In the News: InvenTeam in the Saratogian

After our presentation for the Board of Education yesterday Saratogian writer Neil Kirby wrote an article about the Garden Consultant and our InvenTeam which was featured in todays paper. Check it out online here or read the article below.

Students lead the way on plants
Problem-solving group suggests new methods for better gardening
By NEIL KIRBY, The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Project Lead the Way students may have found a more efficient way to get plants in your garden to thrive through an invention they call the Garden Consultant, which will determine which plants or crops are best suited to a given environment.

Project Lead the Way, which allows students to take engineering courses for college credit while still in high school, resulted in the receipt of a $10,000 invention grant from Lemelson-MIT and the formation of an InvenTeam in Saratoga Springs High School. InvenTeam students presented the results of the invention grant to the Board of Education on Thursday.

Students and teachers involved with the InvenTeam were asked to identify a problem that they would then research and try to solve by the development and testing of a prototype.

Technology teacher Michael Gallagher, who served as coordinator and mentor of the InvenTeam, noticed last year that while some types of plants seemed to thrive in his garden, others would unexpectedly die. This observation led to the idea of a Garden Consultant Web site, where gardeners could plug in information on their location and receive back a list of plants that should thrive in the given soil and rainfall conditions.

“Ours was the first of its kind,” InvenTeam member Julianna Wakeman said.

“It’s environmentally friendly,” said Elliott Poppel, InvenTeam member and project coordinator. “Instead of changing the environment to suit the plants, you’re changing the plants to suit the environment.”

Poppel noted that the Garden Consultant should result in reduced use of chemical fertilizers.
In previous years, students taking Engineering Design and Development, the capstone course of Project Lead the Way, were expected to develop individual projects. This year, as part of the InvenTeam, they were asked to collaborate.

“The course involves using what you’ve learned and developing something original,” InvenTeam member Jeffrey Pawlick said.

The InvenTeam is gearing up to present its findings to the MIT grantors in June. The Garden Consultant should be available to the public within the next two weeks, when the finishing touching can be put on the Web site. For more information, visit the InvenTeam’s blog at http://www.saratogainventeam.blogspot.com/.

Saratoga Springs was one of only 25 school to begin the formation of Project Lead the Way in 2000.

“We plan on doing unique projects for weeks and years to come,” Poppel said.