PACERS Rural Science for Life: Solar Project Report - September, 2007

Students, teachers, principals, and community members from Florala, Lockhart, Camp Hill, Sand Rock, and Spring Garden met on September 7th with PACERS consultants to continue implementing the 2007-08 solar component of PACERS Rural Science for Life program.

After introductions, participants reviewed project purposes:

improving student interest, capacity, and confidence in science—especially career related (e.g. self-assurance that that they can enter science-based occupations and post-secondary programs)
providing students a chance to master and apply state of the art technology relevant to their communities and lives
building, demonstrating, and selling energy saving devices
connecting students, teachers, and schools with professionals in science and math realted occupation.

The program’s four basic modules: portable teaching unit, batch water-heaters, passive solar greenhouses, and research on solar applications for school utility cost reduction were reviewed. Dorsey Walker and John Walker, PACERS solar consultants, then presented an introduction to passive solar designs, applications, and outcomes. Their presentation served as a background for discussing the four modules of the project and their implementation at participating schools and communities.

Portable Teaching Unit. John Walker, who along with other NASA-related engineers and scientists, designed the portable passive solar water heater to be used for instructional purposes, explained teaching options related to the unit. Zach Jones and Ethan Black, students from Spring Garden—the pilot site for the project—and their science teacher, Carolyn Hammond, gave details on information-gathering and teaching options made possible from the unit’s computer readout. John Walker announced that additional lesson plans were being prepared to extend the science and math instructional opportunities related to the operation of the unit.

The unit will be at Spring Garden and Sand Rock High Schools through the fall, and it will be demonstrated by Spring Garden students at the City and Country program held in September at Sand Rock. January through March the unit will be in Florala and Lockhart and available for use at Florala HS and MS and at Harlan Elementary. In April and May, students and teachers at Edward Bell HS (Camp Hill) will be studying science and math by using the unit as a living lab. As funding come available throughout the year, teaching units will be built at Florala, Edward Bell, and Spring Garden under the supervision of John Walker and Dorsey Walker.

Batch Passive Solar Water Heaters. Students at participating schools will have venture capital for building and selling low-cost model batch heaters. The batch models are pre-heaters for existing water heaters and reduce significantly utility costs. Detailed building plans were distributed at the meeting, and students deciding to build and sell the units will be supported in preparing business plans. This entrepreneurial aspect of the solar project is designed to give students business opportunities while providing important cost-saving models for their communities.

Passive Solar Greenhouses. Students from Spring Garden and Edward Bell expressed strong interest in building greenhouses at their school for use as models for home utility-savings and to serve as living labs. Greenhouses will also be built and/or modified in Florala, Lockhart, and Sand Rock. Dorsey Walker explained the process for building which will include site visits that he will make to determine location and other pertinent details for effective passive solar construction.

One of the details has to do with setting the appropriate glazing angle which is calculated in relation to site latitude. A quick survey of participants revealed that a few knew the latitude on which they live—after the solar project it was agreed that many more students and others will have a better idea of where they are in the world. Materials, including lesson plans, are being prepared for K-12 usage of the greenhouses as living labs.

Research. John Walker distirbuted information on web-sites that students can use for getting information pertinent to preparing reports on solar applications that can reduce school utility costs. Funds are available for awards for outstanding student-prepared reports and to help support student research.

The solar project has been developed through donations from PACERS and a grant from the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation. It will be continued and expanded with support from the legislature.

Workshop Participants Spring Garden/SGHS: Teacher: Carolyn Hammond; Students: Dustin Kerr, Daniel Rogers, Josh Reece, Zach Jones, and Ethan Black. Camp Hill/Edward Bell HS: Teacher: Renatta Rives; Students: Imani Gooden, Xianszelle Hayden, Krishauna Edwards, Vontavious Holloway and Merrell Evans; Community Representative: Jean Mosley. Florala and Lockhart /FHS and Harlan ES: Principals: Terry Holley and Brent Zessin; Teachers: Pat Maddox and Joe Rasberry; Community Representative: John Harbuck. PACERS Consultants: John Walker, Dorsey Walker, and Jack Shelton.

For more information on the project contact admin@pacersinc.org.

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