Seventh Grade Quest Students Explore Sustainable Solutions at Climate Change Symposium
On February 3, seventh grade students in the Quest program – taught by Jake Greenberg, Mark Gornto, and Deborah Bruvik – hosted the second annual Climate Change and Stewardship Symposium in the Blue Gym.
Since the beginning of January, seventh grade students in Quest have been immersed in an integrated Science and Humanities project to learn about climate change. They have engaged in an in-depth study of causes and effects, climate justice, and case studies, and have interviewed eight experts from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For the final project, students were challenged with designing and proposing solutions to help make Moorestown a more sustainable community and promote stewardship of the local water, habitat, waste, food, and energy systems.
Student groups presented their final projects at the Symposium, which was attended by parents/guardians and other members of the MFS community. The projects included:
- An AR (Augmented Reality) App, Future Moorestown, to gamify individual mitigation efforts to preserve local habitats – Ari Smith, Jared Kolaris, Kartik Rajan
- Promoting healthy soil and alternatives to fertilizer – Matt Schlotterbeck, Caden Sherin, Aniyah Jones, Gabe Harvey
- “Habibirds” (Creating bird habitats with birdboxes and awareness) – Sarah Huynh, Cole Blackburn, Sophia LuBrant
- Distributing native plants and educating residents about invasive plants through local workshops – Azaria Coleman-Stokes, Jaylen Miller, Mikelle Smith, Noah Frizell
- Creating a website to inform Moorestown Township residents about Rain Gardens – Gianna Berkowitz, Rachel Barr, Matthew Will, Ella D’Amico
- A proposal to reduce CO2 emissions by altering flight patterns and frequency – Charlotte Nesevich, Ted Tarter, Jack Cranmer, Ava Patel
- Bringing a proposal to the township to install electric roads in an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions – Rhea Malakar, Chase Konzelmann, Ethan Empaynado
- Writing weekly articles for the Moorestown Sun/collaborating with the Sustainable Moorestown Group to encourage Moorestown residents to use only alternative energy sources rather than fossil fuels – Maya DeAndrea, Rosie Paznokas, Richard Farmer, Vikram Verma
- Offering workshops to Moorestown residents about ways to make your home more energy efficient – Sophia Lalani, Jenavi Martinez, Ava Ellis, Kyra Koubiadis
- Composting solutions (Partnership with SAGE Dining and offering local education programming) – Ayanna Uppal, Alec Haines, Katherine Lee, Grace Gardner
- Community Gardens in Moorestown/Burlington County to reduce the need for imported food and to empower individuals to eat locally and organically – Zak Bah, Brady Kim, Miles Wilkins
- A greenhouse that is regulated in a way that eliminates harmful bacteria/fluctuations in temperature, and provides a year-round functional/sustainable environment – Luke Iacono, Preston Galanis, Z’Nichi Steave
- Organic garden kits for individuals who would like to reduce CO2 output by growing their own produce on a small, family centered scale – Caitlin Bailey, Mia Haddock, Chloe Brame-Smalls