Our original plan for our final product was to have the book printed and published, but since most businesses are closed, this was no longer an option for us. We had already finished writing our entire book from cover to cover, so we knew that we somehow wanted to get our content out there for the public to enjoy. So our new outcome is to create a digital book by posting a new chapter weekly on this website! Otherwise, it has been tough not being able to meet with each other in person, but we have been able to manage editing our writing and putting together the website over FaceTime calls. The next challenge will be filming a synchronous short video for the Severn fellows website even though we are apart from each other. We have learned to designate certain times for meetings so that we can both complete our other school work before meeting. We have also been able to prioritize our other things going on in our lives right now, like school work. We are planning to launch the website to the school this weekend, finish our last week of school, and then continue to post a new chapter and work on our video after school has finished. This quarantine period has certainly been tough for everybody, but we hope that our digital guide to a zero-waste lifestyle will be helpful in these uncertain times. Here are photos of us in our respective homes. Even though we are apart, we are still able to connect!
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Today we met over Facetime to finalize our website! Due to the coronavirus, we have had to transform our project to fit the new limitations on daily life. Since getting a book printed is no longer an option, we decided to post our entire book on our website! We will be posting one new chapter each week, starting with The Bathroom. We have also updated our entire website! We added new pictures to our home page, uploaded the final version of our Excel project planner spreadsheet, inserted an image of what the front cover of our book would have looked like, and put our author's note and introduction under The Product page. Now, we will email Ms. Carsley for final approval and then email the entire school so that they can check out our first uploaded chapter!
We have successfully finished the writing portion of our book! For spring break, we will be editing our work and then inserting it into our book template.
Today we met with our two faculty mentors, Ms. Maxey and Ms. Blanck. We briefed them on the work we completed over winter break and what our future plans are. We successfully finalized our table of contents, finished writing the conclusion section, and devised our lists of products that we bought, products that we took pictures of, and products that we had before we started our Fellows project. We also came up with new ideas over the break, such as the addition of a mini-dictionary section to define common terms for our readers, such as “greenhouse gases,” and a list of tips to include in each chapter. Our meeting went very well as we told our mentors this information. Ms. Maxey wrote down the details for our book to send along to the printer, MinuteMan Press, and also gave us a very good new idea! Instead of downloading and learning to use the very tedious book-writing program called InDesign, she suggested that we instead use PowerPoint and change the scale of the slides so that one slide is the equivalent of one page. Lastly, we finalized our timeline for the rest of the school year, leaving plenty of time to complete each element and develop our presentation for May 26th. All in all, we had a very productive meeting and we have a well-developed plan of action for the remainder of our project!
Before winter break, we met with Ms. Carsley and went over our guidelines and what we would like to complete. Over the winter break, we were able to work independently to get a portion of our winter break work done. To begin, we figured out two of our chapters that will absolutely be included in the book as well as several different lists. We have our set introduction questions and the conclusions section has been completed as of now. It is obviously possible that we will revisit the conclusion and add or change things. We also determined that we want to print on recycled paper with soy ink if we are given the opportunity to make this book as eco friendly as possible. Lists were formed of the zero-waste items that we bought, other items that we saw in store and photographed, as well as additional items that we owned prior to our switch. We also outlined good brands to look for when you visit different stores. We have also created a series of tips that we will intertwine with the different items we used. When it comes to our table of contents, we are still unsure of everything that we want to include and believe that we just need to start writing in order to figure out the amount of content that we will have in each category. Lastly, we want to include a mini dictionary in the back for people to reference that will include words such as: greenhouse gases, global warming, climate change, etc. We have both begun a chapter and I (Solana), will be writing the "Bathroom" chapter, and Maddi is writing the "Kitchen" chapter.
As of today, we have traveled to various locations that include Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Mom’s Organic Market, the Millersville Landfill, Sandy Point State Park, farmers markets, etc. We also photographed all of our products that we used during our low-watse journey and that will be featured in our book. Lastly, we have completed out portion of our low-waste journey that includes monitoring our trash and reducing our output. This was a trial run for us because we wanted to have experience for the novel so that we were able to right from our own personal experiences about how to live a low waste lifestyle. Even though we are not going to continue our intensive low-waste lifestyle, we are still going to continue practicing some of the low-waste habits that we developed.
