Weekend Schnapies

SOURCE: http://www.bazaardesigns.com/11414-building-materials/

So, we have a list of possible building materials and the average prices of these items. This list can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcKXBLccmVRrIsKTgydh4BiospRctxkchYJA2uM1be0/edit?hl=en&pli=1#. We plan to base our schematics off of an already made composting bin and find ways to make it unique. The building apparatus that Micah had shared in the April 15th post is basically what we plan on doing in terms of creating a stable base and rotational system. However, we are still kind of planning for how we are going to make a sturdy bin that can open and close without opening during rotations. As of right now, we are planning on using a bucket or trash can cylinder and closing off the tops. Then, we can cut a rectangle opening on the side or at the ends for inserting the food waste, worms, and dirt. Luckily, Mr. Blake was able to contact a couple teachers for us to work with in order to make an efficient composting bin that will serve the school best. So, hopefully our project will be able to satisfy Mr. Blake's and the school's needs. Our budget is still fluctuating depending on the size of our bin and the details have still yet to be finalized. We realized that we need to get this implemented as soon as possible in order to get results from the composting and the worms. So, we plan to have it created some time next week and placed behind of 'Akahi to start collecting and analyzing data. We are definitely on our way to getting this project done and we hope it works :).

Finalizing

Image from: http://www.bestprice2shopping.com/tumbleweed-200003-58-gallon-rotating-compost-bin

Today is April 14, 2011 and the seniors are on their picnic at the beach. Being that I am the only junior in our group this means that I am here alone. There are still some factors to our composting bin that we have not finalized such as our building cost. This composting bin is relatively simple to build but we don't have any blueprints or finalized plans for building it. Once we figure this out or should I say once I figure it out since im the only one here then we can total up our final building cost. As of right now I plan to use a couple of 2 x 4's, a pipe, bucket, and some nails. I am thinking of placing the bin upon a pipe (so that it can rotate) which rests upon a base that will be built out of the 2 x 4 wood.

Moving Forward

SOURCE: http://www.mtlion.com/gardencomposter/technology.html

So, we are totally getting into this worm bin project and thinking it through. Such as, how we are going to measure the compost and what kinds of food we can put into the bins that the worms will digest. We made some changes to our proposal to make it more specific and informative onto how it will help Kamehameha and why it's such a good project. Right now, we are going to start on our budget for this project and what exactly we are making this composting bin out of and how we are going to make it. Since, this has been created before there are tons of different designs and modifications that we can choose from. However, we still kind of want to do this on our own and make this project original to our group for the school. We are thinking of ways to make our composting tub unique and efficient. Right now we are thinking about the budget being around 50 bucks for all the small and large parts such as PVC pipes, wheels, and nuts and bolts. We have a basic idea about what our bin will look like in the end and how it will rotate, but still have to draw specifics. We are going to try and get prices on various items that we can make our composting drum out of and use the most efficient items  with the best value of money. We are only making one drum so we shouldn't need too much, but we probably will need to order extras in case we mess up. Since, our project takes a while to get results because we need to wait for food items to decompose, then we cannot be waiting on orders or extra pipes or wheels that are vital to our project. We hope all goes well in ordering enough items in order to build our composting drum and get good results for the furthering of this idea at Kamehameha Schools.

LINK TO PROPOSAL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Nd-mMCkFXEQJIItWTHnUp1ANLI2OKm77j6fx5vkcaE/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJGgqV0

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-garden/2009/07/post.html

Today our group finally came to a conclusion on what we are going to do for a project. As a whole, we decided to do the worm composting project. After seeing that our other idea for a project couldn't work, we made the right choice to switch to a more logical choice. Using the water dripping from air conditioners, our group were going to use that to water plants. There were no air conditioners in an optimal spot, so we changed to the worm idea. Although we have not yet figured out how this project connects to physics, we believe that it can help change Kamehameha for the better.

Decisions

AC PIC SOURCE: http://coolingtower-design.com/2010/11/13/air-conditioner/

GRASS PIC SOURCE: http://wallpaperstock.net/vista-grass-2-wallpapers_w2289.html

So, I think we are deciding on doing the A.C. water rerouting system idea. With this idea we will position pipes, probably PVC, below some of the air conditioning units  and connect all of the pipes to one pipe that will drain all of the water into the grass or some Native Hawaiian plants that we can install. We can drill holes in the end of the pipe system in order give the grass a sprinkling system instead of a large pouring gutter that erodes the dirt and drowns the plants. With this idea we would be able to be more sustainable by taking advantage of our frequent rains up at Konia and utilizing it for the land and plants. The other ideas are either too large to take on or do not have any correlations with physics that we can apply. This idea is simple and yet efficient. It could be easily applied to whole school and water can be collected and used for water systems instead of purchasing water. We can have more natural beauty with more A.C. water gardens around campus and we can save money, while using the resources given to us by nature. It's a simple solution that can easily be applied anywhere around campus that helps out everyone.

Friday morning we had the chance to talk with Kumu Chun and ask him about what he though were some problems here at Kamehameha. Kumu Chun said that we need to change the apathy of students and the moral of students and teachers. He aslo said that we need to find way to challenge people out side of the box. Kumu Chun said the we should allow students to have an area on campus where students can congregate at. At this place we would be allowed to make it better/take care of it for example we could paint it and plant flowers, basically it would be a place for student to hang out and/or study during free time. Kumu Chun believes that by having a place for student to go and having the students beautify it will create a sense of ownership resulting in pride for our school and if we give our students more school pride it will motivate student to want to do more for our school and make it a better place.