Category Archives: Penn State Berks Sustainability Team

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Team CMTK is for the bees!

  By cao5400 • May 1, 2022 , , ,

Hello everyone, we are team CMTK! Our Eacap project was all about the decline in the bee population. Our research focused on the risks that many of our pollinators die from, such as pesticides and parasites. For our community service, we worked on a bee hotel at the PSU Berk’s greenhouse.

 

Summary of service-

Our service goal was to create a bee hotel to help sustain the native bee population in our area. We first did this by gathering a lot of bamboo from behind the school. We then cut these pieces of bamboo into 6 inches. Before gluing them into a pre-cut honeycomb design, we had to let them dry and condense for about a week. We then ready to glue all of the dried-out bamboo on, creating little sections for the bees to lay their eggs.

Service Video
IMG_172553281 (7)

Brochure
Yellow Blue Professional Travel Packages Trifold Brochure (1)

Summary of research-
For our research, we kept to the same topic of the decline in bee population. We conducted our research on the different factors that are threatening the bee population, what would happen without bees, and means for change. For the causes in decline, we found that habitat loss, invasive parasites, and the use of synthetic pesticides to be causes. We learned that without our pollinators, we would not have the cultivated goods we have today, such as produce. We went over many solutions, but sound bee hotels to be the most realistic and long-term.

Reflection-

  • All and all, we learned a lot from our EACAP project. Between cutting and gluing bamboo together, digging the holes for the bee habitat to be submerged in the ground, and conducting research about what threats the bees face, our EACAP module taught us a lot. We got to work together as a team and with our organization, and we also learned a lot about the decline in bee populations. Personally, we all know that bees and other pollinators are an important part of our ecosystem. Getting the opportunity to expand our knowledge to the fullest by diving into this topic was really important. The importance of finding a worthy cause and educating others about it was one of our main takeaways from this assignment. This earth day, we were happy to share our experience with you all. We are not just Penn State, but we are for the bees!

 

 

 

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Environmental Picassos

  By brm5636 • April 13, 2022 , ,

Hello fellow environmentalists!

Group Introduction:

Our group is called the Environmental Picassos! Our group members are Noah Heim, Brant Mason, Dylan Kulp and Logan Ewert. We are all first-year students at Penn State Berks and we are enrolled in the BiSC3. During Noah’s free time he enjoys hanging out with friends and he is an intended finance major. Brant enjoys going to the gym or any outdoor/physical activity and he is also an intended finance major. Dylan also enjoys going to the gym on his free time and his intended major is business management. Logan is apart of the Penn State Berks baseball team and his intended major is business.

What our Service Entailed:

Our EACAP group is partnered with Professor Chambers’ organization, which is creating art from trash. As a group we went around to areas in our community and picked up trash. The one location we chose was outside of an elementary school in Reading, which was filled with trash. We filled several trash bags up and there was still plenty of trash left over, unfortunately.  With the trash we collected in the surrounding areas, we then turned it into a form of art. The art was supposed to be made for children with incarcerated parents. With the trash we collected we created, “The Abstract Tree of Life.” It isn’t the prettiest, but it is honest work.

Focus of Research:

We focused our group research on land pollution. Littering is a huge problem that corrupts our ecosystems, so like stated previously, our community service consisted of walking around and collecting trash. During our research we obtained a lot of information on land pollution. For those who don’t know, land pollution can take in the form of a solid and liquid. About 75% of our earth’s land area is degraded in some way, shape, or form due to land pollution caused by humans. This research is sad to learn about and certainly shows humans that there needs to be change because these number are only increasing by year. With the research we completed we hope to inform others about the dangers of land pollution in the United States and around the world. This problem is a global effort and the least some people can do is be informed on the matter!

