Category Archives: SP 22 Teams

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The Tree Huggers Experiences With the SRT

  By aaa6935 • April 29, 2022 , ,

Hello from The Tree Huggers! Completing our research on wastewater with the Schuylkill river trail organization was such an eye opening experience for Autumn(myself), Allie, and Mallory.

We decided to focus on waste water for our research aspect because of the Schuylkill river consisting on mainly waste water. This wastewater is the brown, murky, dirty looking water. The kind that your average human would not want to swim in. Wastewater is caused by runoffs into the water containing chemicals such as nitrate and ammonia, along with other negatives such as litter and animal waste. Society has already taken steps to attempt to manage this wastewater. This is negative because it is affecting the wildlife that lives in these waters.  Some steps society has already taken are developing the Sewage Collection System and wastewater treatment facility, fish ladders being built to support shad migration in Manayunk dam, etc. Ways that we can help as individuals would be to pick up litter, recycle when you can, maintaining septic tanks, dispose of used motor oil properly, try not using pesticides for lawn care, replace old appliances with “water friendly”, such as EnergyStar or Watersense label.

Working with Kaitlyn Mills from SRT was a pleasure throughout the course of our service project. For our service project we went to different municipalities along the Schuylkill river and located different amenities these municipalities had to offer. Amenities that we found were pickleball, basketball, soccer fields, golf courses, pools, etc. We found that these amenities were very important in keeping up with cleaning around certain areas of the Schuylkill river. Having these amenities is important to keep people from the community active, but also to keep them up to date with how the Schuylkill river is making progress in cleaning up the wastewater. We also did some extra digging into areas around the river. Specifically we looked at the Hopewell watershed, which connects to streams connecting to the Schuylkill river. This watershed holds very clean water, seeing this clean water that comes from the river shows that it is possible to turn this wastewater into something more clean and efficient. Another amenity we looked at was the new SRT bridge that was built on 724. This bridge connected two of the trails to create a safer way of crossing the main road to utilize that trail.

Our takeaway from this entire experience was that it is so important to keep up with taking care of our planet. The Schuylkill River is a very large river, but just a small representation of the wastewater issues experienced around the world. We learned a lot about different ways to help the river and encourage others to take these steps to helping the Schuylkill river. Our plan from here is to keep up with the parks we live around. The members of our group: Autumn, Allie, and Mallory each live in different areas of the Schuylkill river, so with that we will be able to continue to keep up with multiple areas of the river. We thank the SRT organization for working with us and educating us on all the parks and amenities around the Schuylkill river. We also thank our professor Dr. K for being an amazing leader in teaching us about our environment and how we can help, even in the slightest ways.

Keep your water clean!!!

Thank you,

The Tree Huggers

Brochure

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Goofy Goobers venture along the trail of the Schuylkill

  By epk5360 • April 28, 2022 , ,

                                                Goofy Goobers

Team Goofy Goobers

Some things about us:

Ethan Kennedy:

This is my first semester here at Penn State Berks. I am from Hamburg PA and my intended major is business. My favorite sport is basketball and my favorite team is the Sixers.

Niko Miranda:

I am a first year student attending Penn State Berks. I am from Warren, New Jersey. My major is criminal justice and I plan on going into law enforcement.

Travis Mauger:

I am a Freshman here at Penn State Berks. I am from Exeter Township, PA and I intend to major in Psychology. It is my eventual goal to become a licensed military psychologist.

Summary of Service

For our service we conducted research on behalf of the Schuylkill River Trail Feasibility Study. This was done primarily by gathering information on parks and recreation areas in many of the municipalities between Birds-borough and Hamburg. We than traveled to these locations to gather more information and pictures to upload to the spreadsheet that contained all of our information.

Map of Schuylkill River Greenways Heritage Area

Poster Board demonstrating our research and service

Schuylkill River

Service Video

EACAP Brochure

Summary of Research

For the research aspect of our project we picked the topic land use. Before researching the topic land use, we thought it was a great connection with our service because of how land should be used effectively. Land is often times put to waste and harmful towards the environment. Part of our quest with the service was to venture off to different parks and municipalities and spread awareness for how land can actually be used to benefit the world. Land use is a very important issue that is not talked about enough when pertaining the environment.

