Reminder: Sea oats planting Saturday

Join community members and St. Petersburg College students as they plant sea oats to honor Sen. Dennis L. Jones at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, June 28, at Gulf Front Park, 10400 Gulf Blvd. in Treasure Island.

Jones was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award last year from the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions at St. Petersburg College. The institute, the City of Treasure Island and the Treasure Island Beach Stewardship Committee are sponsoring the event.

The effort commemorates Jones’ 32 years of public service and his efforts to preserve the shorelines of Pinellas County and Florida. Jones earned the nickname “Sandman” for his work on the Florida Beach and Shore Preservation Act, which was consequently named for him.

In 1998, Jones helped create a fund for beach restoration and maintenance that receives about $20 million a year from state taxes. To date, this fund has contributed $541.6 million to beach restoration projects in cost-sharing efforts with local governments on local and federally authorized projects, resulting in the restoration of more than 226.7 miles, or nearly 57%, of the state’s critically eroded beaches.

To volunteer, register today.

Follow the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions on Twitter at #polisol.

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Environmental Path dedicated at Seminole Campus

St. Petersburg College’s Seminole Campus and the City of Seminole/Seminole Community Library celebrated their partnership with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the new Environmental Path. The ceremony also included the planting of two live oaks to signify the enduring partnership and dedication of a bench along the path donated by the Friends of the Seminole Library.

Cutting the ribbon along with Seminole Campus Provost Jim Olliver are Library Director Michael Bryan, Mayor Leslie Waters, Student Government President Jonathan Jacques and a host of faculty, staff, friends and city officials:

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SPC first state college to receive Duke Energy SunSense Schools award

St. Petersburg College has been selected Duke Energy Florida’s 2013 SunSense Schools Post Secondary School Award. The energy company will fund the college’s proposal for up to a 100 kW photovoltaic array project and its related educational outreach efforts.

SPC is the first state college in Florida to be selected for the award. Other postsecondary recipients in previous years include the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida.

Duke Energy made the announcement on Monday, June 3.

Rather than one 100 kW array, the college decided to install two solar photovoltaic arrays in order to maximize exposure, said Diana Wright, Director of Facilities Services. At the Clearwater Campus, the grant will pay to erect a parking structure upon which a 43 kW array will be installed. At the Seminole Campus, a 57 kW array will be a ground-mounted, free-standing structure.

The new systems will serve as educational and research tools that will also help offset the energy costs of each campus.

“The Facilities department is excited to start construction on a project that will increase community awareness, contribute to the environment through sustainable practices and also increase student exposure to new technology right in our own backyard,” Wright said.

“Duke Energy has a balanced approach to meeting the energy needs of Florida’s consumers in a cost-effective, reliable manner,” Joseph Pietrzak, Senior Program Manager for Duke Energy Florida, said in the letter. “The balanced approach includes energy-efficiency, renewable energy technologies, and state-of-the-art power systems. Through the SunSense program, this 100 kW solar project at St. Petersburg College is playing a key role in our efforts to educate our customers on renewable energy production.”

Duke Energy will award the college up to $515,803 to cover project’s installations and other related educational outreach costs.

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Robotic visitor to give eco-friendly lessons

Think of Dr. R.E. Cycler as a real-life WALL-E of Pixar fame. Neither is human. Both run on solar panels and teach people about sustainability and being eco-friendly.

Dr. R.E. Cycler is the name given to a robot from Florida Robotics Inc. of Orlando, which will be spending most of April 22 at St. Petersburg College’s Clearwater Campus in recognition of Earth Day. With initials that stand for “Robotic Environmentalist,” it will be stationed on the campus’ quad to both “greet” people and crush and recycle cans.

This will be the first time the robot has been on display in the Tampa Bay area, said John Williams, a Natural Sciences instructor at SPC.

The Engineering and Science and Adventure clubs are co-sponsoring the robot’s visit, said Williams, the faculty advisor for the Engineering Club.

SPC Earth Day events Habitat Park Cleanup – Seminole Campus – April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon Debris Cleanup – Tarpon Springs Campus – April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon Quad Event – St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus – April 25 from noon to 2 p.m. * Learn more about getting a bachelor’s degree in sustainability management from SPC.

“We just thought it was a unique thing to do,” Williams said. Not only does Dr. Cycler promote the recycling effort and Earth Day but renewable energy.

