Students Explore Environmental Solutions Through Summer Academy

By Michael Gold

Several teams of students at the Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) Summer Academy exhibited their environmental solutions at the annual summer showcase of the organization.

The E-Messiah team demonstrated how to take a battery out of an old laptop computer and put it in another laptop, thus saving money and the possible need to buy a new laptop.

The Eco Builders team, from New Rochelle, made an “eco brick” out of non-recyclable plastic bags, straws and saran wrap, which can be used as building material. “Ecobricks are just as stable as normal bricks and use less cement,” the Eco Builders concluded.

The Octonauts, from the Yonkers YMCA, developed a model filter that could be used by fishing boats to scoop up plastic waste in the ocean.

These and several other teams exhibited their research findings at the ELOC showcase August 8^th at the Yonkers Public Library.

Each summer ELOC conducts a six-week environmental leadership academy for high school students in Ossining, Peekskill, Mt. Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, and Portchester, in partnership with local youth bureaus and summer camps. The students form teams in order to explore ways to solve environmental problems plaguing Westchester.

The students are challenged to investigate the sources of a particular problem, using a topic chosen by ELOC’s founder and executive director Diana Williams, a Westchester Land Trust board member. This year the topic was different forms of human-generated waste, from electronics and fast fashion to plastic, healthcare waste and the stuff that happens in the bathroom.

Students “explore the environmental impact of human waste, including pollution of water sources and soil, contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (such as methane from landfills), and its role in the spread of disease if not managed properly,” states the ELOC website. “This understanding can lead to discussions on the importance of proper waste management practices and the consequences of neglecting them,” the website explains.

I took a tour of the exhibits on display. Each team explained the problem they explored and offered possible solutions.

The 2 Fleeskii team, from Peekskill, informed me that food waste is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for eight to 10 percent of greenhouse gas pollution, including methane. Kayla Rotella-White, a 2 Fleeskii team member, said reducing food waste could save the U.S. economy $120 to $300 billion a year. The kids showed how to compost food waste to grow food. They took apple cores and banana peels and put them in a 10-inch by 10-inch box of soil, along with cress seeds and some worms. Within two weeks, the seeds had sprouted into a healthy mini garden of beautiful green plants.

Team Blue demonstrated a way to make a mud battery, using bacteria from urine. The bacteria releases electrons into an anode, which conducts electricity, and when the anode is stuck inserted into soil, which makes a little bit of electricity.

The Bubble Guppies, from Mt. Vernon, explained that vaping materials can be recycled — they contain plastic, metals and electronics. Spencer Richardson, a team member, said the team would like to see vape recycling bins installed in Mt. Vernon, which has none. Richardson told me he’s seen discarded vape pens on playground slides and even basketball hoops.

The Climate Resilient team, from Portchester, described the sewer overflow and flooding problems the town experiences during torrential rainstorms.

“Water started to go in my house,” during a tropical storm two years ago, said Valerie Espinoza, a Climate Resilient team member. “It’s a health hazard. It can sicken people,” she said.

The Climate Resilient team recommended increasing the town’s green space, by narrowing roads, expanding the sidewalks and introducing native plants, trees and grass to the unpaved areas adjacent to the streets, so rainwater goes into soil and doesn’t pool on asphalt and concrete.

Heather Cabot, a former ABC TV news reporter, the day’s guest speaker, explained to me that ELOC is “a fabulous example of community engagement. We’re all on this planet together. I’m a Mom. I think about the future. We should all care about the environment.”

Cabot told the audience, “Asking questions of your community is super-important. We have to listen to each other.”

The Westchester County Valhalla recycling center will now accept cooking oil for recycling, because of ELOC’s recent Don’t Strain Your Drain campaign, Williams said. The ELOC students presented their ideas to the Westchester County Legislature’s housing committee on the benefits of recycling cooking oil instead of dumping it down the kitchen sink, Williams explained.

“The Don’t Strain your Drain campaign is really having an impact on the county,” Williams said.

“It’s important that these young people realize their voices can be heard,” Williams said.

The six winning teams were: E-Messiah, from the Mt. Vernon Youth Community Outreach Program, Team Blue, from the Yonkers YMCA, Team, 2 Fleeskii, from the Ossining Youth Bureau, Team Indaba, from the Mt. Vernon Youth Bureau, the Filtrators, from the New Rochelle Booker T. Washington Vocation Summer Program, and the Composting Crew, from the Portchester Youth Bureau.

Michael Gold has had articles published in the New York Daily News, the Albany Times Union, and other newspapers, and The Hardy Society Journal, a British literary publication.