Team Reflection

Overall the team of Goofy Goobers had a very eventful time traveling to the different parks and municipalities to gather images and information for the SRT.  We gained responsibility throughout this whole project because it involved a whole lot of tasks and deadlines to meet. Teamwork was a huge factor for us where we made a group chat and communicated in it almost every day. This project allowed us to build a bond and represent the truth of who the goofy goobers really are!

 

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Team Green Thumb Clean Up

  By djm7423 • April 27, 2022 , , ,

 

Team Introduction

We are the Green Team, we are three Penn State Berks students in Environmental Science. Our project was located at glenside elementary school. We worked outside of the school on the gardens and flower beds. Our main goal was to clean up all of the trash and dead plants, and then plant new flowers for the school. We wanted to make sure that the school had a nice look on the outside for when they reopen it after the construction was done. Our group members were Ethan (Left ), a freshman majoring in Business. Scott (Middle) a freshman majoring in education. Dalton (Right) a freshman majoring in finance. Together the green team is looking to improve the earth one step at a time.

 

Green Team Service

For our service project, we assisted in the transformation of Glenside Elementary School. In order to get an idea of how we could help, we first met with Mrs. Fisher toured the property with a focus on how we could improve the landscaping. We looked at the flowerbeds, garden area, and looked to restore the scenery around a previously painted memorial. With Dalton’s previous experience working as a landscaper, we were able to identify what needed to be done in order to get started. Once we began, we realized this project was going to be more work than we thought. Over the winter, the harsh conditions stripped away any previous greenery, and months of a lack of maintenance led to a trash buildup which needed to be taken care of. We pulled weeds and trimmed back the remains of dead bushes. We raked out the garden area and tried to clean it up the best we could. We ended up collecting a lot of trash that was more than likely caused by the construction going on at the school. We improved the garden by planting flowers out by the front of the school. The school was nice enough to buy us the flowers and supplies we needed for this project. They purchased around 32 pansies for us to use.  They also allowed us access to the tools and garden equipment in their shed which was greatly appreciated. Over all the project went really well and we are very thankful that the school helped us out a provided the supplies we needed. 

 

Secondary Research Conducted

Our group performed research on the effects of nuclear fall out. Although our research did not have a lot to do with our actual project it was still very interesting to learn. We researched in general what fallout is and found that it is the radioactive particles that are in the earth’s atmosphere and on the earth’s surface after the explosion. The effects that this radiation can cause on the environment as well as the life in it is devastating. The effects to humans include radiation sickness and burns which can kill in a short period of time. The main longer lasting effect is a major increased risk of cancer. There are two main causes of fallout that can occur. This includes the detonation of a nuclear weapon or a nuclear reactor meltdown. The world saw examples of each of these and how its effects were felt for years after. In August of 1945, two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those two bombs alone killed almost 200,000 people, now that technology has increased since then there is no telling how much worse it would be now. We also saw what happens when a power plant melts down. In April of 1986 a power plant called Chernobyl in Ukraine melted down. Many people died from the explosion but many more were killed by the effects that the radiation had on the first responders who were attempting to put out the fire. A large area surrounding the melted down plant is still deemed uninhabitable to this day. Overall we learned how dangerous nuclear fall out is and that it should be prevented at all costs.

Service video

Brochure

 

Team reflection

Our group was very appreciative for the opportunity that Dr Kazempour and Mrs Fisher presented us with. It was nice to have this opportunity to give back to the community that we live in and make up for the stress we put on our environment. Overall the project was very fun and we were happy to get the type of project that fitted us best. We all enjoyed being in the outdoors and putting in some physical work which made the project very enjoyable. We all learned a lot and were happy to give back while learning as well.

