Final Project Reflection – Sarah Kate Brewer

For my final project, I went to Clarke Central High School to do a joined study about antibiotic resistance with a class of AP Environmental Science students. Before we went to Clarke Central, we first had to run our own experiments back in the UGA lab. Our class was split up into teams of 2 to 3 people, and each team collected a soil sample from either somewhere in Athens or somewhere in the state of Georgia. What we aimed to do was test the antibiotic resistance of different soil samples from around the state and upload our results to a national database: the PARE site (Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment). Once we collected the soil samples, we took our teams to the lab. We diluted our soil samples and plated them on petri dishes with varying levels of antibiotics. After letting our dishes sit for a period of time, we counted how many bacteria colonies had formed from the soil on each petri dish. What we expected to find was that there would be less bacteria colonies on the plate with Tet30, the strongest antibiotic, than there would be on the plates with Tet3 and no antibiotic.

Once we had our incubated petri dishes, we were told to count colonies of plates that had between 30 to 300 colonies. Once we had chosen the best plates for counting, we would multiply our number of colonies by the dilution factor. The purpose of multiplying by the dilution factor is to account for the fact that we had varying levels of dilutions for our soil samples. Once we had the results of our teams’ soil samples and a couple samples from the AP Environmental Science students, we were ready to take this same experiment to Clarke Central. This research is similar to research I hope to do in the future because I am in the College of Education at UGA, and I hope to integrate my research with neighboring schools in order to understand what it is like to conduct a classroom experiment. While I am on track to be a speech pathologist, I still look forward to partnering with professors in the COE for future research projects.

I think that this first lesson we did in the classroom (Water, Antibiotics, and Evolution) will ultimately be the chapters I best understand from this semester. This is because I like to participate in lessons as opposed to listening to lectures (though I still find lectures necessary). We not only had the opportunity to be in the lab to learn about how antibiotic resistance is affecting our environment, but we also had the opportunity to take a field trip to teach other students about this same subject material. This is how I best gained information about antibiotic resistance. The lectures in class, quizzes online, and lab work combined with the field trip really helped me get a good understanding of the material. Preparing to help the high school students was a helpful experience because we wanted to make sure that our class time with them was not only informative, but fun as well.

In my opinion, our team of college students who traveled to Clarke Central did a great job incorporating the three characteristics to informative delivery. Our class time with them was intellectually stimulating not because of anything we could control, but simply because the students had the opportunity to see how the soil in their own environment tested in a university lab. Antibiotic resistance is an important issue and has been a topic of conversation and debate recently, so I believe that this also contributed to our project being not only intellectually stimulating, but relevant to the audience as well. I also believe our project was creative because when I was in high school, I never got the opportunity to work alongside college students in any of my science lab classes. This opportunity was such a fun way to talk about biology while also talking to prospective college students about what college is like. I found a lot of my conversation were geared towards explaining what it was like to actually be in the university lab. It was also a nice way to answer any questions and calm any fears or anxieties that these high school students had about going off to college someday.

I discovered a couple of things throughout this project. First, I realized that I am capable of connection. I was worried that I was not going to be able to “get through” to the high school students during our presentation due to the fear of being too awkward and unapproachable. However, after our time with them I realized that these were just lies I was telling myself. This project helped me cast out those lies and replace them with the truth that I have the ability to relate to others through a teaching environment. This helped me affirm my confidence in what I am studying at UGA. Secondly, I discovered why technology rules are so important. While I believe our time at Clarke Central was fruitful, I believe that if the students were prohibited from using their cell phones, we could have had a better interaction with them. I realized this by simply changing my perspective in the classroom from student to teacher, and I believe this experience was very telling.

We did not have much time to analyze our audience before we began our presentation, but before we began, we did get to observe them doing a “warm-up” AP test question. It was during this time that I was able to gauge just how intelligent these students were. They knew a lot more than I did about environmental science, so I was able to apply this knowledge to our lesson. I knew immediately that we could not limit these students’ capabilities simply because of their age. This proved to aid our presentation because while we were helping the students learn, they were also teaching us in turn. I will use this information in the future when I give presentations. Though it can be difficult, I believe it is important not to make assumptions about your audience preemptively. I look forward to giving interactive presentations where I not only give information, but I take questions and suggestions from my audience as well.

For this project, I would have prepared even more for our presentation by planning out a detailed schedule of what we would be doing beforehand. This is because I am a forgetful person who thrives in an organized environment, as I have to reference my own detailed schedules daily.

This project helped me better understand the material because I found it to be more hands-on than other things I had done in science classes before. I also find that the best way to learn subject material is by teaching it. This was a studying method for me in high school, and it was nice to see how this same strategy was effective in college as well. In the future, I hope to use this strategy to help me study. I want to find outlets for me to be able to teach as a form of studying. Also, I will take what I learned about myself during this project experience and apply it to my future in many areas of my life. Knowing that I am capable of what I set my mind to and having confidence in my strengths is a quality that can be applied to not only my student life, but my relational life as well. I believe that I came across in the beginning as somewhat shy. However, as the presentation went on, I think I grew more confident. I hope that in the future I would affirm my confidence before presenting and know that there is nothing I need to be anxious about. Through this project experience, I learned what it looks like to recognize self-deprecating lies and replace them with truths about myself and my capabilities.

I believe this project experience was very effective for me. I really enjoyed learning about antibiotic resistance in a way that was easy to understand. In retrospect, I’m very thankful for this experience because it helped me understand our second chapters about soil and compost better. I believe sustainability is extremely important, so I’m glad I was able to learn more about how soil is a central idea to attaining a healthy environment.

Saving the World (Group 7) COMMENT AND GIVE US FEEDBACK @Group1 :)

Michael, Sarah Kate, Kunho, Sahir

Is Composting the Solution for Climate Change?

