Group 4 - Environmental System and Societies Project (2019)

COST FREE ENERGY  EFFICIENT GREENHOUSE 

By Aamir Zaidi

Group 4 project is a very integral part of IB and seemed to us as not such a big task last year when we were looking the now grade 12th projects and just seemed like every other project. It was until the day when our Diploma Co-ordinator took us through what it actually is and what it means in the IB Diploma Programme. We were presented with what was the general goal the project was based on and what we had to work towards to make which was making a LOW-COST ENERGY EFFICIENT GREENHOUSE. As much as this sounds boring it is not, The first step which was taken was to divide us into the subject groups in which I was divided in the ESS group which is also one of the G4 subjects that I had taken. I was given the position of a leader in the ESS group and we divided our classmates into groups and started supervising them. Our G4 co-ordinator suggested that we should make like a self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem and so we started researching on it for its pros and cons, the economic factor, how would it look like and what all plants and organisms we can put in it. Our First Idea was to have like a really small pond and add aquatic plants and some fishes in it. Upon further research and continuous deliberation without subject G4 co-ordinator and the overall coordinator, we decided to put this Idea to the side because we talked to the gardener and he told us he won't be able to properly take care of them like feeding them and constant water changes would be difficult for him. 

Our Final Idea was formed around this which was to basically have two like large tubs of water in the GREENHOUSE separated from each other cause we thought of keeping two different species of plants in them and we won’t be taking the risk of a species invading other species. We then were on the path to finding the most sustainable plants that would be useful in the GreenHouse. During a Discussion with the Biology team we were introduced to this experiment that they do with the plant HYDRILLA, which is an invasive species of aquatic plants and is hard to find around this area and so myself and my co-leader had this Idea that what if we start to grow these in our greenhouse we would have a steady supply of them in the Biology Lab. This would not only be economically profitable but would put these plants to more positive use, we also now we're sure that we would be keeping the big tubs of water separate to stop hydrilla from spreading into the other tub and eliminating that species. So now that we had finalized one species we thought off moving onto other species to find the most suitable to use in the other tub and started researching on that and then we were left out with many options to choose from like water cabbage, water lilies, lotus, duckweed, water hyacinth, etc. My co-leader suggested that we should shortlist 2 plants and finalize one of them to be put in the tub and the other as a backup option in case our primary choice doesn’t survive.  

We at many steps throughout the weeks of the G4 Project had many ideas that had to be slashed and put aside, we faced many challenges and overcame them together as a team, we worked to find the best solutions and put an end to the problems that were arising. This Project taught us many skills which are being used on a daily basis in many organizations throughout the world. Some of the skills that we learned in this project were Research, Organization skills, Communication Skills, Collaboration skills and these were the ones that we extensively used and improved throughout the duration of the project even on both of the days on which we were supposed to present these.  Collaboration skill was very important throughout the project because we had to constantly communicate with the leaders and the members of the other subjects and look at what they were planning to do and how we should adapt so that all of us are working in a proper rhythm. We had to work with PD group to arrange the tubs and look at the appropriate size for them and then we had to communicate with Digital Design team so that they could make us some temperature and Ph sensors so that they could make it and we would monitor it and adjust them accordingly.  We also worked with the chemistry department and biology department hand to hand so that all of our work is going in the right direction.