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A TREErific Day in West Reading

  By cvg5649 • April 27, 2022 , , ,

 

We Speak for the Trees Group is the name of our service group. The members are Jenn Wilson, Abby Mattis, Juliana Manieri, and Christina Galvin. Each member served as a vital part of our project. Our group teamed up with Citizens’ Climate Lobby Reading to research/do service for and observe different tree species in the West Reading, Pennsylvania area to look at the different roles these tree species play in our ecosystem. We hypothesized that regardless of the tree species, each tree will play the same role in the ecosystem, giving the same benefits, in relation to the deforestation and restoration of trees. Our goal is to compare the different trees, with their different sizes, species, and areas, and ultimately see how they all give off the same ecological benefits. As a team, we have gathered multiple times in the past month or so, and discussed how we will get this project organized and developed in the most efficient way to present to our community. We have accomplished gaining knowledge on our service group, all the different tree species in the world, let alone West Reading, and finding data to gather and share with our group and school. Our next steps in our service consists of organizing what we found and how we are going to share it with the community. We gathered the data and made them into graphs, where we were able to see what each tree species brought to the community ecologically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learned a great deal and gained a ton of knowledge throughout this whole process that I think we can all agree, are really grateful for. Trees are such a huge part of and necessity for our ecosystem. Without them, other plants, animals, humans, and living things in general, would not be able to thrive and survive. So doing this research is extremely important to basically show that every single tree species is important and brings some ecological benefit to our planet, therefore maintaining and growing them throughout our communities are vital.

 <<One of our team meetings:)

 

 

 

 

Our Service Video: For our serve video we decided to show exactly how we researched and got our information. We were given a website to use that allows is to see all the different tree species in a certain area, in this case we studied West Reading. We were able to see the amount of each type of tree in the area, the size of each individual tree, and well has all of the ecological and environmental benefits.

 

Screen Recording 2022-04-26 at 9.00.26 PM

In addition, we also created a brochure pamphlet that is super engaging and informs the community about our research regarding Habitat Destruction and Restoration: (unfortunately the screenshots of the brochure were very blurry and can’t be read so I put a link do the document so it can still be viewed)

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XICSZ1y62hW87-99a7ESo1syKjngcnpef4BYen7CMu8/edit?usp=sharing

Our Reflection:

Using the database allowed us to gain concrete information based on the benefits of the different types of tree species in the area around us. Researching habitat destruction in relation to our service on tree species helped us gather a clear understanding of just how important trees are in our environment. Both the service and research gave us a new perspective on just how important trees are to the environment and the many benefits that these species have. We all really enjoyed this project knowing we got to help the community and an organization that is so devoted to helping the planet. 

 

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Oh Dam! The History of Flooding. – Native Gardening Gals

  By smm7736 • April 27, 2022 , , ,

We are the Native Gardening Gals or NGG. NGG consists of Addison Allen, Jocelyn Rhodes, and Sabrina Matteoli.

Team Introduction:

Hi, I am Addison Allen and I am a first year student at Penn State Berks. I am a Criminology major. I choose because I am very interested in how we as humans affect our environment. For our ECAP project, I served as the time liaison. As the team liaison, I kept in contact with the park ranger whom we worked with. I found this project exciting because it was a hands-on experience volunteering at Blue Marsh Lake. I learned a lot about how the Lake serves the community. I also learned about what fly fishing is, although it looks like someone may be drowning they are actually just fishing.

Hi, I am Jocelyn Rhodes and I am a first year student at Penn State Berks majoring in Elementary Education. Before this semester I loved learning about different things in the environment. I love to volunteer and serve others and I also love to fish with my family. One thing I love to do is walk on the trails around my community and look at things. Prior to this semester, I never really took any courses regarding the environment and when I needed a general education course this one looked very interstating. I’m glad I  chose this course because I got to do a fun group project and learn more about our environment.

Hi, I am Sabrina Matteoli, a fourth year student at Penn State Berks in the Information Technology Major. For the EACAP project completed this semester, I have served as our team’s team leader. In this role, I am responsible for ensuring that all team members remain on task throughout the semester. Prior to this semester, I had little interest in the environment and learning of ways to help it grow. I would participate in simple tasks such as recycling, although that was the extent of my drive to make the community a better place in terms of nature. Throughout my years at Penn State as well as high school, I was very excited about volunteering. When selecting a general education course for this semester, I felt that this course fit my desire in terms of completing a volunteer service project. I am so glad that I chose this path.

