1. Middle Schooler Leads $11.5 Million Project to Build Air Filters for Connecticut Schools
A young Connecticut student is vowing classmates, students, and even state senators with her work designing cheap new air filters for classrooms.
Her name is Eniola Shokunbi, and before she reaches her goal of becoming President of the United States, she wanted to help keep classrooms free from cold and flu viruses circulating through the air.
In fifth grade, Shokunbi led some of her classmates in a design and build project at the Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, CT. Her idea was to create an air filter to clear the air of viruses circulating within aerosols through classrooms, which she managed with just a box fan, 4 furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard.
“This stuff is more effective than a lot of the commercial products on the market; it’s a lot cheaper and a lot more effective,” State Senator Matt Lesser told NBC CT.
2. Local Artist’s Painted Coconuts Have Become a Sensation–and Are Now Found All Over the World
Artists come from all corners, in all shapes and sizes, and from every race and religion; John Pavart and his painted coconuts are a perfect example.
The former opal miner turned painter from Australia’s state of New South Wales has been painting coconut husks for years, leaving them around the beaches of Magnetic Island for tourists and travelers to find. It’s become one of the chief charms of the island, even though Pavart started it on a lark.
“I just happened to have a bit of art gear on me and thought I’d pick one up and paint it,” he said, detailing the phenomenon’s remarkably simple origin. “I put it down and someone picked it up and they seemed to like it, so I just kept doing it.”
They often depict sea life and beachscapes, and by now the thin “grey nomad,” a term used to describe Australians in their 50s who move around for months out of the year, believes he’s painted over 750 of
3. To Help Your Local Wildlife, Stop Raking and Join the ‘Leave The Leaves’ Campaign This Autumn
A wildlife conservation and advocacy group is encouraging Americans this year to take a break from raking and just ‘leave the leaves.’ It’s part of a campaign to try to educate the public on the value of leaf litter to dozens of native wildlife, plant, and fungi species. Raking up these leaves removes valuable habitat and food for the biodiversity that persists on America’s lawns.
Established by the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and illustrator of the first Federal Duck Stamp, J.N. Darjeeling, the National Wildlife Federation offers some tips for how to manage dead leaves in the autumn that doesn’t involve removing them entirely from the micro-climate that is your yard.
Because a thick leaf layer can damage your grass and make pathways slippery, rake the leaves to other parts of your yard where trees aren’t located.
Adding a layer of leaves to your garden beds not only benefits overwintering wildlife, but it can also help suppress weeds and return important nutrients to the soil.