Group Reflection:

This project really opened our eyes on the problem with land pollution and littering in our area and even broader, around the world. This project allowed us to go out into our community and pick up an abundance of trash. Even after a few hours of work, it seemed as if we didn’t even put a dent into the amount of trash collected. Although we filled a few trash bags, trash still covered the entire Schuylkill trail at which we were located. Going out into the community to do good for our environment made us feel good that we were creating an impact on the community we live in. If we were to give one MESSAGE to the youth it would be: do the little things in life correctly, such as taking care of your community and environment. Doing the little things like “reduce, reuse, and recycle” go a long way for our environment and it’s easy! Do the little things right because it goes along way for yourself and future generations!

Service Video:

@itsnoahheim

EACAP Service Project- Environmental Picassos

♬ original sound – Noah Heim

Pamphlet:

EACAP Pamphlet- Environmental Picassos (1)

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How Team Art Factory Uses Their Green Thumbs to Create Art

  By hlm5323 • March 28, 2022 ,


Hi, from left to right, our names are Camry Slaybaugh, Heather Mengel, Kayla Barber, and Allie Freshley. Our team name is Team Art Factory. Camry is a junior here at Penn State Berks, and she is majoring in Early Childhood Education. Heather is a junior as well here at Penn State Berks, and she is also majoring in Early Childhood Education. Kayla is a senior here at Penn State Berks, and she is majoring in Rehabilitation and Human Services. Allie is a sophomore here at Penn State Berks, and she is majoring in Early Childhood Education.

We’ve decided to research the general impacts of waste on the environment and possible solutions and goals. Along the way, we’ve found that previous to 1968, there were no waste and recycling industries in Pennsylvania. Land disposal created problems such as groundwater contamination, methane gas formation and migration, and disease vector hazards. Each year, the world produces nearly 1.4 billion tons of garbage.

Below is our brochure with general information about our research!

Plant House Modern Trellised Ivy and Green Trifold Brochure

We are working with Dr. Chambers, Associate Teaching Professor in Spanish of Penn State Berks, to create works of art out of garbage! Each of us decided to create our own works of art. Our artwork will be displayed as a part of an exhibit in the Penn State Berks Perkins lobby on April 29th. Kayla decided to use water bottles and a wooden pallet to create a pallet garden. Allie used aluminum cans, bottle caps, soda tabs, soil, and plants. materials to design a plant train. Camry collected green bottles, and other objects, rocks, netting and twist ties, and put them together to invent a cacti arrangement. Heather built a floral arrangement out of found water bottles and a bike tire.

Attached below is a video about our service project!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTN0wMFPbmw

Overall, we would all agree this is a very inspiring project to help protect our environment going forward. Each of us have found ourselves picking up littered trash and disposing of it properly, purchasing recycled products over new products, and working to spread the knowledge we’ve gained with our friends, family, and community. We ask the people that have taken the time to read this to really consider ways they can help protect the environment, such as recycling more and consuming less.

We had the opportunity to present our poster (attached in picture below) as well as our information at Penn State Berks in the Gaige building. Classmates, other students, and staff walked around to view the different posters presented from our class! It was a very fun process.

Below are a few photos of the group finding their garbage and creating their masterpieces!

 

Below are pictures of our finished projects 🙂

Kayla Barber

Heather Mengel

Allie Freshley

Camry Slaybaugh

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The Mambas still got this in the bag!

  By kxc5630 • March 31, 2020 , , ,

We had a zoom meeting today and helped each other out with our research report and PowerPoint! We discussed what we should discuss in our research report and PowerPoint. We miss working with each other in person! #thisvirusgotttaaagoooo!

“The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.” -Kobe Bryant

See the source image

Loading… Butterfly Population decline in progress

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The Mambas

  By kxc5630 • February 3, 2020 , , , ,

Get creative with the Mambas! In this team, there are 4 students and our names are Karleya, Imoona, Stefan, and Khari. We are all students at Penn State’s Berks campus. We are all in our 2o’s, we all have a love for children, we love to travel and we are all family-oriented. We are excited to Rock Paint with the students and turn this project into something beautiful!

“Great things come from hard work and perseverance. NO excuses.” -Kobe Bryant.