Service with Blue Marsh Lake:

Brianna Treichle, a park ranger and volunteer coordinator for Blue Marsh Lake, gave us a few different options to choose from in terms of service with their organization. Our team has chosen to create an interpretive panel for the stilling basin located at the base of the dam. The panel will discuss how and why the dam was built, how the water is used for the local county, the connection with the Delaware River, and other information as well. Unlike other teams, our team will not be working at Blue Marsh Lake regularly to complete our service component. Instead, our team is spending countless hours researching and designing the interpretive panel that will be printed and installed after the semester has concluded. 

Our team is excited to complete this project for Blue Marsh Lake. During this course, our team has learned the importance of nature and our local organizations that are working hard to preserve our nation’s beauty. By creating this panel, our team is excited to help others learn about the importance of the dam and the stilling basin for not only the Reading community, but those impacted by the Delaware River Watershed.  

Final Interpretive Panel:

Service Video:

Research of Dams:

During this semester, our team focused our research on dams. Throughout the research process, our team focused on the history, benefits, problems, solutions, and sustainable development goals. Each team member was responsible for completing an equal amount of the research. Jocelyn completed her research on the history, general information, and benefits potion. Some of things I found out about dams is that they went all the way back to ancient Mesopotamians. There are many benefits but some of the key ones are flood control, water storage and irrigation.Addison completed her research on the problems and consequences of dams. Addison completed her research on the causes and consequences of dams. This portion of research was difficult to find information on as dams are installed in areas to help with various concerns within a region. Although, there are some downfalls of dams that were discovered during the research portion of this project which include the following: soil erosion, species extinction, and the spread of disease. Sabrina completed her research on the solutions and sustainable development goals. For this portion of the research, there were numerous solutions that dams provide to the community that are further explained in detail, but some include the following: flood risk management, drinking water, power, irrigation, and many more. In terms of the sustainable development goals, each of the seventeen different goals were looked into in detail to understand how dams assisted our communities in meeting these goals. 

EACAP Research Tri-fold

Poster Session:

Our team, the Native Gardening Gals, presented in the lobby of Gaige to our class peers and members of the Penn State Berks community. It was great being able to see everyone come enjoying learning about the different research and service projects completed this semester. Our team truly enjoyed getting to talk to each and everyone of you to explain more about our interpretive panel and our research on dams.

Team Reflection:

Throughout the semester, our team has had a wonderful time working with Blue Marsh Lake to learn more about the dam and how it is beneficial to the Reading community. Brianna Treichle, Blue Marsh Lake park ranger, was very helpful in assisting us with the completion of this project. She was quick to respond to any questions and very knowledgeable about her position with the organization. Our team feels that working with an organization that is very passionate about their mission is something that made this project more enjoyable. Overall, our team enjoyed the service portion of this project. All three of us have enjoyed volunteering previously and felt that this project gave us the opportunity to service our community within the constraints of our busy schedules. Not only has our team enjoyed working together on this project, but we have also created lasting friendships.

 

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Eco Freaks for the fish!

  By bnd5212 • April 27, 2022 , , ,

About us:

Our group the Eco freaks chose Blue Marsh as our location for the EACAP project as we worked with Briana Treichler. Composed of Ben, Logan, Ryan, and Tyler we chose to focus on habitat sustainability as we worked on making habitats for aquatic life population in Blue Marsh Lake.

Research:

Our goal was to make three aquatic habitats to help increase the biodiversity in Blue Marsh. As we started the project, we used mainly wood and a chop saw to create the base of the structure. We learned values of teamwork as we all worked together to finish different parts of the fish habitat efficiently. This project expressed the importance of aquatic habitat as destruction could cause harm to biodiversity.

Habitat Destruction:

Marine habitat destruction where the marine environment is unable to support life due to degradation. This is a process that is contributed by various natural and human activities.  As aquatic sustainability is to be able to continue a defined behavior in an environment and preventing possible damage to habitat. 

 

Project Reflections:

In this reflection we learned many things to help us in our future. From working together efficiently and using our teamwork strategies to get the structures finished. We also learned the value of aquatic habitat in blue marsh lake and the dangers of habitat destruction. We hope we have made a difference to Blue Marsh Lake providing a safe place for fish to spawn and hopefully increasing the native aquatic habitat.

