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GeoPlant

GeoPlant is a business carried out by 6th year students of seccondary school. With the objective of facing the problematic of lack of green spaces in our surrroundings , we design the solution in a mobile application called GeoPlant. The main purpose of this innovative tool is to notice merchants, municipalities, gobernants and neighbours which type of bushes, plants or trees you are capable to plant in your garden, square, field, and many places by a questionnaire with different options easy to understand, which by finishing it, it will give you a result of which type of soil do you have, and what can you plant in it.

We also developed a website.

Problematic

The increasing of green spaces can really be essential for the prosperity of the biodiversity. Nowadays, it´s very common the lack of this spacces, due to the large amount of edifications that are because of the big crew of people that live in those cities. Our group decided to emphazise in this subject, because we are interested in how the lack of this green spaces damage our health and reduce anthropic action, because through the process of photosynthesis, trees are able to absorb carbon dioxide CO2 from the atmosphere and expel oxygen (O2) as waste, which we need to live, simultaneously reducing the environmental impact.


<a href="http://”>http://<iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTY_sdSpcsHEWBENZBoc1SULF4_onlyP7EiCS312jt0ve3DWHRR-XQmMTOaRl41XQKWFsG3zO51hDII/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000″ frameborder=”0″ width=”960″ height=”569″ allowfullscreen=”true” mozallowfullscreen=”true” webkitallowfullscreen=”true”></iframe>

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Agrochemicals: a global issue

Nowadays, not only do agrochemicals represent a problem which affects the health and well-being of people but also the environment globally.  In Argentina, since 1996, more and more agrochemicals are being used, as well as GM crops with the aim of optimizing harvests and generating products with fewer problems during cultivation. The reason why most farmers are in favor of the use of agrochemicals is due to the effective prevention and control of pests, in addition to the fact that they provide an improvement in yields.

Owing to our concern about getting to know really what we are eating, we started think ing of a way to mitigate the impact caused by this problem. Despite the fact that chemicals in the agricultural field are present throughout the world and eradicating their use in large companies is almost impossible, we believe that change begins from individuality and local action.


Our idea:

In order to address the problem introduced, we decided to design an app called “Garden in community”, with the aim of promoting the development of community gardens in the district of Almirante Brown. After doing some research and touring our city, we discovered that very few people have notion on this subject. Therefore, our challenge was to find a way to encourage people to collaborate with the production of organic gardens, not only to raise awareness about the production and consumption of healthier food, but also to achieve better nutrition in society. and contact with nature.

Through this shared gardens it would be possible to reduce the environmental impact as there would be a decrease in intensive agriculture and transgenic foods, together with encourage current and future generations to lead a healthier life. Green spaces would be used and help would be provided to public kitchens. It is a non-profit app which can be downloaded by anyone who wishes to participate.


Explanation of the project and prototype:

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Microplastics

Microplastics, imperceptible threat

Microplastics are plastics whose size ranges from 3 to 5 nanometers. To keep in mind, 1 nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter. These are products of the erosion and degradation of plastic and can end up in the seas and even in the air we breathe. If we breathe it, it will end up in our lungs, and if it ends up in the sea it will most probably end up in a fish that will then be eaten by someone. In addition, some microplastic particles are so small that they can even pass through the pores of our skin.

Microplastics are a global problem that is increasing with the production of plastic.


Proposed solution

After researching, we concluded that the most direct and easiest way to reduce the amount of microplastics is to simply reduce the amount of plastics. Plastics are generated by man, so it falls on our hands to reduce their quantity.

The best way to reduce the amount of plastic is through responsible consumption and avoiding the use of plastic, however this is not always possible, so another option is to recycle. However, this can be a tricky process as people sometimes get confused as to which bin the items they want to throw belong to. This is why we ideated a smart bin, which we integrated with a strong artificial intelligence which was trained to distinguish between different types of waste. Through this, the sensor can predict what type of waste was thrown away.

Also, once the plastics are taken to the recycling center, not all the plastic is recycled. That is why we put those leftover plastics in a in a container, near the recycling plants, with silkworms and zophobas morio. This are worms that can break down polyethylene and polystyrene, which are two of the most widely used plastics in the industry.

It should be clarified that after finishing the project, we found out that it already existed. However, ours is different from the other one in that it only allows one residue at a time while ours allows many. The other smart bin is called bin-e.


Conclusion

We really think that it is necessary to reduce the amount of plastics in the world to make sure that microplastics never become a real problem. The reduction of plastics guarantees our future and will be a great step to continue advancing in the future.

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The introduction of the canadian beaver

The introduction of non-indigenous species is a problematic situation that is present in many places in the world, and is one that threatens with destroying whole natural ecosystems and with the extinction of the native species that live within them. This is cause by the hotel environment generated by these invasive species, when they find themselves inside these new ecosystems with a preferable space for their survival, without any kind of natural predator and with abundant food and resources. This generates conflict with the original species of these places, since they now have to compete for food and for a place to live in.

In our project, we focused in the situation that took place originally in 1946 in Tierra del Fuego with the introduction of the Canadian beaver, and that continues to affect that ecosystem until today. Because of the introduction of the beaver, a great part of the woods of Ushuaia have been devastated by them as a result of them using the trees as food and as materials to build their dams, which at the same time, generated the obstruction of natural rivers and their flooding. Destruction, contamination, floods; these are some of the things that the beaver has generated in the province since its introduction, having found itself at that time with ideal surrounding in which it managed to spread and reproduced very quickly without any obstacles to stand in their way.

