Sustainable Design Project
written description of the project
my initial thoughts on the project was that we were mainly going to goof off and do small amounts of work, which is the main thing that happened, but after the all school meeting we had and the sheet of paper that said what we were agreeing to do I was able to a lot more work done than what I had originally expected. The different things I had learned on the field trips would be what different materials could be used for building whilst still being sustainable. Based on what I have learned in this project, sustainable design is a structure that is able to function normally with out much energy being used, and it is able to last a long time
Outdoor description
The interviews that I had done helped me with thinking of design flaws that I had found within the building process of the tree house, it had also help me with think of different ways to help the people at this campus. I had used my freedom to think of designs that we could go and paint onto the tree house and what color compositions would have worked well. The things that I had done during the project, although not that great, was still very important, I had dug more holes into the earth so that we could erect more posts so we could add more sections to the tree house, then I had buried the posts to make sure they wouldn't move freely, then I had helped with putting the ladder into position, after that I decided to support the tree house a bit more, then after that when we were cleaning up I put down a few stones and sticks to help with the path to the tree house.
Project Reflection
A habit of heart and mind that I grew, it would be my perseverance. During the building process of making the treehouse was the fact that there was a gigantic rock in the way of where one of the posts would have been placed. Instead of giving up on the hole and moving into a different location, Sam and I were digging around the rock. So we would have the ability to get underneath the rock. When we were finally able to obtain the rock we put the post into the ground, so we could build additions to the tree house and expand the area of it. This piece of evidence explains as to why perseverance was the trait that grew the most about me, if I had lacked my perseverance I probably would have tried to either move where we were digging or just work on something else, however, my perseverance was able to help us because it gave us a greater place to put down a support beam that was hard to remove. In conclusion, my ability to persevere had helped me with this project.
A 21st-century skill I need to improve upon would have to be my ability to communicate effectively. For instance, when I try to provide some of my ideas for a way to support the step ladder on the tree house, no one was really listening to me or to my ideas. A way I could have improved my ability to communicate would have been if I were to, speak louder and maybe find a way to peak the interests of the other people I was working with that way we could have had a more stable way of climbing unto the tree house.
A time when there was a problem within the project that I had solved. would be when Sam and I were digging the hole and we were starting to become exhausted. So I told him to take a break and I would keep breaking up the dirt so it would be easier to dig up. For the next 5 minutes I was stirring, and, crunching up all the dirt so it would become easier to dig up. That way Sam and I could put down more support beams for another tree house. In the end, we were able to dig a deep enough hole for the support to go into so it wouldn’t shake or come loose when we were working on it which means we would be able to add a new section onto the tree house so it would be able to hold more people and so it could provide more shade to the students that would be underneath the tree house.
A time when the project became tough was. Would have been when we were adding more supports to the treehouse because we had to cut planks of wood at an angle, so that they would fit into the correct area however, I was unable to find the correct angle at which to cut the wood, but fortunately for the group Sam was able to find the correct angles to cut the wood, which allowed us to be able to place a strong support for the flooring so it can support our body weight. Which would allow us to add more walls to the tree house.
When we first started this project, a success for this project in my own words back then, would just basically be "something that didn’t fall apart if left alone for a few days", but, now that we have gone through the project a success is something that would be "anything that will benefit the school and its students, and it will be able to stay together without being destroyed by the weather, whilst still being able to keep the environment from being destroyed too much".So altogether a success for this project would be something that deters others from destroying the area around it and , is able to provide a service to all the student and teachers in some way, for example, the tree house provides shade for students and it also gives people a clean area to eat lunch and, hang out.
If I were to give advice to a student that is about to begin this project, I would tell them, to first make a plan about what you are going to make, after that I would tell them to make sure you have your tools, and that you have all the materials you need in order to make what you had planned, and third of all, make sure you have plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated and to make sure that anyone you are working with also has water to drink, and the last thing I would tell them is to make sure you take breaks when you begin to feel tired so you don’t faint from exhaustion, or so they don’t overextend themselves whilst working. So altogether, I would be telling them to make sure that they have everything they need to begin working and I would also be telling them to be sure they remain a healthy balance of work and play.