 

Click here for Service Video

 

Brochure Link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAE9xl6CQq8/bBXMLWBhD-rF__5WfQNTQw/edit?utm_content=DAE9xl6CQq8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

 

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The Dandelion Butterfly Team

  By Jessica Whittaker • April 21, 2022

Hello! We are the Dandelion Butterfly Team!

We are ViDaleya Gilliland(right), Jack Moses(middle), and Jessica Whittaker(left). We worked with Rock Hollow Woods(RHW). ViDaleya is a Rehabilitation Health Services major, Jack is a Cyber security major and Jessica is a Business major.

*Fun Fact: ViDaleya likes to garden, Jess likes to go camping and Jack likes to play video games.*

At RHW we cut invasive species out from a bird blind which was made out of bamboo and cut out grass from a butterfly garden. RHW’s mission is to help educate people on how to save their environment.

Now that you know a little about us Welcome to our team!

Research Summary

For our research, we did research on the effects of climate change on birds and butterflies. We included examples of monarch butterflies and how climate change affects them. Attatched below this is our poster board and our brochure:

Left to Right: Jack, Jessica, ViDaleya

Our Brochure

Who do we work with?

 We worked with Rock Hollow Woods. They love children and have made it a goal to provide them with positive outdoor experiences. They teach them about nature and how to protect it. For our service hours, we split it up between two days of four-hour sets. We cleared invasive species from the butterfly and bird garden. The person who we were assigned to work with was named Amy. We really enjoyed working with her and learned a lot from her whether it be about certain bird sounds, the area or any other common topics. She really helped make it fun and hope to see what it looks like once all the flowers have grown.

Left to Right: Jess, ViDaleya, Amy, Jack

We also did a slideshow presentation with more research information and pictures of our work. Click the photo below for the presentation!

We also created a service video that contains photos of all of our work!

Reflection

We loved working with them. We all really enjoyed cleaning up and learning more about how to save our environment! We hope that as this class continues to work  with future classes to work with this wonderful organization and help make a difference in the world.

 

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Go green or go home

  By lzr5358 • April 21, 2022 , , ,

We are the “Go or go home” team

 

Names of team members: Joel Pliego, Johan Martinez, Daniel Nour, Luiz Ribeiro

Brochure

Our Environmental Issue
• Our environmental issue is pollution in local parks. We solved this issue by collecting trash around these parks and using
the accumulated trash to create an art piece to ensure the garbage doesn’t go to waste.
People litter and fail to throw out their trash.
• Littering can lead to soil, water, and air pollution.
The trash we throw out can end up in our waterways, leading to
consuming these toxins and contaminants.
• Not only does littering affect humans, but these contaminants can
stunt plant growth and cause health issues in animals living in the
area

Idealization
• When we collected the trash, we noticed there was a large number of water bottles which sparked the idea to create an art piece made out of plastic bottles Once the trash was collected, we met and  ideas and plans on how to complete the project.

Making of the Art Piece
• Our ideas narrowed down to a few options, including a water bottle
chandelier, a rocket ship, and paintings using reusable material.
• With that we gathered the construction materials which were hot glue
guns, scissors, and printing paper in the trash of one of the PSU berks
printing stations

With all materials and trash collected we made the construction of the
rocket ship made out of water bottles and reusable trash.

Reflection: With this project we realized how much local pollution there is in our local environment, and that we should definitely take better care of our environment that we live in.

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How the Environmental Buds Helped Inform Glenside Students About Plant Care!

  By jmo5811 • April 21, 2022 , ,

Our ECAP team decided to focus in on pollution of plastic.  We choose this project in hopes to help get the students excited about new plants in their classroom and to inform them about the affects of plastic on the earth.  We worked with Glenside Elementary School to achieve our goals.  We began by collecting empty bottles, cans, and other reusable goods.  Once we sorted though and found what we thought would be best, we decorated them to make them more appealing.

We planted our flowers in the new pots.

Along with the service of actually making and planting the flowers, the Environmental Buds also conducted research about the negative affects pollution has on the planet and how we can reduce waste and live in a more environmental friendly way.  This work was really important to our ECAP team because pollution it is a pressing issue in the world and it is so important to learn and spread awareness about it.  Going into the classroom with children and talking to them was a great way to do this.