Maximizes ability for plants to covert carbon dioxide into usable carbon in the plant and soil
- Helps climate that is being thrown off from burning fossil fuels
Composting improves soil quality/structure
- This helps the soil retain more water and avoid erosion and stormwater runoff
- Soil becomes a filter/sponge that immobilizes and degrades
Increases soil fertility
- Increases microbial activity – better crops
Reduces need for chemicals
- Reduction of harmful pesticides, some of which impact the ozone
- Less pressure placed on improving fertilizers
Creates jobs and stimulates the economy
- Manufacturing compost requires labor
- Can buy/sell compost
Composting gives purpose to food waste
- Instead of food scraps rotting in land fills and producing methane (which contributes to global warming), when composted, the nutrients in food scraps can be put back into the environment
Reduces amount of trash in land fills

Infographic – Sarah Kate Brewer

CompostInfographic02

I chose this infographic because I think it is extremely educational in an eye-catching way! This infographic is designed in a creative way because it points out specific details about how compost is beneficial to the soil and watersheds by placing the facts in the different layers of soil. It is intellectually stimulating in the same way because as the audience reads each advantage to composting, they can see where the benefit might help specifically in the soil. For example, in the deeper layer of soil, the infographic tells us that composting can increase microbial activity. This would not happen at the surface of the soil, so the designer chose to place this fact where it was relevant – within the soil. This infographic is also relevant to the audience because not only are they learning what the benefits to composting are, they are learning more specifically where these chemical and physical changes are happening. The audience can know what to look for in their own garden with the information in this infographic!

My initial reaction to this infographic was that I was surprised. I like how this infographic ties together what we have been learning about all semester. We first began the semester by exploring the watersheds in Athens. Now that our next unit is about soil and composting, it is really fascinating to see how the two areas of biology go hand in hand! This was something I had not considered before. Though we have had many discussions in class about the two processes (watershed systems and composting systems), I kept them in separate categories in my head. I think the creator of this infographic was hoping to put the necessity for composting into perspective for his/her audience. Not only does composting increase the quality of the soil, but this effect can lead to sustainability with other aspects of the Earth, too! Because the soil is rich, it can hold more water and reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes our environments.

This infographic was made from the information provided by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance organization. As a class, it is important to use information that we not only find relevant, but accurate. We should be looking at credible materials that we can trust. For the infographics we make for UGA students, I believe we should look specifically at research that has been done about composting in Georgia specifically or in areas with a similar climate and quality of soil. Furthermore, I think this infographic leaves out one key aspect that we should include in our class infographics that we create. This infographic does not include a guide on how to get started with composting. It also does not give any information on the best way to compost or where to find this information should you want to start composting in your garden. I believe educating students about how to compost safely and effectively should be one of our main focuses when creating infographics. I look forward to what we will make together as a class! – Sarah Kate

A Sweet Visit to the UGArgen

I see many things in this photo of the UGArden. At the most basic level, I see rows of different plants. I see a building behind them that appears to be a green house. I see a windy road to the left that trails off out of site. And I see a cloudy but bright sky. What isn’t captured in this photo is how this day felt. One could simply look up what the weather was like Thursday, February 15th in Athens, but even that could not capture what it was like to be a witness to something much bigger than myself. Perhaps the most important thing that I feel when I look at this picture is life. Life is found in so many aspects of the UGArden. There is life in the many different plants grown. There is (tiny) life in the bacteria that help break down materials and compost soil. There is life in the bugs and animals that surround the area. And there is life in the professor who directs it all. Unfortunately, this picture does not capture just how passionate Professor Berle is for this little pocket of life just off of exit 6. You could tell just by the way he spoke so proudly of the UGArden that he cares about the process. To me, that is what I think of when I look at this picture. I am reminded of what it feels like to hear someone speak so fondly of something they cherish. I am also reminded of the many hours of work that he and the other volunteers must put in to keep this place running (and growing) smoothly. I think of how admirable their work is, and I think of how lucky I was to take a tour to learn about how the garden operates. While this picture may just appear to be a simple image of a garden on the side of the road, it represents something so much more important: sustainability.

Hey, I’m Sarah Kate! – Blog Post #1

Hello! My name is Sarah Kate Brewer. I like to play my clarinet in the Redcoat Marching band, and I do NOT like the University of Alabama football team! GO DAWGS!

This introductory biology course will be my first science course at UGA. In high school, I did not take many advanced science classes. I took a physical science class, a chemistry class, an anatomy class, and a biology class. Of these classes, I distinctly remember that while the biology class was the most challenging, it was also my favorite. My teacher was extremely passionate about life sciences and sustainability, and I really enjoyed how enthusiastic she was about having class discussions on hot-topic issues. Because there is a lot of controversy and political/financial debate about certain biological subjects, I really enjoyed learning more about these issues so that way I could engage in these discussions.

I hope that by the end of this semester, I will be able to engage in the global conversation of sustainability. I would also like to contribute confidently in these discussions and help work towards saving our planet. I think I will be able to achieve these things by retaining the information I learn in class.

I would like to know more information about how these antibiotics in the soil are harmful. As a student, I would like to learn more about the biological processes that happen in the soil and how the antibiotics affect these processes.

I think the issues that might appeal most to my fellow students are the financial issues that would arise by promoting composting and sustainability. Specifically, it might interest my fellow students to learn about how these sustainable projects can be funded properly. I believe these financial issues would be most important to them because I believe we have a lot of prospective Terry College graduates in this class.

Something that I might expect to learn from the service learning experience is just how much the community knows or does not know about composting and sustainability. I would be interested to see what the community’s idea of sustainability is and whether or not it seems to be an important issue to them.