08 Nov 2016 Ambassador: Sophia AbiEzzi
Sophia AbiEzzi
Eastlake High School
Sammamish, WA
Future career goals
Research scientist or engineer in the biology/environmental field
Description of your school/organization where you plan to integrate this project
Eastlake High School is a public high school in the Seattle suburb of Sammamish. Its student body consists of around 1500 students. There are many opportunities to increase the rigor of one’s course load. Eastlake offers a wide spectrum of AP classes (including all the sciences) and classes that are offered at the University of Washington, yet they can be taken for less cost and the student gets full college credit for them. Eastlake also hosts a multitude of different clubs and honor societies.
What originally made you interested in this project?
I became interested in Project Feed 1010 because the extreme population growth and environmental deterioration in the future is going to cause a big problem in terms of food shortage and lack of resources. I became inspired when I read about this project because it is a sustainable and efficient way to feed a big population.
Why do you want to bring this project to your school/community center/organization? What are your objectives?
I would like to educate my peers about food security and the potential problems the future is going to hold. I want them to become aware and learn about aquaponic/hydroponic systems and how they are going to potentially solve the issues we face in the future.
What current clubs are available? What teachers/courses could integrate this project?
Currently at Eastlake, there is AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, and Horticulture which could all be good options for a class-based aquaponics program. In terms of clubs, there is environmental club and science national honors society.
What is your plan?
To get the maximum benefit out of this program, I believe integrating the curriculum into an actual class-setting would be the most ideal. I would try to implement this into Mrs. Borden’s Horticulture class. Each student would construct their own recyclable hydroponics system just like we are doing now. In addition to this, since I have access to 2 fish tanks, 2 different aquaponics systems would be set up already (I would do this before the class starts) and the systems can be used as educational tools during the class. The students will also have the option of coming in after/before school for extra credit or community service hours and taking measurements/helping with the maintenance of the aquaponics systems.
What challenges do you think you will face in getting this set up?
-Getting full funding for the aquaponic systems
-Developing the curriculum for the horticulture classroom
-Gaining enough student interest for after-hours volunteering
-Keeping the aquaponic systems maintained/running them successfully