The roadkill gang.Turning roadkill road·kill n. 1. An animal or animals killed by being struck by a motor vehicle. 2. Slang One that has failed or been defeated and is no longer worthy of consideration: into compost? Now there's a concept. Students Sarah Friedberg, Emily Rosch, Carrie Schedler and Kathryn Scurci, of Bexley Middle School in Ohio, scored $36,000 in U.S. savings bonds Savings bond A government bond issued in face value denominations from $50 to $10,000, with local and state tax-free interest and semiannually adjusted interest rates. savings bond A nonmarketable security issued by the U.S. for their idea to compost roadkill into fertilizer, an environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] alternative to the typical practice of burying or burning animal carcasses. The girls placed first in the Christopher Columbus Awards competition, which challenges kids to use science and technology to effect positive change in their communities. "When buried," says Emily, "an animal's body decomposes at a very slow rate--it can take up to 30 years." However, the girls' research proved that, in sawdust sawdust used as litter for chickens and bedding for horses. Sawdust made from treated timber may cause pentachlorophenol and other wood preservative poisoning. Fungi growing in sawdust litter in poultry houses may cause poisoning in the birds. , a 1,600-pound cow can decompose de·com·pose v. de·com·posed, de·com·pos·ing, de·com·pos·es v.tr. 1. To separate into components or basic elements. 2. To cause to rot. v.intr. 1. in just 200 days; a chicken's body, in only 13 days. "The remaining sawdust is full of nutrients and makes a great fertilizer for farmers," Carrie adds. And as Sarah explains, "We worked for hundreds of hours." To find out more about the awards, visit christophercolumbusawards.com. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion