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1. Service Learning in Belize: ANRI Seedling House
Andrea Love, Tandie Bailey, Jessica House, Douglas Wolf
Capstone for Minor in Sustainability
Department of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences
ANRI The New Seedling House Sustainability
• The Agriculture Natural Resource Institute (ANRI) is a secondary • Nine students from the University of Arkansas with various backgrounds worked together to plan, design, and build the new seedling • Managed System:
education institution specifically focused around agricultural house for ANRI. • This system concentrates on the life cycle assessment of raw
education. It is located just outside Dangriga, Belize. • The location of the seedling house was determined by ANRI staff, which would be located behind their gardens and greenhouse. materials to finished products.
• Four treated lumber posts were placed at the corners of the structure to ensure stability while additional posts and support beams were • Th h
The house will enhance th plant production lif
ill h the l t d ti lifecycle. Thi iis
l This
• The school rests on 240 acres, in the midst of citrus fields and placed in strategic places to keep the structure sound. obtained by allowing to seedlings to be grown in an
jungle and is about a thirty-minute drive from Dangriga down a • PVC pipe was used to build the concave-shaped roof, which would support the netting that covered the seedling house. The structure was environment independent of pests and extreme weather. With
bumpy, country road. They raise pigs, chickens, rabbits, and an fitted with the netting from roof to floor and secured in a manner so that it could be removed before severe weather, such as hurricanes. an enhanced chance of survival, the reproduction is possible for
assortment of vegetable crops, including okra, sweet peppers, • Gravel was placed inside the structure to level the floor and also atop of the netting on the ground to keep it secure from the wind. many years, providing long term self sufficiency.
hot peppers, tomatoes, and beans, all on just 30 acres of • A double door was constructed for further protection against insect infiltration. • The netting used on the house was also UV and pest resistant
production. • Four tables were constructed to hold the seedlings off the ground. Each table holds ten seedling trays, totaling forty available trays for which will increase the health of the seedlings as well as
plant production. The original seedling structure only supported eleven trays. eliminating negative externalities caused by the use of chemical
• A functioning seedling house is important to ANRI because they pesticides.
use much of what they grow for school lunch. They also send
lunch
some of the vegetables home with their students. • Built Systems:
• involves the design and construction of buildings, including related
infrastructure, in connection with the use of natural resources and
environmental health.
• The materials used were locally available, relevant goods.
• The structure was designed to maximize seedling protection in
The Old Seedling House several ways. For example, double door entrance and treated
netting without the use of chemical pesticides.
• The floor plan design maximizes usable space in the structure.
p g p
• The house was constructed in a way that the netting and the
First day of work at ANRI constructing Completed table for the seedling seedling trays could be removed and kept from damage in
Brady Long finishing up the severe weather conditions, thus preserving the usability of the
the support posts. house
seedling house structure for many years to come.
Results
• It took a week to complete the seedling house structure. It’s finished dimensions were fourteen feet wide by twenty-four feet long by eight feet high.
The Original Seedling House at ANRI They will be able to hold forty seedling trays compared to the eleven from the previous seedling table use from 2008.
Since 2008, the students had been using a temporary structure
made of rough lumber supports and a thatched roof. Because there Reflections
were no walls, their small tray of seedlings were covered loosely in • In no other study abroad program are you as a student able to
netting, held up by an unsteady piece of PVC pipe. This seedling learn through service or asked to look a global issue in the face
table was insufficient for the school’s needs in several ways: and have the opportunity to solve it. Students are given
responsibility and asked to step up as leaders.
• The table was small and only held a limited number of seedlings.
• The netting was not attached tightly to the structure so the • Sustainability is difficult to fully achieve. Getting everybody to
seedlings were still vulnerable to pests. agree on something takes constant communication and the ability
g g y
to compromise; however, the end results far outweigh the
The Ministry of Agriculture in Belize provided the basic design for the Completed seedling house being inspected Inside the house with the completed Completed house with all participating UA
obstacles and complications.
seedling house. It was our job to identify cost effective materials to by ANRI staff seedling tables students and ANRI 3rd form class
build the structure and to create seedling boxes that optimized
production of seedlings in the structure. Sustainability
• Social Systems: Acknowledgements
• involves the social behaviors, interactions, and dynamics in relationship to environmental sustainability. • Dr. Jennie Popp advised the project.
• Most Dangriga farmers purchase seedlings from the government run Central Farm. Seedlings are costly, varieties are limited and sometimes • Mr Derick Clare, the principal of ANRI requested the seedling
Mr. Clare
unavailable when needed. house and worked diligently with the UA to see the project through.
