During Term 4 we were challenged to make a product with only $30 and sell those products in the Christmas Market on Friday of week 6. We were also challenged to try and make a profit, we were then told that profit goes to the Salvation Army.
I was placed into a group with Barry Jelinek and Nithin Shivakumar. Together we went through many different processes of ideation. Our first idea was Christmas cards and door handles. We eventually decided to pitch our old idea but we didn’t get accepted and we didn’t get our investment of $30. Then we thought of our eventual idea our emoji keychains. We then got our idea approved and got our $30.
When we eventually bought all of our items that we needed to make our product we started the production process. Some of us cut out face the facial features and the others cut out the yellow emoji base. Then we stitched the faces together and then hot glued the facial features on. We even made a big one with our scraps! This was our stall just before the market:
We had to use the All Saints’ Values to help us in this project. We used problem solving, Resilience and Organisation.
We used Problem solving by Solving the challenges that arose during this whole project. Some of the problems that came up were: ideating after our first rejection for our investment and also making the emojis. This also comes into Resilience. We had to be resilient to push through the challenges that happened. We also had to be organised to get all of our products ready for the market and ready for different deadlines.
Overall the market was a fun experience and it was a cool thing to do. we didn’t sell all of our products but that is ok a we still made a profit I am very impressed with how my group and I did and it will always be a memory with me.
The aim of Project Utopia in 2022 was to help the Future of Fremantle organisation with redeveloping the Fremantle Port. We had to go through tons of stages to get to the final product. First we started with a small group and the whole area of the port in mind. We then had to make a vision board on what we might like to incorporate into the space. Once we presented the vision boards we then got into different groups and split the port into 8 sections. Using ideas that our whole class came up with we made our final product… The redeveloped Fremantle Port!
After we finished Project Utopia we were asked some questions to reflect on the project.
Comment on your group’s vision board- were you happy with how it all came together in the end?
I was happy with how my group’s vision board ended up. I believe though that we could have used our space more wisely, there were sections of space where it was just blank paper, maybe we should have added photos or had a short summary about different topics in this space.
How well did you handle any questions/comments from visitors?
I believe that I handled the questions from the visitors well. During the presentation my group wasn’t asked many questions, but we answered all of them well and with confidence. We were showing how much we knew about our topic and our Group’s section.
What were some interesting comments/advice received from visitors etc
The Zipline across the river is a very cool and innovative idea.
Make sure we take advantage of our space next to the river. It is PRIME real estate. (Great spot for houses and/or apartments.
How did you feel about how effectively you presented your parts at the Showcase?
I believe that not only myself but my whole group did extremely well presenting our piece. We were all confident (so be it a little nervous) but we gave it our best shot and we did extremely well.
Comment on how well your group collaborated…
During the planning weeks:
We collaborated at a 8/10. We were mainly collaborative in these stages but sometimes conflicts would arise with who is doing what and where we are placing different things. But we worked well together.
During the Showcase:
During the showcase we looked like we had been presenting this same presentation together for YEARS! We were all confident and took time to give each other feedback on their speeches and would help each other if help was needed.
What skills/capabilities do you think you excelled in/did well with:
My collaboration and my courage. Not only do I think I did well but I believe that I Improved these capabilities and skills. My collaboration hasn’t always been the greatest so this project definitely boosted my “knowingness” of how to collaborate well and also my confidence on not being afraid to put in my idea or try to combine ideas in the group setting. The same things apply to my courage having that boost to my courage definitely helped me a lot.
What do you think you would improve (any be the process/presentation etc)?
I believe next time I would try and get the model done earlier so that we could have focused on other things (i.e. more refined speeches or more time to “present” with our model by our side).
Any Challenges?
Starting the project out. To me this was the greatest challenge of the entire project. Finding that spark of motivation and that willingness to get in the “zone” with my classmates and think of things that could very well happen in real life was definitely tough. But once I was able to “find my groove” then it felt like everything clicked.
In conclusion, Project Utopia was a HUGE project spanning over the time of a whole semester but it was a great experience and to be able to contribute to a change that may be happening in the future was really cool! There were many challenges and tough times but I feel this project secretly helped me be more persistent and helped me find better quality solutions to problems. Overall I really enjoyed Project Utopia it will be one of the things that stands out in my Year 7 journey.
Describe three ways in which Humans have a negative impact on the water cycle.
A: Greenhouse effect: Is a phenomenon of Earth’s atmosphere trapping gases which in turn capture infrared radiation to keep our planet within a moderate temperature range.
B: Burning fossil-fuels: (Use of motor vehicles) The burning of fossil fuels affects the Earth’s temperature by increasing it. If it’s hotter the ice caps melt and impacts other parts of the water cycle.
C: Dams in Rivers for hydroelectricity: can affect the river upstream and downstream.
Mismanaged dams can cause droughts downstream leaving migrating fish not able to get through the dams.
D: Deforestation: Is the removal of trees. Trees release water vapor through transpiration that evaporates into the atmosphere and then becomes rain/sleet/snow. Deforestation can affect the weather in an area with less trees as less water is evaporated into the atmosphere. Also deforestation can make areas more prone to drought/ flooding.
E: Irrigation: Irrigation is the artificial watering of land that doesn’t get enough through rainfall. As the population increases we have more demands to make/ grow food and to do that we need water. Irrigation removes water from its natural source and produces run-off.
Describe what is meant with ‘Greywater recycling?
Grey water is used household water sourced from baths, showers, bathroom basins and laundries but not water from the toilet or from the kitchen (organic material residue).
Greywater reuse systems can be categorised in two groups: treated and untreated.
Untreated: Bucketing and grey water diversion.
Treated: Greywater treatment systems.
Greywater reuse is mostly at household level.
Important considerations at household level:
Can only be stored for 24 hours.
Untreated greywater can contain high levels of various chemicals that can affect plants or soils.
Treated greywater can be used for laundry and toilet flushing, and also irrigation of plants. Treated greywater can be used to irrigate both food and non food producing plants. The nutrients in the greywater (such as phosphorus and nitrogen) provide an excellent food source for these plants.
But a treated greywater in a plant requires extra preparation: additional pipes are required (to collet the greywater from the house and to bring it to the plant and another set of pipes to bring the treated water back to the house). It is important to carefully manage the health and environment risks of implementing this system.
New housing developments could include centralised greywater reuse options that collect the greywater from the individual houses, treat it at a centralised system and distribute it back for irrigation of gardens. Water service providers are to manage this system.
How would you use Greywater recycling in designing a more sustainable world/city in your Project Utopia?
A greywater reuse system could be included in the design of Project Utopia, but it depends of what it will include.
For example: if Project Utopia includes cafes and a garden, we could collect the water from the basins in the cafes/restaurants and use it to water the plants in the garden.
This has to be agreed and included in the planning before construction begins. The most important thing is that if a greywater reuse system is to be installed/implemented in Project Utopia, it has to be thought of and included in the first drafts of the whole project so construction and management of the system is clear from the beginning.
