Education Students Present Environmental Research

Released: 5/21/07

[Other School of Education News]

Education students taking Michele Korb's Major Concepts in Modern Science now have first-hand experience in what its like to apply scientific research to real life.

Students in the spring section of ARSC 11 were asked to choose an existing environmental project (created and researched by last year's ARSC 011 students) and extend and sustain the research findings on various aspects of recycling and waste reduction.

Brittany Bolton, Colin Monahan and Deborah Rodriguez stand ready to present their project!

Project topics included

• reduction of paper usage on campus
• recycling of paper, plastic and aluminum in residence halls and in various departments on campus
• cigarette butt waste on campus (and ideas for reducing these unsightly wastes)
• reduction of food waste in residence hall cafeterias
• pull-tab recycling for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House,
• Cell Phone Recycling
• Ink Cartridge Recycling
• textbook reuse or recycling
• furniture recycling off

Projects were presented in scientific poster format in a symposium on April 22, 23 and 24 in the Alumni Memorial Union. 

After completing and presenting their projects, students shared some of their feelings about the experience:

I’m no environmentalist, but this project has changed my daily life; I turn the water off when shaving, brush my teeth, recycle paper, etc.  While I’m not preparing for doomsday if our future environmental habits don’t change, I am concerned that individuals are not doing their best to protect the earth’s resources.  Therefore, as students and future caretakers of our planet, we must raise awareness about becoming a more environmentally friendly campus. 

-- Adam Stout

My group decided to examine the negative effects of improper cell phone recycling and see what programs are in place so that we can stop that problem as well. I got to work with three other people who felt that recycling needed to take a place among many other issues of today, just like me. We all worked hard at our given jobs and worked well together. We showed that even non-science majors can do science to benefit others and we have definitely done that. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for our environment and inspiring us to share in that desire as well.

-- Mike Hennicke

Part of social justice is ensuring that people all over the world no matter where they are from or what class they belong to have an equal opportunity to utilize the world’s resources.  Implementing a recycling project into the ARSC 011 course curriculum serves as a way to try to curb current trends.  Therefore I am very glad to have been apart of this powerful movement and will continue to practice recycling in order to help create equity in the world and also to preserve our valuable resources.

-- Aleah Burks-Patterson

Mike Hennicke shares his project with fellow students.