 

 

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Final Reflection

  By Rosainy Guerrero Rijo • April 28, 2019 , , ,

For our EACAP project, we had the fantastic opportunity to work with the garden club from Glenside Elementary school. Ms. Boyer (the nurse from the school) is the instructor of the club which gave us incredible ideas on how to participate and interact with the kids. We planted different type of vegetables. Tomatoes, green beans, carrots, and lettuce were the vegetables we used for this project. We were able to plant different kinds of seeds, which later became seedlings ready for the kids to plant. We took pictures and record all the different stages for which the plants go through, to see their development throughout the weeks. We worked with kids from 5th grade, which were very lovely and friendly. First, we gave out a presentation explaining all the things that are needed to make the seedling grow healthy and strong. During our presentation, we asked different questions related to our topic. The kids were genius, and they were able to answer the question cleverly. After we were done with the presentation, we split the kids into four different groups. Each of us worked with a different team and gave the kids the necessary tools to plant.

Most of us grew up on a farm, planting new things every day. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to teach someone else all the things we learned when we were little. Being able to work with kids was an amazing experience; it made us feel good being able to give back to our community. There were so many things that we were able to learn from this project. First, we learned that kids have an enormous imagination. We worked with 5th graders, but the kids had great potential, for which we were also able to learn a lot from them. Next, we learned how much dedication, time and effort is needed to take care of a plant. Before working in this project, we had no idea how many things were required for a plant to grow; it’s more than just sun and water. Some of the kids compared a plant with a baby. They said that just like babies, plants need love and time to be able to grow. Also, we realized that being able to recognize all the different needs that are required in every stage of pant will be helpful to speed up the process. Lastly, we learned how to work in as a team. All of us had different ideas on how things were going to be done. We were able to put all the ideas together to make sure we completed all the work in the right time and with good quality.

In conclusion, this project was a great opportunity to help us connect with nature and to see all the new things we can do to help our society. Before working on this project, we were not aware of all the different elements that are needed to grow a plant. Now, we have the knowledge and the capacity to help others by explaining them all the different stages for which a plant goes through. Also, this project helped us to become closer with each other, share ideas and provided a great job. The seedling project overall has been the most excited and fun activity that we have done so far during this semester. Working with kids reminded us of when we were in middle school and all the different activities we use to do. Now that we are in college, we are happy to help the kids learn new things. The garden club from Glenside elementary school did a great job by planting the seedlings, they were very excited, and at the end of our project, they all said thank you and said bye to us. That was a beautiful moment which we will never forget.

 

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EACAP Reflections

  By aeh5684 • April 26, 2019 , , ,

Our group worked alongside John Rost at the Penn State Berks campus to help our local population of Eastern Bluebirds. We met with John throughout the past few months to build 6 birdhouses, which we placed along the trails outside of the Luerssen building. These birdhouses were specifically built to house Eastern Bluebirds, but they can also be used by other small birds. In the past Eastern Bluebirds declined in population due to habitat loss and competition from an invasive species – the European Starling. These invasive birds are known to kill babies of other bird species in order to take over their nesting space. It was important to make sure the birdhouses we built this semester were just the perfect size to allow bluebirds inside and to keep the starlings out.

We had a lot of fun working with John to make this project happen. We learned a lot about birds and birdhouses that we never knew before, and building the birdhouses by hand was a new experience. We realized that little change goes a long way in helping the environment.

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EACAP Group Meeting – 3/14/2019

  By jam7554 • March 14, 2019 , , , ,

Today, March 14, 2019, Drip Gang met during class time to work on our outline for the research paper. We got a lot accomplished during this session, as we were able to collaborate and delegate specific areas of work to each group member. Kelsi Maher researched the consequences of our topic, which is groundwater pollution. Jack Runco found news articles relating to our topic, while Jakob Feist dove into the causes of groundwater pollution. Finally, Jake Maher found out what groundwater pollution is all about as well as the history behind it and other general information about it. We worked very well as a group today and we believe that we will have no issues moving forward with collaborating and putting together an excellent EACAP project.