Data for moisture grids shows water savings

Marissa Nall News Editor

Testing continues for the moisture control grids installed in March as part of the Plant Sciences 827 class, showing initial results of water conservation and increased plant health.

Three plots of land were used to test new water-saving technologies, one as a control, one testing the grids and one testing a waterretaining polymer, according to Ilana Korchek, a horticulture major and the student team leader of the project. All three plots are connected to sensors that measure water levels and stop watering when the ground is saturated.

“Basically, we’re testing the water. It’s a water management test,” Korchek said. “The sprinklers are connected to the moisture sensor device that’s in the ground. If the sensor says that there’s enough water, it’s going to stop the sprinkler from over-watering.”

The grids, provided by Sources Unlimited, are placed six inches below the surface of the soil and trap water after irrigation. After the first month of testing on that plot, water savings from 20-40 percent have been measured, according to Ray Ambrosini, who collaborated on the creation of the product.

“We are finding—it’s amazing— there’s a significant difference,” Korchek said. “The plot of ground that has the moisture control grid is using less water than the other two plots and the grass is much greener,

Stacey Aravelo Roundup Reporter

A task force that hopes to bring more awareness to environmental sustainability at Pierce College was recently created, preparing to join forces with a district-wide program.

Denise Robb, an assistant professor of political science at Pierce, and Beth Abels, associate professor of architecture, created the committee about two months ago and wish to create an official program on campus.

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) began a $6-billion district-wide fuller, more developed.”

By retaining water at a level of six inches below the ground, the grids encourage roots of plants to grow deeper, which also contributes to plant health, said Ambrosini.

“The moisture grid pulls the water down, six inches below the ground and it allows the roots to extend that long, so the roots are well-developed,” Korchek said.

Adjunct Instructor of Agriculture

Len Markowitz, who teaches the class, said further testing needs to be taking numbers through the summer and even fall.”

While the initial results show promise, weather patterns could also affect the efficacy of the products being tested and more data will be collected to observe them throughout the year.

“You need about a year to watch the water and especially through the different seasons to see the reactions you’re getting with different weather conditions,” Markowitz said. “I’ve used water sensors on other projects but this is the first time that we’re evaluating a professional product.”

The use of plastic could also be a concern in the implementation of products such as the grids, if their use were more widespread, but Ambrosini asserts that they could actually reduce harmful pollutants used in landscaping.

“I mean, the worst thing that harms things are fertilizers, if used wrong. That runs off into the groundwater and into the ocean, so with something like a grid, you wouldn’t have to fertilize as much,” Ambrosini said. “A lot of times you’re fertilizing to help the potassium and phosphates, to help the roots.” driving everywhere and I’m seeing synthetic turfs and I’m thinking ‘oh man.’ In southern California, we want grass. We want natural, we want to breathe, we don’t want everything to be desert scape.”

Korchek, who will be continuing the project through the summer and fall, is encouraged by the results so far and by her experiences with the horticulture program.

“I think it has possibilities. I think it’s a definite option for people to put in their landscaping,” Korchek said. “I’m so impressed with the horticulture program. The teachers take a real, sincere interest in students and even other students are so helpful and friendly. And it’s encouraging that people are taking an interest in things like this and saving water.” circumstances such as Bhavini Bhakta who lost four separate teaching jobs at four separate schools over the course of eight years, according to a handout quoting unionwatch.org provided by Brown before the debate.

Markowitz plans to continue tests on water conservation with his turf grass management class in September, by researching which types of grass might use less water.

Pierce has recently experienced the firing of a Kathy Zanghi, account manager of The Foundation, Pierce’s nonprofit organization. The charity is a separate function from the college so tax money such as what SB 1017 would generate could not be used toward situations like Zanghi’s.

More taxes are not the best solution, Brown argued. She spoke of classrooms where costs could be lower by having one good teacher with a larger class instead of three mediocre teachers with smaller 12 person classes.

“You pay more to go here than I paid to go to Cal State LA 10 years ago,” McKeever said. “Obama kept the interest rates on student loans down, which is good, but with these lower interest rates all these universities started thinking they could charge higher tuition. They’ve pointed out the next great financial crisis is going to be about student loans when the average student is going to start taking out nearly $100,000 in loans. be done before final conclusions can be drawn.

Current students could become the generation waiting to buy a house, both speakers agreed, but with a potential major that makes it difficult to compete in the future job market and large amounts of student debt, the wait may be longer than it was for previous generations.

