{"id":7550,"date":"2022-03-01T07:51:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T07:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pabconference.com\/news-events-full-story\/"},"modified":"2022-03-01T07:51:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T07:51:11","slug":"news-events-full-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/01\/news-events-full-story\/","title":{"rendered":"News & Events – Full Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hamilton Magazine – Winter 2022<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Tackling Real-World Issues to Make a Real-World Difference<\/h4>\n

Ellie Sangree ’24 arrived for her first semester at Hamilton equipped with more than the usual college essentials; she came with a concept for an experiment. It involved eutrophication, which is when excessive nutrients, often from agricultural chemicals, taint a body of water. It’s a major cause of pollution in freshwater and marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

As Sangree navigated her new life on campus, the concept continued to intrigue her. \u201cThe idea was to create something that would float on top of a polluted body of water and trap the nutrients, or catch them rather, before they’d be flushed downstream into our bigger water systems,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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In the pouring rain, environmental studies professor Aaron Strong, his student, Ellie Sangree, and a photographer struggle to drag a raft carrying Ellie’s research filter from the Hamilton College reservoir. Photo: Alex Leland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Working up her nerve, she approached Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong to see if he had suggestions about how she could explore her idea. To her surprise, he said he’d love immediately to help. Strong considers real world learning to be foundational for students. \u201cIt works really well in environmental studies because our questions are about solving problems, and solving problems by hands-on experiences is really helpful,\u201d he says. Experiential learning is a College priority.<\/p>\n

By semester’s end, Sangree’s idea had taken shape. Her contraption \u2014 a solar-powered, floating treatment wetland system made from recycled materials \u2014 was anchored in a College-owned reservoir about two miles from campus. The concept she’d harbored since high school had hatched into continuing research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea behind the floating bed that I’ve designed and built is that within the bed, I’m creating conditions that encourage the growth of the bacteria associated with turning this fertilizer pollution into a less harmful form,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Sangree says her project helped shape her post-Hamilton goals. Early on, as she researched the literature, she contacted the CEO of one of the few companies in the US that manufactures floating wetlands and explained her design to him. “He’s been really excited about it and talked about the possibility of me doing an internship over the summer,” she says. If that happens, Sangree says, she’s hopeful that it may lead to a job after graduation.<\/p>\n

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The idea behind the floating bed that I’ve designed and built is that within the bed, I’m creating conditions that encourage the growth of the bacteria associated with turning this poison pollution into a less harmful form.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Ellie Sangree’s floating wetland uses a solar-powered water pump and a passive bell siphon system to intermittently flood the bed with nutrient-polluted water. This creates conditions ideal for certain microbes to grow and transform these nutrients into less harmful forms and release \u201cfiltered\u201d water back into the pond. The yellow numbers represent the path of water through the bed.<\/p>\n

\"bell-siphon<\/figure>\n

Sangree believes her design is the first bell-siphon aerated system. A bell siphon is a simple technology, which she borrowed from aquaponics (she’s president of Hamilton’s Aquaponics Club) that allows water to be intermittently drained through a bed without requiring a pump on a timer with a consistent source of electricity. She says that her design, made primarily from recycled and common materials, is cheap and easier to build than all-new plastic alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate vision, once I have the science solidified, is a cheap and sustainably built grow bed that, when placed in the polluted ponds of parks or farms, will transform fertilizer pollution into flowers and produce,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think my broader intention is to go into academia either as a professor or a teacher of high school,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Sangree’s work is among a groundswell of Hamilton student research and projects related to sustainability and the environment. Last summer, for instance, in research funded by the College, students took on environmental equity and the cosmetics industry; the livelihood of residents and tourists of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada; and local concerns and opposition on the road to a solar-powered New York State, among many other issues on and off campus.<\/p>\n

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From left, Professor Aaron Strong chats with Pauline Santry ’21, Lucille Kline ’22, and Emely Chacon ’22 as they use equipment to measure the amount of methane gas being released from the Hamilton Reservoir. Photo: Nancy L. Ford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe fact that we have this climate emergency upon us, which is really an existential threat, has driven a lot of interest in these issues,\u201d says Professor of Government Peter Cannavo, former director of the Environmental Studies Program and current Government Department chair.<\/p>\n

Students could address such topics through readings and classroom discussions. \u201cBut the actual hands-on experience of learning is incredibly important to really see how environmental issues play out in actual communities, how they actually impact people, how decisions are made, how policies are made with regard to environmental problems \u2014 and all the obstacles and complications and complications that can come up along the way,\u201d Cannavo says.<\/p>\n

Also fueling the increase in student sustainability work is Hamilton’s recent investment in the interdisciplinary Environmental Study Program \u2014 including creating its first two dedicated tenure-track faculty positions. Strong has one of the positions; Assistant Professor Heather Kropp, a data scientist, has the other. The program also has a dedicated position for a visiting professor of environmental justice.<\/p>\n

Professors in the program are committed to supporting experiential learning, says Program Director Andrea Townsend, associate professor of biology. With the new faculty positions, she says, that commitment is gaining momentum. In the last couple of summers, she’s worked with students on campus reforestation projects that are part of Hamilton’s collegewide effort to reach carbon neutrality.<\/p>\n

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From left, Avery Morgan ’22, Lilia Harlan ’22, Margaret Phipps ’23, Environmental Assessment Specialist Sara Soika, and Natural Resource Program Manager Don Croft take a break from their work extending the campus. Photo: Nancy L. Ford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students come at their research from all directions:<\/h4>\n

A few years ago, art major Chad Varney ’22 and sociology major Sammy Johnson ’20 created Upcurl, a company that sells \u201cupcycled\u201d clothing made from items found in thrift stores. The venture traces back to an independent study course, with Strong, that looked at sustainable clothing production and the negative impact of fast fashion. Upcurl is still in business.<\/p>\n