Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Integrated Waste and Water Management Project (IWWMP) – Batangas, Philippines
EPA Grant Number: SU833938Title: Integrated Waste and Water Management Project (IWWMP) – Batangas, Philippines
Investigators: Letargo, M. Cherith , Rushing, Jimmi Fischer , Shmaefsky, Brian , Ford, Jason
Institution: Lone Star College-Kingwood
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2008 through August 14, 2009
Project Amount: $9,440
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2008) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
These students contributed to this project: Thomas Gabel, Geology major, Lone Star College – Kingwood, Ashley Henderson, Sign Language major, Lone Star College – Kingwood, Eloise Hilarides, Math major, Lone Star College – Kingwood, Rebecca McFeron, Education major, Lone Star College – Kingwood,Lesa Montague, History major, Lone Star College – Kingwood, Ryan Woods, Computer Design major, Lone Star College – Kingwood
Lone Star College-Kingwood students planned a sustainable integrated waste and water management project for a newly-built rural community in Batangas, Philippines. They are developing a methodology for implementing solid waste management and wastewater treatment to reduce water pollution and water-borne diseases. An additional component of the project is the development of a Second Life Philippines village, a 3-dimensional virtual environment that will be used as a teaching and training platform for faculty, non-governmental agencies, stakeholders, and students planning similar integrated waste and water management projects.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The focus of the project was using service learning to have students design and develop an integrated waste and water management program to complement the Gawad Kalinga-built communities in the Philippines. Students volunteered their time to research a Sustainable Green Cluster approach for municipal waste and water management by applying the best practices of regions equivalent in socioeconomic and technological development to the Gawad Kalinga (GK) communities in the Philippines. Proposed project outputs developed by the students included design specifications for:
On-site water recycling for production of:
- Grey water for agricultural and small commercial use
Biosolid production for agricultural use
Water roof recycling systems for rain collection
On-site waste reuse/recycling for the reduction of:
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Solid waste landfill space
Greenhouse gases due to waste burning
On-site waste reuse/recycling for the production of:
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Marketable items for reuse/recycling
Reusable materials for fertilizer/animal feed, “green buildings,” and road materials
New component of the project evolved using the Second Live virtual community website as a platform for designing the above-mentioned sustainability components into a virtual GK community.
Deliverable outcomes for the students designed into this grant project included:
- Education of students in the integration of environmentally sustainable strategies to an actual Philippines-based GK village.
- A college model for training future leaders on integrating sustainable methods will be incorporated into course curriculums.
- Students will learn continuity of efforts as group members and dynamics change from semester to semester
- The cost side of the model will be done by the students for use in a cost-benefit analysis to be designed by the stakeholders (e.g., HK FilAm Foundation and Gawad Kalinga)
- Results of the student designed model will be disseminated at the UNESCO sponsored Higher Education for Sustainable Development Conference.
The new component led to another student outcome in which students were educated on the use of Second Life as a virtual platform planning and designing sustainability projects that use real-time input from academic institutions, non-governmental agencies, and stakeholders.
The expected outcomes of this Phase 1 project were achieved:
- An innovative low cost model to build sustainable water and solid waste systems for a GK village in Batangas, Philippines was designed and accepted for implementation into other existing GK villages; and
- Students have an understanding of the issues involved in building sustainable communities throughout the world and will demonstrate this understanding through a final model presentation at the National Sustainable Design Expo.
Conclusions:
The overall project’s outcome was proposed to show that students, faculty, and project partners will greatly benefit from the collective experience of working together to generate an integrated model that will impact an actual community and move it from a pollution-state towards self sustainability and economical viability. At this stage of Phase I, the following deliverable outcomes of the students were achieved as consistent with the grant project timeline:
- Education of students in the integrationof environmentally sustainable strategies to an actual Philippines-based GK village.
Assessments of students projects by sustainability professionals from the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Texas A&M University at Kingsville Environmental Engineering department, University of Philippines School of Environmental Sciences and Management, and Gawad Kalinga concurred with the accuracy and applicability of the student research projects. Students designed rainwater catchment systems, graywater filtration systems, and a biodigester. Partners all agreed to the success of the teaching strategy of integrating service learning with geology to teach sustainability principles.
- A college model for training future leaders on integrating sustainable methods will be incorporated into course curriculums.
Texas A&M University at Kingsville Environmental Engineering department and University of Philippines School of Environmental Sciences and Management agreed with the teaching methodology of this project for incorporating sustainability principles into course curriculum. They commented the approach will work in a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in the sciences and other disciplines.
- Students will learn continuity of efforts as group members and dynamics change from semester to semester.
Students involved in this Phase 1 project demonstrated continuity of effort by using initial integrated waste and water management reports from another group of geology and biology students enrolled in the previous semester. The Phase 1 students refined the information and designed working models from the information in the reports. The models were also expanded to include an interactive virtual presentation using Second life. This Second Life component brought in new students teammates from graphics design and gaming courses.
The University of Philippines School of Environmental Sciences and Management, and Gawad Kalinga agreed to be continuing partners of further development and implementation of the project and were willing to collaborate by sharing personnel and resources.
- The cost side of the model will be done by the students for use in a cost-benefit analysis to be designed by the stakeholders (e.g., HK FilAm Foundation and Gawad Kalinga).
Sharing of the student projects with the Humble-Kingwood Fil Am Foundation (HK FilAm Foundation) and Gawad Kalinga provided initial cost-benefit information for the students to validate the cost-effectiveness of their designs for the stakeholders.
- Results of the student designed model will be disseminated at the UNESCO sponsored Higher Education for Sustainable Development Conference.
Faculty have not yet fulfilled this component of Phase 1 although there is enough data and information gathered to disseminate the project outcomes at the UNESCO sponsored Higher Education for Sustainable Development Conference or related conferences or symposia.
Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies:
The results of the Phases I study provided students with the feedback to go ahead with the following proposed Phase II implementation objectives and strategies:
Objectives:
- the integrated waste and water management model developed in Phase 1 to the Humble Kingwood GK village in Lipa City, Batangas.
- Disseminate and incorporate sustainability concepts in traditional and online classrooms by using the Second Life technology platform. Second Life will also be used as tool for governmental entities, non-governmental agencies, and stakeholders wishing to learn about sustainability principles.
Strategies:
- Implementation of the rainwater catchment model and graywater filtration system developed in Phase 1 to a Gawad Kalinga village Batangas. The recipient village has been identified and the stakeholders are willing to support the project.
- Continued monitoring of wastewater by University of the Philippines School of Environmental Sciences and Management as agreed upon by their administration and faculty.
- Dissemination of progress of project through Second Life. This will include field testing the Second Life as an educational tool on students and stakeholders for teaching sustainability principles.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Sustainable water management, water treatment, integrated water management, water quality, sustainable green cluster approach, water roof recycling, biosolid production, wastewater disposal, global sustainable development, pollution reduction, site-appropriate technologies, cost-benefit analysis, service learning, rural village, Philippines, Gawad Kalinga, Second Life, virtual modeling,Relevant Websites:
http://www.networkforgood.org
http://www.globaled.org
http://www.sustainable.org
http://www.servicelearning.org
http://www.learnandserve.org
http://secondlife.com
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.