South Carolina Students Tackle Environmental Issues in Giti Math and Science Award Program
From a rotating solar panel to a vertical garden, students created some very innovative environmental solutions in the 1st Giti Math and Science Award Program for the Chester County School District in South Carolina.
Giti Tire officials announced the program at the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s passenger and light truck tire plant presently under construction in Chester County. The contest, which required students to create an eco-friendly solution that can be used by the community, started at the beginning of the school year with math and science clubs being formed at 11 participating schools.
Three schools – Great Falls High School, Great Falls Middle School and the Chester Park Center of Literacy Through Technology (in the elementary school competition) were awarded first place during an April 6 ceremony in Chester County.
The Great Falls High School club created a “sun spotter,” a small solar panel that moves toward angles that create more voltage and can be used to charge small electronic devices. The middle school club presented a community vertical garden that maximizes space and provides access to nutritious food and social interaction in the community. The elementary school team created a habitat to save pollinators and provide food and shelter for migrating birds.
“Our goal is to encourage the development and use of scientific discipline to help prepare children to be successful in our ever-increasing technological society,” said Michel Dube, quality director for the Giti Tire Group and quality vice president for GITI Tire (USA) Ltd.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Dube said he was “amazed by the quality of the projects, enthusiasm of the students and professionalism of the presentations” for all 11 participating schools.
Dube added, “We at Giti are very much aware of the importance of having a well-educated workforce knowledgeable in scientific disciplines like math, physics, chemistry, IT and so on. We are also very aware of our environment and constantly strive to reduce the environmental impact of our activities.”
Dube congratulated all the clubs and said he hoped that someday some of the participating students would be joining the plant workforce.