Nowadays, the number of beavers has increased drastically, being now officially considered as one of the invasive species of the austral system. Many specialists try continually to propose new ideas that could solve this situation, testing new projects that hold this as their goal, but that haven’t been able to do so up to now.

Within our work, we also proposed to ourselves to formulate a possible solution to this problem, having already investigated extensively about it and having been inspired by others, which could at leasthelp in some aspect of the situation. For this, we formed the idea of a prototype which could, from the sound of the beavers, identify their frequency and send a signal to a database which would register the time and place of its recording so that it can map the position and concentration of beavers in the woods of Tierra del Fuego. The prototype would have the capacity of navigating through the woods with wheels, materials, and systems that would allow it to avoid destruction and every sort of obstacle. This process of mapping would be accompanied by the construction of habitats for the beavers in the zones that figure the highest concentration of them, and in which the vast majority of them would be castrated so as not to allow them to reproduce again without control. This, along other necessary steps that need to be taken in order to assure its fulfillment, we hoped would work as a possible help that could help alleviate the problematic faced by the ecosystem of Tierra del Fuego.

This is the theoretical base which helped us formulate our prototype, and in which our whole project of investigation was dictated:

And this is the presentation that we created to show the problematic, our inspirations, and the prototype.

Work done by: Valentina  Muguelar, Valentin Hernan, and Ignacio Cagide

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A habitable Riachuelo

Water pollution in the Riachuelo caused by industrial waste
While investigating the subject of water pollution by industrial waste we identified that nowadays, the main problem in Argentina is the pollution of the Riachuelo. This tributary is located in the city of Buenos Aires and it ends in the Rio de la Plata. This problem is very important specially because of the direct consequences it has on the 5 million people that live in its surroundings. Heavy metals, such as lead, chrome, mercury and cadmium, progressively accumulate in the body and cause intoxication. The continuous presence of solid waste causes the loss of biodiversity and the contamination of underground water sources.

Estado del arte

Solution Proposal
The main objective of our project is to remove the solid waste and heavy metals from the river to improve the quality of life for the people who live in its surroundings and to stop the loss of biodiversity. To accomplish this, we designed a plan that consists of two stages. The first stage would be to install a system called hidohigienizador that is carried by two hydrofoils to collect the solid waste that is on the surface of the river. The second stage would be the installation of aquatic plants capable of absorbing the heavy metals present in the river.
The hidrohigienizador consists of a float that sits on the surface of the river and a conical skirt three meters deep. The float gives floatability to the system and it avoids the solid waste from flowing above it, while the conical skirt avoids the waste from flowing under it. Additionally, the skirt allows the fish to swim under the system.

Hidrohigienizador

Hidrohigienizador

The hidrohigienizador is carried by two hydrofoils that are at the extremes. We chose to use hydrofoils for various reasons. To begin with, it´s flat background design is ideal to avoid the embarkation from being stuck or damaged by the solid waste. Moreover, the driver would be located on an elevated seat, in a covered cabin to take care of their health and have better visibility of objects that could damage the system. Lastly, the installation of solar panels to propel the aviation propeller would avoid the use of petrol and cause less damage to the environment as it is a renewable energy.

Lechuga de agua

For the second stage of our project we would be using phytoremediation, a technology based on the capacity of some plants to tolerate, absorb, accumulate and degrade organic or inorganic contaminating compounds. The type of phytoremediation we are interested in is phytoextraction. It is based on the fact that, through physiologic processes, plants can act as suction bombs and extract the metals from the water through their roots and accumulate them on their tissues. Once they have accumulated the metals, the plants are harvested and transported to a controlled disposal or incinerated. The plants we chose for our project are jacinto de agua and lechuga de agua.

Conclusion

Our project will remove the solid industrial waste and toxic waste from the Riachuelo, improving the quality of life for the people who live in its surroundings. In addition, it will improve the environment, stopping the loss of biodiversity.

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C.R.D.P

The world is full of plastics. Through the years, humans had been contaminating the Earth with several polymers, being the most dangerous the short-term ones. Nowadays, we know that there are several solutions for reducing plastics, however, are there any solutions for removing plastics once and for all? Is there any eco-friendly solution?

We have two proposals that aim to remove or at least reduce plastic in a massive way. We know that there are three living organisms that can “eat” or degrade plastic: a worm, a bacteria and a fungus. We thought of a way in which we could use these living creatures in a domestic and comfortable way, so that people could reduce plastics and help the environment from the comfort of their homes.

On the one hand, we create the C.R.D.P. ( Compactor and Reductor of Plastic), this machine is composed by two parts: a manual and portable compactor, and a “fishbowl” with the plastic-eaters organisms previously mentioned. The role of the compactor is to reduce the size of the plastic wastes that later on will be deposited inside the container. The fishbowl would act as a composter, people would leave them in a place near their homes and plastics would be the only material allowed to throw in it. This wouldn’t just help to reduce plastic if not it would also help with the classification of wastes, decreasing their amount in a vast scale. A further step beyond the domestic use of the C.R.D.P. to implement its use not just at home if not all over the town.

On the other hand, we believe that a most effective solution would be  to extract the enzyme from the fungus that can biodegrade plastic. The enzyme would mix with non-toxic chemicals. The ami of this is to create a cheap product that can be sold at supermarkets (similar to cleaning products). Even Though this idea would be much more easier to use, and has more benefits, the process for the extraction of the enzyme is really hard and expensive. The objective would be to find an easier way to extract the enzyme so as the product could be sold cheaper and everyone in the country could have one.

To conclude, our aim is to show our project in an investor’s website such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe, in this way the ideas could get viral and be financed by those who are interested. For more information about this project please watch the video below.