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(KSL News) For three weeks, two groups of Utah sixth graders have been constructing models of environmentally-friendly homes.
They had the help of some professional architects, the very ones who designed the children's' schools. After some hard work and stretching for ideas, the students revealed their final products this week.
Though shy and a little unsure about who should speak, members of each group of students from Rose Park Elementary and Glendale Middle schools presented their versions of green homes
We saw everything, including solar panels made out of CDs powering a home in the rain forest. Misty Garlick of Glendale Middle School explained, "For the sun to come in the rainforest, so we get like rain and sun."
Aslo, a beach home designed for the student's teachers, complete with a market and a business plan. Angel Nunez of Rose Park Elementary said, "We were actually selling fish and seafood and stuff like that. But then people like candy and fruit and stuff like that. So we added pineapples, coconuts and sugarcanes."
The sixth graders were asked to think outside the box, to build everything out of recycled materials. While it was difficult at times, the students took home a green lesson organizers hope they'll keep throughout their lives.
Ben Lowry of GSBS Architects said, "It's their generations that I think are going to see the impact through inversion, through climate change, and I think they will see things differently than they did as a child."
The architects from GSBS who came up with the idea said they were pleased with the outcome and were even a little surprised with the innovative ideas the sixth graders came up with to solve the problems.