We have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the various locations we went to. This was a big bonding time between us and we spent a lot of time together getting on the same page and making sure we had the same understanding about various topics. We road tripped to places that we typically wouldn’t go to on a day-to-day basis (Millersville Landfill, grocery stores, farmers market) so that we could further our environmental knowledge. Sandy Point State Park was also fun because we were pleasantly surprised to see them using biodegradable and compostable materials. In our project so far, our collaborative work has been really successful. When we had our various meetings to do some more of our heavier writing, we found ourselves to be inspired and were able to pump out a lot of ideas. When we work separately we have a harder time to focus and get going and when we’re together we inspire each other to work harder and keep going. We work very well together as a Fellows team, both able to successfully complete our work and time-manage. Living low-waste is definitely a transition; phasing out old products and introducing new ones takes time. I have most loved using my shampoo bars, especially because they work very well, are seemingly more natural than bottled shampoos, and last for a long time. We did not include biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, and food waste, but we were still very focused on how much food waste we were putting out. We wanted to reduce that number and we believe we did. We didn’t pick up the additional snacks that come wrapped in the shiny silver material or eat as many candies and individual chip bags. We bought in bulk when it came to food and made sure not to put anything to waste. Phase plan for completion of project:
Today, we made our trip to the beach to show how somebody can live a zero waste lifestyle and still enjoy regular summer activities. We carpooled to Sandy Point with our towels, beach chairs, and cooler in the back. After parking and setting up our spot on the sand, we pulled out all of our repacked snacks and supplies. Maddi had brought fruit with her that we kept cool in the cooler and she made sure that she had her bamboo utensils packed as well. We both also had reusable water bottles with us rather than using plastic water bottles or drinking from soda cans. Solana had also made ] popsicles with a popsicle mold that she had. On the way out, we stopped at the concession stand they had to see what type of eco friendly products they had. Maddi got ice cream that came in a biodegradable and compostable cup and rather than using her own bamboo spoon, she tried out their compostable spoons. The trip went well just like any other beach trip and we left with everything that we came with.
Today we went to David's Natural Market, a low waste, eco-friendly grocery store in Odenton, MD. We were both pleased with the different items they sold, especially the wide variety of buy-in-bulk items, such as chocolates, nuts, dried fruits, oats, granola, lentils, beans, and rice that could all be brought home in containers provided by the customer. Another pleasing thing we found was the amount of made-in-USA and local brands and products. Buying locally saves greenhouse gas emissions from shipping products around the world and it supports local farmers and businesses. There was a wide variety of eco-friendly cleaning products, perhaps more than the other stores we have visited so far. Lastly, we were delighted to learn from one of the store employees that all un-purchased produce is taken home by employees, composted, or donated to local shelters. On the downside, there was a noticeable stench that intensified as you neared the back of the store. The stench made the visit very unpleasant and Solana was quite miserable the entire trip; because of this, we do not believe that we will be returning. Mom's Organic Market as well as many other stores that we visited had a lot of the same products that David's had (aside from the wide variety of cleaning products) and because of this, I think we will find ourselves in those stores rather than David's. All in all, David's Natural Market was a good store to scout out and it did not disappoint (product wise) and because of this we would both recommend it to zero wasters.
For many hours, I photographed the various products that Maddi and I will be using during our zero-waste experience. We accumulated a lot of products from various stores that we went to as well as products that we ordered from Amazon. This was a long process because I wanted to get pictures that I would be satisfied with rather than taking images from other companies (which I wouldn't be able to do anyways). Here is a list of items that we accumulated over the summer:
- reusable pads - menstrual cup - stainless steel safety razors - extra blades - shampoo bars - natural deodorant - toothpaste powder - toothpaste tablets - silk floss - mouthwash tablets - paper snack/sandwich bags - beeswax wrap - a TON of bar soap (dr. bronners, yardley, south of France, etc) - wool dryer balls - reusable swab - bamboo cutlery set - reusable cloth makeup remover pads - reusable snack bags - bamboo paper towels - biodegradable trash bags - biodegradable pet bags - bidet Today we met at Solana's house to regroup after Maddi had been absent for a month at overnight camp. We began to discuss our schedule for the rest of the summer until August 28, the first day of school. We made a list of the tasks left to complete this summer and are planning to decide on which days to do each one later tonight. Lastly, we compared our products that we had each ordered from Amazon, which will be posted on the blog as well. During the meeting, we decided to complete some of the previously mentioned tasks, such as traveling to MOM's Organic Market and Goodwill, which are discussed in additional blog posts.
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AuthorsWe are two Maryland high school students who are passionate about the environment. |