• The seedling structure at ANRI directly serves students and faculty and also has the potential to benefit the surrounding community as well if • Mrs. Francelia Linarez, the Vice Principal helped the UA students
ANRI chose to have a seedling market. with any issue they had and was incredibly helpful throughout the
• The seedling structure is an appropriate, reliable space for sustainable agriculture learning to occur. Having such an experience in school could entire project.
The Proposed Seedling House from the Ministry of Agriculture help young graduates of ANRI better manage their own farms, thus leading to better production, and possible social mobility. • Jeff Lieberman and Hannah Huntley, the University of Arkansas’
• There is a community investment across the board, which leads us to believe that the seedling structure will continue to be useful to ANRI and Peacework Village Initiative representatives, arranged for the
empower the local community for many years to come. communication between ANRI and the agriculture team.
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2. INTEGRATED PASTURED POULTRY INFRASTRUCTURE
Carolina K. Proudfoot
Capstone For Minor Sustainability,
Department of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences
I
Sustainable Agriculture Design and Building Sustainable Agriculture
Integrated sustainable agriculture needs experimentation Sustainable agriculture will be the way of the future. Worldwide
stations. Infrastructure must be developed and implemented to Design is exceedingly important to the development of sustainable infrastructure. The first rule of sustainable farming is you populations continue to increase currently we are able to feed
execute this much-needed research. The integrated pasture must sustain the farmer this primarily means all infrastructure must be designed in a manner to allow the farmer to perform everyone on the planet however, in the future the green revolution
poultry infrastructure project created the infrastructure needed to maintenance and managerial tasks as easily as possible. will not be enough. Best management practices must be developed
execute a pasture poultry system within an orchard. The to improve degraded soils, so that they can once again be
infrastructure and management system that were created will
The brooder house was designed to have easy access side doors for changing fears and waters. The brooder house can house productive agricultural land to feed the world’s growing
allow for the long-term study of soil quality and fertility, as well
100 chicks for approximately 2 weeks. This house also doubles a breeding house that can hold 15 adult chickens. This house population. As the US civilization moves into the future we must
as the ability to determine whether or not this integrated system
was constructed on an old 6’ x 8’ trailer. find ways to do more with less agriculturally. The other major
can cut down on the carbon inputs needed in traditional orchard
problem facing conventional agriculture today is peak oil, as oil
management.
The finishing house was designed without a floor so that all the manure will be directly deposited on the ground. This reduces prices increase so does the cost of most conventional agricultural
the amount of litter needed as well as reducing the amount of time it takes to clean out the house. Once the chickens have production methods. Systems as well as agricultural methods must
fouled the inside of the house the house can simply be moved to a new clean location. The light weight design enables one evolve so that current agricultural production levels can be
person to do this, the finishing households approximately, 50 chickens for six weeks and measures 4 x 10’ at the base. maintained using fewer fossil fuel inputs. This project is an attempt
to create the infrastructure needed to study an alternative
The laying hen house must be portable to avoid erosion issues and have easy access clean out doors to encourage good agricultural management practice that could prove to be highly
management and sanitary living conditions for the chickens. Another requirement for the henhouse is that it is on wheels so, it sustainable increasing soil quality and fertility as well as
can be easily moved by three people. Laying boxes are located on the outside of the house for easy egg collection. This laying decreasing carbon inputs needed in fruit orchard production.
henhouse was designed to house 75 laying hens and measures 6’ x 24’ it comes apart into two 6 x 12’ sections to make moving Without this meaningful research we will not be able to develop
it through the orchard trees easier. agriculture in a manner to sustain future population increases.
movable brooder house on pasture
Freedom Ranger check 3 day old
Materials
There are three types of chicken houses needed to conduct
this study a brooder house, for starting all baby chickens or
chicks. Once the birds are old enough to go out to pasture their
housing is determined by the purpose of the bird. Laying hens full-grown broilers broiler finishing house
and broilers have different housing requirements. The laying
hens will then go into a movable henhouse equipped with roost
and laying boxes. The broilers will go into a finishing house this Future Plans
house has no floor so that the broilers manure is deposited
Future system upgrades will consist of:
directly onto the ground.
solar powered fence charger Installation of caster wheels to frame of henhouse completed henhouse • rainwater collection system on henhouse and on brooder house
• solar panels for laying hens
Recycled materials were used on 75 to 80% of all of the
construction on the houses. The building materials were
Management Plan The future soils research will be conducted over a two-year period.
