Blog #4:It All Counts

This week's blog, my assignment was to list a few factors I would assess to determine how "green" my college campus is. I attend a community college in Riverside. The school has recently built new buildings on campus. When I thought of factors at school, I immediately thought of the high tech and economically efficient bathrooms. Now, the bathrooms do not have towel dispensers to dry off your hands. They installed hand blowdryers and sensors to turn on and off the lights. Another factor on campus I come across, are all the disposable waste bins spread all around the campus. This convienence will make sure noone throws their trash on the ground. Also, the Quad building has plenty of area filled with grass, trees, and plants growing around. Another part of my assignment was to research some other colleges that have took the initiative to create a sustainable campus. I found The College of the Atlantic very interesting. They took gurastic measures to create a "green" campus. The students have been trying to make the school sustainable since it was open in 1969. In 2009, the schools added small wind turbines to the campuses organic farm. They also installed waterless compostinf toilets to their bathrooms. Because of a few changes, the school has become the first carbon neutral U.S. college. I found that pretty neat. In addition, this assignment also asks for cettain procedures to make our school "green" using the list I started with. I would try and advance all the bathrooms on campus. A way to see if the change will actually bring success would be to weigh the bags of garbage used for a week in both the electronically advanced bathrooms and the not so advanced bathrooms. I would only weigh the trash near the faucets. A way to get permission to do so I would talk to my Environmental Science teacher to get her outlook on my idea then talk to a school administrater. I would try and get more people involved by making the testings a fun learning experience. Gathering a group of friends and have people spread the word and be more informed can help us and maybe also help get some funds to actually make the change, because every step COUNTS!!!

Absorb Nature!!

On Wednesday of last week, I had an assignment in my Environmental Science class. We had to embrace nature and identify some abiotic and biotic things. So my adventure was to Promenade Park in Corona. I went at night with some friends. We sat on the baseball field for twenty minutes, but didn't see much happen. Right when we were ready to leave, I heard a squealing noise. I thought it was bats but it couldn't have been. We looked around and seen nothing. When we got in the car, as we turned, the lights shined on what seemed to be hundred of birds. These birds were on the ground and they had pink long legs and small round bodies with black and white feathers. These birds were biotic (alive). They looked like miniture flamingos but different colored feathers. It seemed odd to me to see so many birds on the floor so late at night. I tried searching to see what kind of bird it was but nothing popped up. The only bird that was similar was the stilt of Trabago. Some abiotic things i seen at the park were the gates that divided the baseball fields and the trash bins. Some other things I saw that were biotic are the grass, the trees and the birds. This is my nature experience. And I plan on going back to take a picture of all the birds.

About Marissa!

Hello, my name is Marissa Ibarra. I was born in San Pedro, California, right along the coast. I left the beach cities to riverside when I was around the age of 11-12. I am not sure what my major is as of now, but criminal justice is definitely an interest for me. My absolute dream career would be a Homicide Detective. I've grown up around many family members in law enforcement so it has definitely influenced me deeply. I am an artist as well. Drawing is something I feel I was born knowing to do. I am taking biology to finish my all my courses. I definitely am interested in nature and how we can help the Earth. I want to learn more of what I can do and will be doing to play my part on the planet!