as scientists still work out how much of an effect the garlic extract has on the actual taste of beef and milk. Scientists are looking at other kinds of garlic metabolites which would achieve the same effect, but without this downside.

    Despite this unwanted side effect, there could also be two other positive side effects: thanks to these new diets the profits of farmers could improve as it's believed the new feeds could also improve beef production and boost milk yield, also the garlic industry worldwide would expand several times. The environment wins and the economies win as well...

Source

Rupp, Rebecca. "How Garlic May Save the World." The Plate How Garlic May Save the World Comments. National Geographic, 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2015. <http://goo.gl/xC4BQe>

Fertilize the ocean with iron. Crazy? No! Read along….

  A major step towards reducing climate change may well come from creating new plant life in the ocean, and what better organism to use than plankton that is one of the most important carbon sinks on the planet. These tiny organisms absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen by the ton as they undergo photosynthesis. When plankton dies, they take the carbon to the bottom of the ocean with them.

  Many scientists have proposed dumping large amounts of iron into the ocean to stimulate the growth of mineral-hungry organisms, like plankton. Actually, the private company Planktos Inc. of California has already attempted this. Another alternative that was suggested is to use massive wave-powered pumps to force nutrient-rich water from the colder deep ocean to the warmer surface, which would induce large plankton blooms.

  However, one of the greatest challenges in having success with these projects isn’t necessarily the availability of iron or money to run them, but finding ways to prevent the plankton from being consumed by other ravenous sea creatures, which would basically send the absorbed carbon right back into the atmosphere.

Source:

Powell, Hugh. "Fertilizing the Ocean with Iron: Should We Add Iron to the Sea to Help Reduce Greenhouse Gases in the Air?" OCEANUS Magazine 13 Nov. 2007. Print. < http://goo.gl/r8bJfF>

Climate conversation

The first Climate Conversation was a success!  Not only did we have a good turn out of 23 participants, but we were in the Northerner (http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2015/02/04/climate-conversation-has-nku-seeing-green/).  

The participants looked at climate issues at the global and local perspective.  The purpose of these conversations are for all participants to hear about the topic from a myriad of perspectives.  This will hopefully empower as well as educate everyone about this complex and multifaceted issue. 

The next Climate Conversation is on February 27th at 12:00pm in MEP 292.   Hope to see you there!

Interested in LEED buildings?  Check out the 2015 Green House Tours at http://green-cincinnati.com/2015-green-home-tour-schedule/.  The next one coming up is Wright Residence Green Home LEED Feature Tour February 21, 2015. 

We are changing that format of our calendar of local events.  We are going to use a blog and calendar format so that we can more easily give you up to date and relevant information on all the environmental education events that are available to Environmental Education educators, students, and/or interested community member in the Greater Cincinnati area.  Please contact us, if you have information on an event that is not already featured.  Thanks and hope to see you out there.