progressive challenge
About progressiveism: To be progressive is to make change in a positive way. Progressiveism is important for really anything in this world. And in order for us to move forward, it's the people themselves who need to be willing to lead progress.
About the project: For this project, we were placed into groups with a problem that we were all passionate about. I selected the topic water pollution because water is such an important factor in our lives, and it's terrible that it's being polluted. I really wanted to bring awareness to how pollution is really affecting us. Spending time by the ocean is so special, I would hate to see it get to its worst.
About the process: We first began the project with research. There are 3 other students in my group, so we all individually found different articles that would give us our information.
empathize & Define |
The next step was to create a list of questions to interview people with. We interviewed an advocate, an expert, a victim, and an opposer. Kristin Kuhn from San Diego Coastkeeper was our advocate. I loved how she was so positive about having hope for change because she personally had seen it happen firsthand. Doug Campbell, who works for the San Diego city was our expert. We interviewed Brittany whose family owns a San Diego seafood restaurant as our victim. And lastly, our opposer was a cruise ship.
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After our research and interviews, we were assigned to create an 'immersion experience'. This experience was supposed to allow us to immerse ourselves in the problem, therefore giving ourselves a better understanding. My group decided we should all go to the beach to do a clean up to see ourselves how much trash is actually in the waters and sand. We also threw a bunch of water ingredients together, like soda mixed with oil and Cheetos to simulate what the fish have to experience while swimming in polluted waters.
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From this immersion experience, my group members and I all reflected on what happened. We made a video of this.
For the final part of our upcoming presentation, we created an interrelationship diagram. The statement that we concluded after making this diagram, was that "while many other factors contribute to water pollution, humans are the main cause."
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ideate
The "Ideate" stage was time for us to brainstorm possible solutions. We did this through a couple of ways:
We decided in the end, the best one was a mesh cover to be placed over storm drains. We found that one of the easier ways for trash to enter the ocean was through the sewer. And because there's no way to block plastic or cigarettes from entering, it's no wonder why our oceans our so polluted. To go along with the mesh cover, we wanted to put up signs near storm drains to bring awareness about the topic. We designed three different possible sign ideas, and came up with a demonstration of our mesh covers.
prototype
Once we came up with our final idea, we began work to figure out a prototype. We ordered mesh online and cut it to fit a bucket. We designed a couple different sign ideas with different slogan ideas.
About Progressive Day: Progressive Day was us going out into the community and showcasing our prototype to the world. My group went to Ocean Beach that day, hoping to catch the attention of other water lovers that would really care about the topic.
reflection
The hardest part of the project for me was getting the ball rolling with research. It was hard in the beginning to jump into this project and begin working. We first had to research more about our issue, which was a little bit annoying because it was hard to find the information we wanted. But my group and I did really well with sticking to it and digging deeper to find what we needed. Honestly, I think what I valued most about this project, was talking with people in the community. It was really great to see how those who did come and talk to us were legitimately interested and concerned. They enjoyed hearing our ideas, and actually wanted to help. I gained a lot from realizing people really do care, and are ready to help when the offer stands. Progressiveness was basically just a word before learning what it truly means to be "progressive". My understanding of it shifted when I realized how important it is to progressive in a the most positive way.
Overall, I think my group and I's prototype worked well. I actually had someone tell me at my school exhibition that they had seen a street that was beginning to put up some sort of block over the storm drain which was super cool to hear. There were definitely a few problems here and there, like the cost or the type of material, but I believe that it could at least be a step towards change, which is what we really need.
Overall, I think my group and I's prototype worked well. I actually had someone tell me at my school exhibition that they had seen a street that was beginning to put up some sort of block over the storm drain which was super cool to hear. There were definitely a few problems here and there, like the cost or the type of material, but I believe that it could at least be a step towards change, which is what we really need.