Allaina Siler Composting Infographic

Regarding the three characteristics of effective informative delivery, the infographic is intellectually stimulating because it makes you think about what you can and cannot compost. It causes the viewer to contemplate what materials they have on the infographic at home, and whether or not they belong. As for being relevant to the audience, it would be perfect for the Rooker Hall demographic because the information is specifically tailored for people on campus in a dorm. And, I think it’s creative with its use of the neutral, mellow color scheme, as well as the cute illustrated items that either can or can’t be composted. Also, the three fonts work well together from a design standpoint and would be perfect and easy to read.

As for my gut emotional responses, I was immediately content because it is just so well illustrated and I love the mellow green background with the illustrations of food and other materials. It surprised me that newspaper is compostable because I thought the inks would have chemicals that might be harmful, but I guess not. Nothing angered or frustrated me because this infographic was carefully and thoughtfully made. And, the information didn’t deal with something upsetting like the news.

Before this infographic and this unit, although I barely knew anything about composting, I didn’t think that people would attempt to put plastic materials or processed food into compost piles. I suppose it makes sense with the plastic materials if the theoretical person confused recycling and composting, but I would never think to compost pizza just because I before assumed only fruits and vegetables could be composted. From the infographic, the creator was probably just hoping that the people on campus would gain a new perspective on what they could or couldn’t compost. To find this data, they used one source which is a Toronto informative website with information about what can and cannot be composted. We might engage in finding this data by just copying and pasting the information into a search bar, since they provided the source on the poster.

Although this compost infographic is very successful from a design and informative standpoint, I think maybe they could’ve considered a bit on why the demographic can’t compost certain things. However, it makes sense that they haven’t thought of including this in case there would be too much information that the viewer would not want to read and possibly walk away from the sight of too many words. We can definitely use this as an inspiration for our graphic with the layout of the work because the information is so clearly displayed. Not to mention, we can kind of copy the illustrations (still changing some aspects) for the images of the things that can and can’t be composted.

Allaina Siler UGArden Post

Image: Something that surprises me about the facility

What surprises me about the facility was their large-scale composting, and how composting sometimes involves more than just dumping scraps in a spot. Active composters keep the material separated into zones based on how decomposed it is, and sometimes the material has to cycle through another time to be done.

In this picture, I see the UGArden speaker and professor showing the completely plant-based compost area of the garden. When looking at each section from left to right, the compost material gets less and less course, and it decomposes to create rich compost material to aid crops.

One thing that really strikes me in this picture is the drastic change in the size of the piles (going from left to right). It’s surprising how such a large mass of material through decomposition yields so little compost material in the end.

This picture makes me think about how long it truly takes for the plant-based material to fully decompose for composting. I thought it would take at the most two weeks for it to graduate on and on in the different stages, but it usually takes up to months, and for full decomposition, sometimes years. I always thought that it would take around six months at the most to break down, but in this intermediate composting method, it takes much longer.

When I look at this picture, I feel called upon to start composting. I know it would be hard to do it in my dorm room, but by seeing the piles in person, I feel that it’s important that I do my part to not waste scraps and plant material. If I don’t compost, the material will just end up in landfills and be put to no use, so it’s important that I do the right thing to help both crops and the environment.

I think this picture is about the visible process of composting. I had never really seen in up close and in person, as my family doesn’t compost, so the visual was nice. And, his commentary about how they facilitate this process was really educational as well.

Allaina Siler Introduction Post

Hey, my name is Allaina Siler, and here’s my introductory information!

1) a) Although I haven’t taken any science classes at UGA, in high school I took Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Physics, and AP Chemistry.

b) My absolute favorite would have to be Honors Chemistry because I learned a vast amount of information about the different types of chemistry without the rigor and element of anxiety of AP Chem.

2. Because this will be the only biology (and science) class I’ll take at UGA, due to my art major and Spanish minor, I hope to learn as much as I can about how biology can relate to every-day life. Rather than simply viewing diagrams about a topic such as the cycling of nutrients, I want to get involved and experience it on a personal scale.

3. I’d love to learn the ideal components of soil, as well as the different types of antibiotics that contaminate it, so I’ll understand how humans harm this particular facet of the environment. In addition, I’d hope to understand how I can compost as a student living in a dorm (on meal plan).

4. I think we could most appeal to students by informing them of the impact failing to compost has on their food. Because about every college student loves food, if we told them how their favorite dishes could be enhanced in terms of quality and flavor with the help of composting, they would take it seriously. Or, as global warming is a hot topic, the connection between composting and lessening the greenhouse gases would apply to them.

5. Because I abhor public speaking, I’d love to learn tools to both make myself and my potential audience more comfortable when I’m giving them information. I’d also love to learn different types of visual aids I could use to engage the audience.