Recycling, clean air, naturally occurring power sources — each are different components of what some might consider essential for a sustainable society. But true sustainability includes more than placing a plastic bottle in the right container to be recycled.
Students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts researched a number of topics on sustainability — including traditional ones, such as recycling and solar power, and others that may not immediately come to mind, such as recycling through art, the future of the book and straw bale houses.
Faculty members developed research proposals that focused on various aspects of sustainability. Students then signed up to participate on a research team. The teams developed a report on what they learned, including suggestions on how society could better implement sustainable options to protect our environment.
On Dec. 5, the teams presented their research during ASMSA Sustainability Week. Each of the 16 groups held a 20-minute presentation in which they shared their findings, made suggestions on how to better approach sustainability, and in some cases, presented the best way to build a solar cooker or creative ways to use recyclable materials to make artwork.
Some of the projects included:
- Tidal Power: Students performed a skit in which a group of shipwrecked tidal power experts are stranded on an island. During the characters’ discussions on how to get off the island, they discussed different kinds of tidal-powered turbines that might give them enough power to shine a light to alert rescuers of their whereabouts. Members of the group also designed and built a small version of one possible solution, a vertical turbine.
- Recycling through Art: Students designed four pieces of art using recyclable materials. Each piece had its own theme. Once piece featured what appeared to be a man made of plastic bottles climbing a wall or recyclable materials that are often thrown in the trash. The presentation also featured a short video done by several documentary film students. The film showed the construction of the pieces of art through time-lapse photography.
- Solar Cookers: Four teams of students developed solar cookers out of household materials such as cardboard, duct tape, aluminum foil and other items. One team wrapped half of a broken globe in aluminum foil to use as a bowl to reflect the heat to the cooking area. Another design featured a Styrofoam container with aluminum–covered cardboard flaps while another used a cardboard box, aluminum foil and plastic wrap to create a cooking area.
- The Future of Solar Power: This team researched the viability of using solar power on a large scale to help provide electrical power for consumers. Their research showed that using the landmass of two counties, one in Nevada and one in New Mexico, could provide enough energy to meet the power needs for the United States. However, the billions of dollars in cost and sheer size of solar panel fields would be prohibitive to such a project.
- Future of the Book: Team members designed a timeline showing the history of the printed book; showed ways books are surviving in a digital environment, such as on iPads, Kindles and other e-readers; and developed ideas on how to recycle and reuse older books. The project also featured a video slideshow of students reading their favorite books in whichever form they preferred.
- Mass Media: Students involved in this project researched how using social media can be an effective way to get the message of sustainability out to the world in large. The team created a mascot, a green bear named Grady the Grizzly, to represent the ASMSA Clean Team. The team then used various social media outlets, such as Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to provide information on recycling and other sustainability projects.
- Straw Bale Houses: Team members researched the viability, construction, styles and other information on straw bale houses as a way to build sustainable houses. Straw bales are a renewable source that can serve as building material. Straw bale houses are an energy-efficient way to build a solid structure that can also be stylishly built, the team found through its research.
- Warning Signs: Team members designed various signs that could communicate a universal message that there is an existing nuclear or biological hazard in the area. The teams focused on using symbols, multiple languages and other methods they could devise to make the message clear, even for future generations.
“I’m very proud of all the hard work, dedication, creativity and leadership that you displayed yesterday,” Dr. Janice Sullivan, dean of academic affairs, told students in an email. “With your ideas, designs and projects, you pointed out the importance of protecting our environment, recycling, conscious use of natural resources and maintaining social sustainability.
“You made it clear that progress is a team effort where all humans need to be involved. You even found ways to communicate with future civilizations to send messages of protection and safety.”
After the presentations, students and faculty enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grassy area in front of the Student Center. Everyone was encouraged to separate their trash into cans for compostable items, such as food waste; biodegradable cups; and paper products.
The afternoon featured various outdoor activities, including hikes throughout several local parks, helping bathe animals at the Hot Springs Animal Shelter, a 5k run, a volleyball game and a walk along Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs.
To view photos from the day of presentations, click here.