reclaimed from conventional poultry houses that no longer met The management plan for the broilers consisted of two weeks in the brooder house. At two weeks of age the broilers moved into the The first soil samples were taken from the orchard before the
industry standards. These recycled materials made the finishing house. Finishing house should be moved every morning and every evening. The fence should be moved every 2 to 3 days chickens were put into the orchard. This initial sampling will allow
infrastructure more affordable. depending on the amount of manure the broilers are producing. The broilers had 23 hours of light a day as well as 24-hour access to water for a baseline to compare with future soil tests.
and an antibiotic hormone free conventional feed with a 28% protein content and compost.. The broilers butchered and eight weeks at the
Electric fencing is easily moved around the pasture as well as D.A.R.P. processing facility in Tahlequah Oklahoma. The broilers produced a 3 ½ to 4 pound carcass.
Comparisons will also be drawn from the inputs to the orchard
being the best defense against predators. The electric fence before and after chickens. These inputs consist of fertilizers,
charger is powered using solar panels. Solar panels will also Laying hens were allotted a 40’ x 40’ square around their chicken house. Laying hens should the let out at dawn encouraging them to forage
insecticides and overall fuel cost for application. Production
eventually be installed to maintain the 15 hour light for insects while they are still in the top of the soil profile. Feed should be provided around 10 o’clock in the morning. Laying hens have
numbers will also be collected to determine whether or not the
requirements for laying hens to achieve maximum production. specific nutritional requirements so a layer feed should be used with at least an 18% protein content. The house should be cleaned out
weekly and moved biweekly along with the fence. Moving the chicken house and the yard will prevent the chickens from scratching the orchard became more productive before or after the chickens were
Unfortunately solar lighting is not an option for broilers at this added to the orchard.
time the wattage requirements for heat lamps is cost prohibitive ground bear leading to potential erosion.
to use solar panels to generate enough power required for the Soil changes slowly over time this is why it is so important to
heat lamps which are needed for the first several weeks of Managing both broilers and laying hens have two separate benefits to the orchard. Broiler manure is higher and nitrogen, however laying
hens are more active potentially making them better at weed and bug control. Using both types of poultry could potentially lead to the begin the studies now so that new methods can be developed that
growth.
diminishment of chemical fertilizers and pesticides needed in traditional orchard management as well as increasing soil quality and fertility. will increase soil quality and fertility for future generations.

3. University of Arkansas Vehicle Research Project
Clark Rogers
Capstone for Minor in Sustainability
Department of Agriculture, Food and Life Science
Parking on Campus The Outcome Sustainability
• I have gathered information from the UofA parking and
transit facility of all vehicles registered on campus from Fayettev
Student
ille Campus
Car Type
Car
Data
Vech Count
Ye a r
2009-2010
6,659
2010-2011
7,484
2011-2012
7,875
Gra nd Tota l
22,018
• Social Systems
Year % 36.8% 38.4% 39.3% 38.2%
SUV Vech Count 3,615 4,232 4,299 12,146
the past 3 years. No Vech Type
Year %
Vech Count
Year %
20.0%
2,023
11.2%
21.7%
1,751
9.0%
21.4%
2,167
10.8%
21.1%
5,941
10.3% • People tend to buy vehicles based on looks
Student Vehicle Truck Vech Count 1,615 2,149 1,825 5,589
+16.7% Motorcycle
Year %
Vech Count
Year %
8.9%
7
0.0%
11.0%
7
0.0%
9.1%
17
0.1%
9.7%
31
0.1%
or the size that best fits them.
• You will see that the student enrollment is continuously Scooter Vech Count
Year %
3
0.0%
9
0.0%
4
0.0%
16
0.0%
• Students and Faculty will now have
Stude nt Ve ch Count 13,922 15,632 16,187 45,741
Stude nt Ye a r % 76.9% 80.3% 80.7% 79.4%
growing each year. Which means more traffic and more Faculty Car Vech Count
Year %
1,833
10.1%
1,568
8.1%
1,628
8.1%
5,029
8.7%
different opinions of vehicles driven on
SUV Vech Count 1,008 926 1,024 2,958
vehicles on campus.
Year % 5.6% 4.8% 5.1% 5.1%
No Vech Type Vech Count 807 745 649 2,201
Faculty Vehicle Year % 4.5% 3.8% 3.2% 3.8%
- 7.7%
Truck
Motorcycle
Vech Count
Year %
Vech Count
536
3.0%
1
602
3.1%
559
2.8%
6
1,697
2.9%
7
campus.