A date has not been set on the vote for SB 1017 and students are encouraged to call or write to their state senator with their thoughts.

“We really want people to get the word out and call their senators. Let them know how they feel,” said John Del Valle, 23, a math major and invtern with the AFT who comoderated the debate.

“The center plot with the grids is showing a reduced amount of water but I don’t think we’ve done enough studies to warrant that as a success yet,” Markowitz said. “Ilana will sustainability program in 2002, in order to “modernize its colleges… taking steps to reduce the colleges’ carbon footprint,” according to their website.

Other schools in the district including Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC), have established local “Go Green” committees to raise awareness on campus like the “Go Green LAVC Sustainability,” according to its webpage.

Through the Sustainable Building Program created by the LACCD, Pierce College was distributed $648 million, according to the Sustainable Building Program facts sheet from 2010. 64 percent of the funds given

The grids are also made of recyclable PVC materials and have no exposure to the sun, decreasing the chances that they could harm ecosystems where they are used in planting.

“It’s safe for the environment. It’s not going to break down,” Ambrosini said. “I don’t want to turn the world into plastic. I’m to Pierce have been spent in construction of buildings including the new Maintenance & Operations Facility and the new Library/ Learning Crossroads Building, according to the Building Program Monthly Progress Report from March 2014.

Even though larger projects like the construction of the buildings and the integration of solar panels and energy efficient features help “greenify” the school, both Robb and Abels want to help increase awareness and do more.

“We’re going to be facing extreme climate change, all the science points that out,” Abels said. “A new study was shown saying

“I’d just like to thank the students for being involved and the moisture grid company for allowing us to run these tests, and thank the students for looking at the future of our industry,” Markowitz said. “Because that’s where these tests are leading us—more water conservations, better plant choices, better water usage for our root systems. This is the way our industry is going so this is the first of hopefully many tests that we’ll be running in the future to reduce our water use but still maintain our beautiful landscape throughout the campus and the community.” that they are expecting a 4-feet sea level rise within the next twenty years, that’s all of Miami, Fl.”

Robb said that she supports campus awareness and wants to make it “more sustainable.”

“I witnessed with my own eyes that we are not recycling in our offices,” Robb said. “Our blue bins... get thrown into the regular trash and it all gets mixed in.”

Pierce College has several blue recycling bins spread all over campus. They can be found inside the library, classrooms, and offices.

Two solar-powered trash compactors by BigBelly Solar have also been placed in front of The Freudian Sip. These solar compactors “can reduce trash collections by up to 80 percent,” and also reduce “greenhouse gas

A new chapter president for the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild has been confirmed.

Fernando Oleas, Chair of the Modern Language Department, was elected the new president in a race that came down to a 129 and 90 vote against candidate Joseph Perret, Computer Applications and Office Technologies instructor.

“I was very pleased with the outcome,” Perret said. “I want to

– by Genna Gold congratulate Fernando on his win.” Perret echoed the sentiments on his Facebook. emissions,” according to the Waste Management’s website.

“Congratulations to Fernando. Thanks to all who supported me. It was close 39 votes, so I think my message of Peace-Participationand Progress resonated with the faculty. Let’s work together to make some of these changes happen.” Oleas was unable to be reached for comment at time of print.

Babak Tabar, a 29-year-old graphic design major at Pierce, said he uses the recycling bins at school about 40 percent of the time when he’s throwing away plastic containers or cups.

“Recycling is important but some people don’t care,” Tabar said. “It depends on their mood, like me if I’m angry then I most likely won’t care.”

Larry Kraus, associate vice president of administrative services at Pierce, had no comment on Pierce’s current recycling program that he said is handled by the Plant Facilities Department, but said his office recycles ink cartridges.

“Faculty and staff members are encouraged to bring their ink cartridges once they want to buy new ones,” Kraus said. “We take old cartridges and ship them off to a recycling company.”

CopyTech also recycles paper and uses blue recycling bins in its office, according to Rogelio Padilla, a clerical trainee at Los Angeles Pierce College Copytech.

Both Abels and Robb encouraged students to join the sustainability task force on campus. Abels said that she believes students should be trained and better educated in order to be better prepared for the future.

“There’s a tremendous amount of things for students to do to get involved,” Abels said. “No matter how much students believe in it or not, its like gravity: you don’t see it and you don’t have to believe in it but it’s still there.”