Community Corner
Whiz Kids: Franklin High School Takes Grand Prize at DPW Environmental Competition
Ten schools were selected as finalists in the Streets to the Sea Challenge.
The Franklin High School Team: Antonio Maldonado, Carolina Roque, Patricia Hernandez, Claudia Jimenez, Oswaldo Martinez.
Whiz Kid's Ages: 15-16
Whiz Kid's School:
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Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: These Whiz Kids are the 2011 Grand Prize Winner at the Los Angeles DPW's Streets to Sea Challenge (High School Division).
Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: The students created an educational campaign which identified and found solutions for existing water issues in their school and community.
“We did beach clean up, we planted trees at the Los Angeles National Forest, and we also completed a water audit at our school,” said 15-year-old Carolina Roque. “For one week in class we were teaching our classmates about the problems around school, and also showed them how waste water can actually be cleaned.”
According to Antonio Maldonado, the team was formed by the group of students who were interested and passionate about the project.
“It seemed like a really fun project so we thought maybe we should try it out,” Maldonado said. “We really liked it and got more involved as the project went on.”
The team discovered numerous clogged pipes, leaky faucets and sprinklers. All of which have been fixed.
Patricia Hernandez pointed out that the land FHS is positioned on is mostly flat, therefore rain water accumulates into puddles instead of draining into trees or the natural environment on campus.
“The key is to make them understand the importance of water,” the teams’ adviser Jomel Villamil said. “The moment they understand what happens to that water, they develop that sense of responsibility and caring for how much water they’re going to use.”
Tenth grader Oswaldo Martinez said Villamil assisted the team by providing ideas on how they could improve the school.
“We put out rain barrels so we can conserve more water, we fixed the sprinkler system, we made a video telling people how to conserve water, we just tried sending a message out,” Martinez said.
The most challenging aspect of the campaign was getting other students interested and involved, according to team member Claudia Jimenez. In addition to trying to top the competition.
“There’s simple things you can do to conserve water, it doesn’t have to be anything big. Simple things like rain barrels will really help make a difference,” Jimenez said.
