Tentative Workshops for Friday, February 28th
Upcycling 101
- Nicole Freidenfelds, Visiting Assistant Extension Educator, Natural Resource Conservation Academy
- Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value. Explore upcycling and why it is important to reduce waste. Create your own upcycled project and brainstorm ideas for ways you can upcycle at school and home. (Sessions 1 & 2)
Capture the Carbon!
- Julia Cartabiano, Farm Manager, UConn Spring Valley Student Farm
- Get your hands dirty in a variety of stations focused on environmental actions to offset carbon emissions. Earn “carbon credits” as you start your own compost pile! (Session 1 & 2)
Plants Fighting Climate Change: The Risks and Rewards
- Isaac Betts, UConn EEB Greenhouses
- Explore plant diversity and life, along with how diverse, intact ecosystems store carbon dioxide efficiently. Also learn what you can do to help maintain ecosystems like natural meadow gardens with native plants, etc. here in CT. (Sessions 1 & 2)
Climate Change Challenge Competition 101
- Laura Cisneros, Assistant Extension Professor, UConn Department of Natural Resources and the Environment
- Learn about the Climate Change Challenge Competition and ways that you can take action on the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. Create a team and earn points while making a positive difference for the planet. Explore the 8 Ecochallenges and develop a plan to take back to your school to have a real positive impact on climate change. (Sessions 1 & 2)
Your Voice in Politics: Youth Lobbying
- Sena Wazer & Amy Kalisher, Sunrise CT & Sustaining All Life
- Learn about ways to reach out to your elected representatives locally, at the state level and nationally. Sena will explain what lobbying is and how you can do it, along with stories from her own experiences. Through team-building exercises and paired listening exchanges, you will learn how to build confidence and begin to develop your own personal talking points. (Sessions 1 & 2)
Groundwater Hazards Battleship and Mitigation
- UConn Geoscience Graduate Students, UConn Dept. of Geosciences Graduate Group
- Learn about groundwater and the importance of understanding groundwater hazards. You will study the basics of groundwater using fish tank gravel flow models. Then explore groundwater contamination and contamination map views through the use of a Battleship style simulation game. (Session 2)
Workshop Title TBD
- Xingyu Wang & Iram Sifat, UConn Civil and Environmental Engineering Students
- Explore hands-on experiments with the use of water sensors and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to learn ways to positively affect climate change. (Session 2)