Who We Are
We are the HMS Backyard Backlash Lexus Eco Challenge team from HMS (Houghton Middle School). Our team consists of ten eighth grade students who are interested in helping to raise awareness regarding what people in our community can do in their own backyards to help protect the local environment. Houghton, Michigan is located in the Keweenaw Peninsula, a very rural area along the southern border of Lake Superior.
The Lexus Scholastic Eco Challenge is a national competition for both middle and high school student teams. There are two categories: Air & Climate and Land & Water. To enter the competition, student teams must identify an environmental issue in their community, gather background information, and come up with an action plan to address the issue as well as educate the community. In the fall of 2017 our team entered projects in both categories. Our "Air & Climate" project involved learning about the negative impacts of backyard burning and how to reduce this impact. Our "Land and Water" project aimed at finding ways to reduce the impact of nitrates on soil and water quality.
In December of 2017, we learned that our "Land and Water" project had advanced to the final round of competition! This achievement was shared by only seven other middle school teams in the nation. With the recognition came $10,000 in funds for our team and school, and an invitation to continue our work.
The Lexus Scholastic Eco Challenge is a national competition for both middle and high school student teams. There are two categories: Air & Climate and Land & Water. To enter the competition, student teams must identify an environmental issue in their community, gather background information, and come up with an action plan to address the issue as well as educate the community. In the fall of 2017 our team entered projects in both categories. Our "Air & Climate" project involved learning about the negative impacts of backyard burning and how to reduce this impact. Our "Land and Water" project aimed at finding ways to reduce the impact of nitrates on soil and water quality.
In December of 2017, we learned that our "Land and Water" project had advanced to the final round of competition! This achievement was shared by only seven other middle school teams in the nation. With the recognition came $10,000 in funds for our team and school, and an invitation to continue our work.
Goals
Our goals include educating ourselves about these topics, and then in turn spreading awareness in the community as well as proposing solutions to these local environmental issues. We hope to produce viable results from our outreach and experimentation that will be useful to others and positively impact our local environment. Thanks for checking out our page!
Thank You
Many individuals and organizations from our local community helped us to get where we are in the competition. We'd like to sincerely thank....
1. The MIX 93.5
Six of our team members were interviewed about our projects and how the community could help. We talked mainly about our Air & Climate project because we were asking for community support in collecting unwanted #5 plastic at different sites. Special thanks to Dirk Hembroff of The Mix 93 for interviewing us
1. The MIX 93.5
Six of our team members were interviewed about our projects and how the community could help. We talked mainly about our Air & Climate project because we were asking for community support in collecting unwanted #5 plastic at different sites. Special thanks to Dirk Hembroff of The Mix 93 for interviewing us
2. The MTU Forestry Department and MTU Civil/Environmental Engineering Department
Early in the competition, we visited scientists at (local) Michigan Technological University (MTU) in the civil and environmental engineering departments. We were given a presentation about dioxins, why these airborne chemicals are harmful, and how they are produced and spread by Dr. Judith Perlinger. We also traveled to the forestry building and rhizotron and met with Dr. Evan Kane and Dr. Sigrid Resh to and learned about the impact of excessive nitrates on plants as well as the symbiotic relationship between fungi and various plant roots. We discussed the importance of keeping soil nutrients in balance as well as ways to reduce nitrates in soil.
Dr. Alex Mayer (Civil/Env)
Dr. Mayer was instrumental in helping us find an international student group for us to interact and work with during the Final Challenge. His research and connections took us to Xalapa, Veracruz (Mexico); we exchanged experiences and information regarding land and water quality with students from this community.
3. NECi (Nitrate Elimination Company inc.)
Ellen R. Campbell (CEO, NECi)
NECi sponsored us and sent us over tools to measure nitrate concentration. We wouldn't have been able to proceed with our experiments without their help. Special thanks to Ellen R. Campbell, the CEO of NECi, for helping out with our project.
4. Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Thank you, representatives from the Ishpeming and Escanaba posts, for inviting us to share our research!
Early in the competition, we visited scientists at (local) Michigan Technological University (MTU) in the civil and environmental engineering departments. We were given a presentation about dioxins, why these airborne chemicals are harmful, and how they are produced and spread by Dr. Judith Perlinger. We also traveled to the forestry building and rhizotron and met with Dr. Evan Kane and Dr. Sigrid Resh to and learned about the impact of excessive nitrates on plants as well as the symbiotic relationship between fungi and various plant roots. We discussed the importance of keeping soil nutrients in balance as well as ways to reduce nitrates in soil.
Dr. Alex Mayer (Civil/Env)
Dr. Mayer was instrumental in helping us find an international student group for us to interact and work with during the Final Challenge. His research and connections took us to Xalapa, Veracruz (Mexico); we exchanged experiences and information regarding land and water quality with students from this community.
3. NECi (Nitrate Elimination Company inc.)
Ellen R. Campbell (CEO, NECi)
NECi sponsored us and sent us over tools to measure nitrate concentration. We wouldn't have been able to proceed with our experiments without their help. Special thanks to Ellen R. Campbell, the CEO of NECi, for helping out with our project.
4. Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Thank you, representatives from the Ishpeming and Escanaba posts, for inviting us to share our research!