Green Acton hosted a team of teens competing in the Siemens Challenge — the Black-Gold Miners — who presented their project on composting.
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is the premier national environmental sustainability competition for K–12 students. Through project-based learning, students learn about science and conservation while creating solutions that impact the planet.
Green Acton is honored to host meetings at which these students can present their projects, get feedback, and answer questions. RJ Grey Junior High 8th Graders competing in the Siemens Challenge put together the presentation “We Can Change the World (through Composting).” As part of the competition, the Black Gold Miners (“black gold” is a term for compost) created a provocative Power Point showing that the average Actonian produces 4.6 pounds of trash each day, and that more than a quarter of this is compostable. The group explained how some area towns make money (in Lexington more than $1 million/year) from collecting compost, and that Acton could lower its carbon footprint as well as reduce trash collection costs if it acted similarly. The Black Gold Miners are actively seeking support for this effort in the town.
http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/docs/Black_Gold_Miners.pdf