Category: Fall 2017 Teams

Wrap Up of The 2017 Green Team

Daniel Butz2017 Green Team

Today was our presentation for the 2017 Green Team in class. We discussed our PowerPoint we made regarding our work at Nolde and research report. We displayed our research on how natural disasters play a huge role in how our environment is designed. We talked about hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes. We also talked about our service project at Nolde State park, about how we cleaned a particular area free of invasive plants. This allowed native plants and animals the protection they need to live a healthier life. We also took part in a bird watching program that allowed us to count the number of birds we saw at the feeders. The data we collected will be reviewed by students at Cornell University to study the migration of various types of birds.

From all of us from the 2017 Green Team we would like to thank you for following our work we did to help save our precious environment throughout the semester. We hope it encourages others to go outside and volunteer at different places so that we can strive for sustainability. This project was a great team effort and it could not have been done without all of the team member’s help. We found out Nolde has a lot of fun events going on throughout the year so check them out.

2017 Green Team: Dan, Mitch, Travis, Tony

River Dawgz Reach Final Destination: Winter Break!

hmb5329Fall 2017 Teams

On December 4th, 2017, the River Dawgz presented their EACAP experience to the students of BISC 3 – Environmental Science through their Adobe Spark webpage, which can be found at the following link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/cdtZ6yGU3w3e6/.  Our presentation went extremely well, as we spoke about our service project, research on the epidemic of waste in our National Parks, and showed videos to enhance our presentation.  The River Dawgz collectively speaking contributed close to 45 hours together towards this project.  Detailed below is each group member’s individual reflection on the efforts made for this project:

  • The EACAP project has really helped define the problems within our environment globally, but also on a local scale. The Schuylkill River National Heritage Area is truly a piece of art and beauty.  Every effort that can be made to help preserve the area and trail access routes needs to be done.  As researched in our research report titled “The Epidemic: Waste in Our National Parks,” Teddy Roosevelt V refers to national parks and local park systems as crown jewels.  The Schuylkill River Trail can serve as a nice area to go on a hike and have a picnic with your family, or on a date with a significant other.  Our group’s bond and friendship will be everlasting, as the EACAP project has impacted and changed our perspective on environmental issues.  – Hunter Beane
  • Having the EACAP Project as part of our class was a great idea because we were learning in class about our environment and then going out and witnessing for ourselves the amount of trash that there is. My group and I chose to figure out a route to the SRT from the Glenside Elementary School. We not only got to know more about each other, but became good friends and cooperated to get our research done and help Bob figure out an access route so it can be used more often. Our research was conducted by figuring out the best route to get to the trail. The trail can be identified by a big parking lot with a skate park, basketball court, workout area, and a big field within the general vicinity. We have found that there isn’t a problem with the amount of trash cans there are, however, there are no recycling cans. We found trash all along the trail and in the river, so it’s up to us as trail users to take the time to throw away our trash and bottles. Hopefully from our research, we can attract more people to use the trail because it is honestly a nice place to spend time and enjoy the nature surrounding it. – Bailey McMillin
  • Participating in the EACAP project has connected me in many ways with the community and its environmental issues. There are a variety of issues ranging from litter and pollution in public parks and on public trails, as well as the water supply for millions of people being contaminated. Personally, I’ve grown up around the SRT and have utilized it many times throughout my childhood. The trail seems to be maintained to a certain extent because there are trash cans about every 100 feet with no recycling bins. This is one issue we have established and along with that, is the trash around the trail. There are tons of trash cans with trash laying right next to them. I don’t believe the placement of trash cans is the issue but the issue is us humans not making sure the trash makes it into the trash cans. In our meeting with Bob, we were told the trail isn’t utilized as much as it should be by the community. Hunter, Bailey, Andy, and I have mapped out ways to access the trail. There are a variety of activities to do while on the trail and getting more people to utilize it is our goal! I believe we have set up a foundation for our goal to be accomplished with the creation of our map access routes. – John Wagner
  • The EACAP project has opened my eyes to many aspects of the environment as well as life. The EACAP project has not only kept my group and I concerned about the environment throughout the semester, but we have become great friends because of it. My team and I explored the Schuylkill River Trail and tried to help Bob Folwell figure out a way to make it easier to access for young children, as well as clean up the trail’s trash. While walking on the trail, I noticed there is a lot more trash cans than there is recycling cans. That is a major problem and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Also, while walking on the trail, I began to love the environmental atmosphere. There are many nice parts but also some endangered aspects of the environment. We found that students from Glenside can walk about a quarter of a mile to the trail. Right before entering the trail, there is a skate park as well as a basketball court that they can play at. This trail is beautiful and is a great place to walk as well as explore nature. Hopefully our research has given some insight on how to improve the trail. – Andrew Urban

Overall, this project was a great experience and we hope that future students of this course carry on the legacy of making our community a better place! Have a great Winter Break! 🙂

Air Pollution informative poster

kzf17Fall 2017 Teams

The Glenside Villagers enjoyed getting a chance to share everything we have learned about air pollution. All though everyone is familiar with the topic of air pollution, we enjoyed being able to share some of the depth about air pollution. A few teachers and students came up to our table interested in air pollution. We believe air pollution to be a serious and dangerous environmental hazard. We hope that the people we were able to talk to take measures to reduce air pollution. EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

Poster board presentation makes for a beautiful day

Maxwell James ElliottBeautiful Day

On Wednesday November 29th we presented our poster board of our EACAP project, which includes information on both our service project and our research report. This was a great experience getting to do a great service for the kids at Glenside elementary school and was also a great experience getting to research and learn about sea otters. We learned quite a lot about Sea otters and how their population is still endangered but also how their population has made progress as of lately. We will be doing our final presentation on our ECAP project on Wednesday December 6th in class.

EACAP Wrap Up

Lilliana Lee Williams2017 Trailblazer

Yesterday was our presentation in Gaige lobby. Everyone who visited really seemed to enjoy the projects and research done by all of the groups in the class! Tomorrow we will have our final in-class presentation- wish us luck!

We want to thank Rachel and Amy at Nolde for all of their help and guidance in this project and for what they do for the forest. This project taught us a lot overall; we learned valuable planning, communication, organization, and professional skills, as well as being able to educate the public on some important wildlife information. Specifically, working with children, who are literally the future, and being able to get them excited about nature is fantastic and makes you feel good about what you have done.

We encourage everyone to get involved with their local nature or wildlife organizations. You can volunteer or just pay a visit and learn about what they do and how you can help. This was a fantastic project for us to get involved with and we are so grateful l to have had the opportunity to do it.

Fun and Educational Day in Gaige Lobby

Daniel Butz2017 Green Team

It was a great time talking with other students and faculty about our project at Nolde State Park. We informed many people about current invasive species in the area that could affect them. We handed out information regarding these species so the general public can be informed. It was also very interesting to see how other classmate’s projects turned out and learn about all that they did. Overall it was a great way to spread the word about sustainability!

River Dawgz take on Community Awareness Event

hmb5329Fall 2017 Teams

On November 29th, 2017, in the Gaige lobby, the River Dawgz participated in the EACAP Community Awareness Event at Penn State Berks.  We shared our service project that we completed for Mr. Bob Folwell, the Schuylkill River Trail Project Manager, and our research that we completed on the Epidemic of Waste in Our National Park Systems.  Faculty members, students, and Hunter’s mother stopped by our table to check out our poster and Adobe Spark website.  The Adobe Spark website can be found at the following link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/cdtZ6yGU3w3e6/