Year % 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
•
Scooter Vech Count 2 2
It is important to recognize that if enrollment continues to Faculty Vech Count
Faculty Year %
Year % 0.0%
4,187
23.1%
0.0%
3,841
19.7%
0.0%
3,866
19.3%
0.0%
11,894
20.6% • Students and Faculty will think of taking
Tota l Ve ch Count 18,109 19,473 20,053 57,635
grow then we will not have enough space for students to Tota l Ye a r %
10, 000
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
different types of transportation.
9, 000
park on campus. 8, 000
7, 000
• People when purchasing a new vehicle will
6, 000
5, 000
4, 000
3, 000
2, 000
• The graph below indicates that the student population
1, 000
0 now hopefully choose one with great fuel
No Vech Type
No Vech Type
No Vech Type
SUV
SUV
SUV
Car
Car
Car
Truck
Truck
Truck
and the student vehicle count is steadily increasing each 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012
efficiency.
F acility Student
year. • Vehicle count on campus is likely to
decrease due to the student enrollment
25,000
population.
7 of Every 10 Students have a vehicle
Registered on campus •It is obvious that over the past 3 years the majority of students and faculty drive a car compared
20,000
to a SUV or Truck. • Restrictions on parking will be heavily
enforced since enrollment is increasing.
•SUV’s however are the second largest vehicle driven on campus by students and faculty.
15,000
•We are unaware of 5% of the vehicle models registered on campus.
•I believe that the number of motorcycles and scooters is extremely low due to students and
10,000
faculty listing them by their make (ex. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki). What this means is that we
Reflections
are unable to identify whether or not it is a motorcycle or scooter. By all means I believe we have
5,000
a lot more motorcycles and scooters compared to what the graph shows.
•The student vehicle count has increased 16.7% in 3 years. However, the faculty vehicle count
0
Student Enrolement
2009-2010
19,845
2010-2011
21,405
2011-2012
23,199 has decreased by 7.7% in 3 years. • I have realized not everyone is fortunate
Student Vech Count 13,922 15,632 16,187
enough to pick any vehicle out they desire.
Many students are handed down vehicles from
brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents.
Outlook
The Methodology • Sustainability is a bold word. You do not
become sustainable over one night. It takes
Top 10 most common makes of vehicles on time and development to becoming a
• Received an excel spreadsheet from the parking and sustainable community or person.
Campus
transit facility of vehicles registered on campus from the 3000
past 3 years. 2500
2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012
• By purchasing a vehicle with great fuel
• Categorized each vehicle as either a Car, SUV, Truck or 2000
efficiency you will save money and
no vehicle type for both students and faculty. 1500 reduce your carbon footprint.
• I have honestly enjoyed working on this
1000
• Started building charts in excel and comparing numbers 500
of Cars, SUVs, Trucks and no vehicle types registered on 0
project and have gained more skills to
Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty Student Faculty
campus. Chevrolet Ford Honda Toyota Nissan Jeep Dodge Hyundai General Motors Mazda living my life sustainably.
• Began analyzing the numbers and realized how can the • Within the last 2 years I have purchased a
UofA reduce the amount of traffic on campus if the •No matter the vehicle make, cars overall are the most fuel efficient.
bicycle and chosen to take the public
student vehicle count continues to rise each year. •Gas mileage for SUVs and Trucks vary depending on the make and model. transit to class more often.
• To become a more sustainable campus I believe the UofA •If gas prices continue to increase I am hoping to see more students and faculty driving cars.
in the future will have restrictions on who can park on • Biking or public transit is fun and you are
campus. •If campus were to have smaller parking spots it would allow more room for parking and also not worrying about finding a parking spot
decrease our amount of SUVs and Trucks. or awful traffic.