We enjoyed being able to go into all 5 classrooms at Glenside Elementary and teaching the children more about how to be environmentally friendly in a fun way! They really enjoyed and plants and were so thankful for them. It is very important to keep our youth informed and aware of growing issues such as pollution.

Glenside Elementary Service Video 2

 

 

Brochure:

 

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Reimagined Rubbish – A Group’s Journey to Transforming Trash Into Conceptual Art

  By saa6198 • April 20, 2022 , , ,

EACAP team, Reimagined Rubbish, consists of Michelle, Pao, Sam, and Nigel.

left to right: Sam, Nigel, Michelle, and Pao

Sam and Michelle are freshmen at Berks. Sam is majoring in Global Studies and Michelle is majoring in Business Management. Pao and Nigel are the sophomores of our group. Pao is majoring in International Business and Nigel in Writing and Digital Media.

Service

We worked with Dr. Chambers to create an art piece made entirely out of trash for the art exhibit, Breaking Barriers Building Bridges to be displayed in the Freyberger Gallery. Our team decided to create a piece that tied back to the pandemic, utilizing trash that held relevance in terms of quarantine trends. For example: covid test kits, disposable masks, banana bread box recipes, to DoorDash orders.

The Weight of Waste

Our group chose to construct a globe made entirely out of trash we collected either individually or during our trash collection days on campus and at Gring’s Mill. The base of the piece is made from the hubcap of a tire found at Gring’s Mill park. From there, the globe is supported by two opposing end caps made of Starbucks cups. Inside of each are references to pandemic-related issues. Some of the things that are featured are: disposable masks, mask and test certification papers, Covid test instructions, latex gloves, toilet paper rolls, and DoorDash order tickets. The core of the globe consists of trash we collected such as wrappers, plastic, bottle caps, and pen caps. It was then wrapped in layers of plastic and paper to create the crumpled looking effect of the globe itself. Blue and green trash scatters around the globe to give it familiarity. Then, the earth was encased in a clear plastic lining. More trash can be spotted stuffed into the gloves on the piece that symbolize the need for all of us to reach out and take both individual and collective action to better the health of our planet. In the background is a broken clock our team found and used to emphasize that time is of the essence. We set the clock to 4:22 as a nod to Earth Day.

Below are our “honorable mentions” that we found and although were cool, just were not able to make it into the final piece.

Research

Our inspiration for this piece came from a global event that has truly left its mark on all of us. We often heard about the environmental benefits the pandemic brought as people travelled and worked less. Carbon emissions plummeted, water quality improved, and ecological systems were restored due to declines in tourist traffic. That said, our group wanted to approach the topic in terms of the harmful environmental impacts the pandemic brought, and what better way to address medical and quarantine-related waste than through a project that uses that trash to create an art installation!

 

We broke down research responsibilities down to 3 specific categories with 4 group members. Those topics were general waste (quarantine related waste), medical, and mask related waste. 

We first delved into broad research detailing the overall causes and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people and the environment. To highlight more specific aspects of life impacted by the pandemic, our group researched its impact on medical waste usage and disposal methods, emphasizing sustainable development goals created by environmental organizations like the WHO to be met by several sources as well. 

EACAP_service_video

 

click the image to see our team's service video!

 

Reflection

All in all, our group realized through our trash collection days how often we simply overlook the litter around us. It doesn’t take a lot of time to simply put trash where it belongs, but if we can take a second to pick up litter, it truly makes the difference. We learned the importance of doing our part. The project itself taught us how to collaborate as a team and incorporate different visions together. Our initial idea entailed stuffing a transparent trash bag with all the trash we collected. This plan did not go accordingly, as we lost the spherical look and it also wasn’t balancing. We adjusted accordingly and downsized. The next challenge we faced was balancing the globe with the added weight of the curved metal piece. We used the glove to help support the piece, and added the other to show that the hands are reaching out, urging us all to action.

Our group efforts taught us all valuable lessons. We learned to work with each other’s strengths, and also helped one another in areas of weakness. We also all became more aware of our waste-related impact on the planet. It was eye opening to see how much waste resulted in quarantine. It made us reconsider disposable masks and the consequences of things like overconsumption and instant gratification.