By Ni Baliness
In spite of the gray and cold weather, guests packed the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden on April 17 in celebration of the local sustainability efforts to protect Mother Earth.
Kicking off its 14th year, hosted by the Office of Sustainability, this year’s Green Generation Showcase displayed an array of student, faculty and local community organizations’ projects and educational efforts towards environmental sustainability.
“[The event] hopes to engage our campus community but also the local community as well,” Climate Action intern and third-year environmental science and policy major Yareli Lopez said. “It focuses on getting people involved with environmental organizations.”
Upon entry to the garden, a line of student projects displayed the multitudes of disciplines that contributed to creating a difference on the planet.
Among them was the works of third-year industrial design major Ka’ahele Lau-Robles, who focused on a 3D prototype that sought to recover abandoned marine fishing equipment from the open ocean.
“It’s the single largest ocean based source of plastic pollution but it’s not plastic straws or shopping bags or toothbrushes,” Lau-Robles said. “Most of the plastic in the ocean by mass is this abandoned fishing net.”
A first-time attendee to the event, Ka’ahele Lau-Robles, described the damage the pollution of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch causes and how the 3D prototype, Nucleo, is going to “interrupt” the catching and killing cycle of marine life. Photo credit: Ni Baliness
Although product design is a focus for an industrial design major, taking up this project has allowed Lau-Robles to do research for social and environmental good while acknowledging the urgency in the situation.
“Since then, I have really wanted to get more involved with on-campus sustainability efforts and this is kind of my first step in that,” Lau-Robles said.
Reaching the archway, guests were encouraged to write down an Earth Day wish or a love note to the planet on a strip of paper called the Tanzaku Activity.
Inside of the garden, local community organizations such as Southern California Edison and Long Beach Transit also introduced their own ways of helping the environment.
The table that represented Long Beach State’s Science Learning Center caught the attention of attendees as they displayed their own derma compost bin and hydroponic machine.
Instead of using soil, hydroponic planting systems utilize a nutrient-rich water solution instead. This method can expedite growth, use less water, reduce the need for pesticides and produce year-round crop production.
“The initiative was always [intended] to spread and educate individuals of informal science,” third-year marketing major Lizbeth Ruano said. “I think that was our main initiative, just to get science more out there because people are really intimidated by it.”
Runao also explained how the SLC provides an interactive and fun way for K-12 students to learn more about science.
Another benefit of hydroponic planting, growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, is space efficiency. Additionally, the system can be used both indoors and outdoors. Photo credit: Ni Baliness
“It’s so fun seeing them rummage through the compost itself and getting to learn how they can help our environment,” Ruano said. “They are excited to learn how worms can genuinely produce this matter.”
However, it was not just worms and compost that made a big impression on attendees.
A line of student models strutted along the curves of the garden to show off designs that had been refashioned into newer styles.
Along with the fashion show, the sustainability project showcase awards were presented to students who were recognized for their sustainability and climate-justice projects.
Regardless of major or background, the awards sought to demonstrate the difference students can make through their engagement in climate activism.
“It’ll take all kinds of people, all types of discipline and skill sets to do clever things to solve problems,” Lau-Robles said.
