Girls take on global warming

Did you know that 48% of the earth's harmful greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings?

[UKPRwire, Fri Apr 06 2007] This is one of the startling facts that girls from King Edward's School in Sheffield learnt when they visited Sheffield Hallam University. The group of year 10 girls took part in an innovative sustainable development project inspired by Dr. Andy Young, Senior Lecturer in Engineering at the University.

Andy and a team of students designed and are currently building an eco-home with its own systems for generating heat, light and electrical power, thanks to an Education for Sustainable Development Grant from the Higher Education Academy.

Denise Eaton from the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology team felt that the environmentally friendly project would be perfect to help girls develop a greater awareness of and passion for engineering.

The pupils discovered how the team arrived at their eco-house design, examined the different elements like solar panels and a wind turbine, and contributed to the creation of its grass roof.

Denise said: "The girls met role models, talked about what it is like to study engineering at University, and compared the heat losses and gains of a normal property with those of a properly designed 'green' home. To quote one of the girls, 'The day helped me to see how much we can do to prevent global warming'.

"The students are having a great experience too. Not only are they developing an in-depth understanding of the technical issues surrounding sustainability, they are also leaning how to work successfully in a design and build group while making useful contacts in the business world."

Once the eco-house is complete and fully functioning, it will find a permanent home somewhere on the University's City Campus with direct access to Sheffield's sunlight!

The Women in Science, Engineering and Technology team is part of the Centre for Science Education, one of the UK's leading academic groups working in science education, and aims to increase the participation of women in these fields.

For more information on the project contact Denise Eaton on 0114 225 2878 denise.eaton@shu.ac.uk

For press information contact Suzanne Lightfoot in the University press office on 0114 225 4025 or s.lightfoot@shu.ac.uk.