Meeting Dr. Cycler should be an experience. Standing about 5-feet-tall, it talks and blinks its eyes while crushing a 12-ounce aluminum can down to about an inch thick in approximately 30 seconds. All of the recycling process is visible through the robot’s see-through “stomach.” Plus the robot breathes, sort of.

When you feed it with a can, it blows out a minty-smelling breath, Williams said.

Free drinks and snacks will be provided at the Dr. Cycler meet-and-greet. The robot will be at the campus from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Watch Dr. Cycler on YouTube.

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SPC grad submits $1.8 million grant to teach sustainability to K-12 students

Recent SPC graduate Bryan Blackford submitted a $1.8 million grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to develop a Hands-On Sustainability Experience at St. Petersburg’s Education Innovation Center (EIC). It would teach K-12 students about environmental engineering and sustainability.

Formerly the Science Center of Pinellas County, the EIC is located at 7701 22nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg.

The goal of the grant is to provide a facility where K-12 students can interact with innovative technologies such as:
• Solar panels
• Sustainable garden
• LED lighting
• Wind turbine
• Photovoltaic systems
• Green roofing system
• Solar-powered car charging station

Blackford earned his B.A.S. in Sustainability Management from SPC in December 2012. While at SPC, his capstone project featured the implementation of sustainable technologies at the science center.

Collaborators on the grant proposal include:
• Dr. Cyndy Leard, EIC
• Lisa Pineda, EIC
• Dr. Kent Curtis, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Eckerd College
• Julius Keblinskas, LEEP-AP Architect

The proposed facility will also provide a living model of innovative sustainable technologies for college students and industry professionals. For more information about the project email lpineda@steic.org or call 727-384-0027.

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Ethics and Social Science building opens on Clearwater Campus

Students had their hands in design of building

It is their building after all.

Before the first nail was ever hammered or blue print rendered for the new Ethics and Social Science Building on the Clearwater Campus, students were part of the process.

From helping select the architect to recommending which solar installation to put on the roof, students took an active role in helping complete the building, which opened in spring, 2013. The three-story building sits on the site of the former Teaching Auditorium and contains 26 classrooms, faculty and adjunct office suites and student lounges and a cafe.

“We were very honored and really excited that we were able to have our hands in this project and become more of a part of the campus,” said Ashley Lindsay, 27, a architecture student who graduated from SPC in the Spring of 2012. “SPC has really evolved into this whole other realm; they’re taking on a lot more students and they’re trying to integrate the community into the school, as well as having the school be a reflection of the community.”

The entire design and construction process for the new Clearwater building has been open to architecture, construction, sustainability and engineering students, who have gotten involved in other ways:

• Lindsay and her fellow students in her Architectural Design Studio 3 class presented their overall design for the quad and specifically designed components to the college’s Board of Trustees in November, 2011. The year before, architectural design and building construction students made conceptual design recommendations to the board.
• Architecture and construction students participated in selecting the architect and construction manager, attended design sessions hosted at the Clearwater Campus and spent a day at the offices of Harvard Jolly Architecture, Inc., for a project overview, tour and discussion of how an architect’s office operates.
• Engineering students toured the project engineer’s office, where they discussed the engineering profession and the solar design.
• Construction and architecture students in the Materials and Methods and Practicum classes attended monthly site tours and meetings to observe, discuss and learn about the current details of the construction.

“They got the really rare opportunity so early in their education to design something that actually will be constructed,” said Susan Elftman, architecture instructor. “The opportunity to present their ideas and thoughts in front of such an esteemed group as the Board of Trustees is also very rare and an incredible experience.”

Take a photo tour of the new building on our Facebook page. Learn more about the solar energy installations at SPC.

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SERF, sustainability training and SPC

83 Degrees featured an article this week on the Sustainable Environment Research Foundation or SERF, a nonprofit that incorporates preservation, education and sustainable technology into one facility in Tarpon Springs.

The article mentions talks with SPC about sustainability training for high school and college students and plans for students from the college’s sustainability management program to intern at Tampa Bay area companies in the fields of marine science, engineering and environmental science and to work on community projects. Dr. Lynn Grinnell, a professor of sustainability management at St. Petersburg College, is quoted in the article. SPC’s sustainability management program offers nine core classes where students can attain skills that will give them a unique edge in a competitive job market, Grinnell said.

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