4. Thermal Performance and Environmental Impact of Sustainable Concrete
Kyle Rookstool
UA Sustainability Programs
DESIGN BUILT ENVIRONMENT
THE PROBLEM The structure is designed built as a large room SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable development involves maintaining our with 4 identical compartments. Each one of these
current rate of development while leaving suitable The Structure was
compartments hold a Green Concrete slab each This investigation and its product has significant
resources for later generations to continue developing. made out of
with a different percentage of fly-ash in ratio with relevance to sustainability. The information,
The production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is a Structurally-Insulated-
Ordinary Portland Concrete aggregate. design, and lessons learned will be disseminated
resource- and energy-intensive process consuming Panels (SIPS) which
approximately 1.5 ton of raw materials and Panel 1: 0%FA- made design and to a broad ranging audience.
producing approximately 1 ton of carbon dioxide 100%OPC building more efficient. The experimental building itself as an interface
(CO2) for each ton of OPC produced. After erecting, the with the public will stand as a demonstration and
Panel 2: 25%FA- are interchangeable for any future experiments.
sample concrete example for the appreciation of fly ash as a waste
1 2 3 4
75%OPC Temporary appendages were built until further
panels are put into by-product.
building couldpanels
place. These be done. From there the final
Panel 3: 50%FA- construction sequence began. • The building is designed and built in a cost
50%OPC 1. Weather barriers were applied; house-wrap and effective, sustainable, and appealing way in
1 2 3 4 tar paper. emphasizing the sustainable built environment
Panel 4: 75%FA- 2. Roof profile was thickened and pitched. • The data gathered will demonstrate the
25%OPC 3. Gutter was installed recessed as to not be seen. reduced impact on the natural systems.
Fly-Ash Landfill
www.ombwatch.org 4. Cedar rain screen installed. • The results obtained from this research will
indicate the recommendation guidelines
Globally, the production of OPC accounts for The Compartments are designed to separate related to best practice of mix and application
The cedar rain screen
approximately between 5 to 7% of CO2 emissions each panel into its own thermal zone. Since the of green concrete for lesser environmental
performs multiple tasks.
into the atmosphere. entire inside will provide a control temperature
• Provides a ventilation impact and preserved structural integrity.
There are three main reasons to use fly ash as a that will effect each compartment the same way,
cavity for evaporation
substitute ingredient in concrete: the only surface that will be influenced individually
• Provides a insulation
• First, the reduction of disposal into landfills of the will be the concrete panel. The main room will be
cavity.
coal combustion products such as fly ash. kept at a constant temperature using a window
• Second, it creates significant environmental benefits • Provides depth to an
AC unit. It is constructed with a door and two
• Third, it improves the quality of the finished product otherwise planar façade.
typical windows in order to imitate a typical http://cpcbenvis.nic.in
in terms of its properties. dwelling. http://ecosmartconcrete.com
• (2) Standard
The structure is outfitted with thermocouples. The Interior was wired with thermocouples, lighting,
fluorescent lights for
THE PROJECT Thermocouples are a wired pair of different and power. interior space.
metals that, due to the difference of resistance will
These thermocouples in • (2) Standard 120V
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the thermal outlets
each metal, the temperature can be calculated. a
be wired into
performance of green concrete based on benchmark • (1) Specialty AC outlet
developments related to this material. By measuring
multiplexer, this allows for
• (27) thermocouple THE FUTURE
many thermocouples to be runs
the thermal resistance of concrete panels with different
percentages of fly ash, gathering, and analyzing the run. The multiplexer is run • Powered by external This Project provides an environment to cater to
data, we will be able to determine the thermal efficiency to the data logger which Troy-Bilt 7000 watt similar future investigations. Now, any sample
of each panel and the contribution of this ingredient. gathers the information generator. panel may be placed in and data gathered. Future
With that data, specifications can be made to better produced from the investigations may include:
inform the use of fly-ash in concrete. The project is thermocouples and sends The thermocouples are wired an many different
points. Currently, there are 3 on the outside of each • Fiber-reinforced fly-ash concrete
comprised of 3 stages: it back to the computer.
Once the data is gathered panel, 3 on the inside of the chamber, and 3 on the • Aerated fly-ash Concrete
1. Retrofit an existing structure for testing the panels. • Insulated Panel with fly-ash concrete
in the computer it is main interior. However, the capability for running
2. Assemble and configure data-logging equipment for calculated and put into more thermocouples exists for the future. The information from these experiments can
structure. graphs that make it easier make headway in implementing fly-ash in
3. Develop the structure into a pleasing design, to read as well as concrete for the future. With the thermal data on
suitable for the public eye. organize. fly-ash concrete the restraints of structure vs.
Type T: Thermocouple
thermal can be refined. By narrowing those
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ Courtesy UC/CITRIS (copper–constantan) restraints we can eliminate waste. It takes being
informed about a product to make the most
This poster was prepared in partial fulfillment of SUST 4103 Sustainability Capstone accurate decision. By providing this information
we may increase the implementation and use of
fly-ash therefore resulting in less waste, less
pollution due OPC production, and a better
environment.