Materials+16-17

Hi, welcome to Materials page!

Information from last year's team can be found here. Info about mycelium can be found here. There is some interesting info [|here] that talks about growing mycelium planters. Some fungi can be beneficial to the growth of plants, and can increase drought resistance - check out this [|link]. Previous teams have purchased their mycelium [|here].

IMPACT GOAL

Here states the goals of the 101 Materials Team (Ben, Sarah, and Joelle) of the Greengineering Class of Newton North. In the fall, Materials aims to start by utilizing plastic bottles to make art that promotes environmental awareness and grows and cultivates plants. During the winter, we wish to create containers out of mycelium implanted with seeds that, once thrown out onto soil, will biodegrade and grow into plants. As the year approaches spring, we would like to set up a rooftop garden or greenhouse at Newton North. We aim to impact our world for a better and greener future. By following our goals, we can achieve that. **About mycelium**: mycelium mushrooms, once harvested and mixed with other substances, grow into a biodegradable styrofoam-like substance. LOGS: **__6/1/2017__** We just started the coffee grounds method six days ago (pretty much mixing washed and drained coffee grounds with the mycelium spores and covering it with punctured plastic wrap) and it's already started to grow mycelium, as shown by the white fuzzy spots in the picture! It's going faster than the peroxide method with the wood shavings, which is interesting when considering the caffeinated property of coffee--Joelle speculates it might be due to that, which would be an interesting research topic. We're also trying out the soaking method with wood shavings. Wood shavings sat in water for a week (we would've let them sit for another week if we'd have had more time) before we mixed them with mycelium spores. Here's a picture of the soaking substrate: We drained it and mixed it with mycelium two days ago, so we'll see if any results show within the next couple weeks. As of now, our first trial using the peroxide method with straw is almost entirely covered in mycelium. So far so good! __**Friday 5/26/2017**__ Last week, we began growing another batch of mycelium, but with a different substrate. This time we used wood shavings. We've been experimenting different ways of inoculating our substrate and we are waiting for our current batch of mycelium to start growing. After we've done this, and we start seeing actual mycelium, we'll place equal portions of it in plastic bags, and place these bags in different conditions. Sarah has been experimenting with different methods. She's been looking into the steam method, soak method, coffee grounds method, and the peroxide method. She is testing if inoculating substrate in different methods will impact the mycelium's growth progress. __**Friday 5/12/17**__ Hi, Greengineers! We just pulled out the mushrooms that have been growing, which are on the paper towel in the photo. The mycelium is doing well--we can see more hyphae developing each time we check--and we will soon start our individual projects. If any more mushrooms grow, we'll pull them out and potentially see if we can find a way to inhibit their growth without hurting the mycelium itself. **Side note**: large pieces of straw may not have been the best substrate to use. There are many air pockets and pieces of straw that stick out, so the final product probably won't be as solid as if we'd used a substrate with smaller pieces, like wood shavings, or even the same straw but cut up into tiny segments. The information booklet that came with the mycelium may have recommended straw because its focus is on growing mushrooms, not on cultivating a mycelium product. __**Wednesday 5/10/2017**__ Almost 40 days: If you guys notice, there are mushrooms budding and growing. Next week, we'll be starting our scientific inquiry project. I (Joelle) will be experimenting with mycelium after sterilization. I'll be changing different factors, such as light and temperature, to see if mycelium will grow more effectively and if these factors impact the final mycelium material (ie it's texture and flexibility). Sarah will be working on methods of sterilization and whether that will impact the growth of the mycelium. She'll be looking into the peroxide and pressure cooker method. Any research that we find will be placed into the mycelium page. __**Friday 5/5/2017**__ Things are going well so far! It's been 29 days since we began inoculating our mycelium, and this is our product: We've begun researching a way to get rid of the mushrooms that have begun to form--either suppress their growth or safely remove them whenever we see some growing. It's possible that the mushroom fruiting body and mycelium roots have varying best-growing conditions, so we can start there and put the culture in only those of mycelium. We will also soon try out the steam method to compare which method, that or using hydrogen peroxide, is more efficient and effective. From there, we will test out various conditions to leave the mycelium in, i.e. temperature and light exposure, to determine what is most advantageous for growth. The other day, we had presented our scientific inquiry on Mycelium. Here it is: __**Wednesday 4/26/17**__ Our 20 Days product: Growing mycelium takes a while, the progress is slow, but it has shown a lot of potential. While we wait for the mycelium to grow, we have been working on our class presentation. This presentation will include the methods, companies, and products that are related to mycelium. **__Wednesday 4/11/17__** Long time no post! Ben's moved on to his own independent project right now, so us two have finally begun working with mycelium. It arrived last Monday, and on Friday we finished the sanitizing the receptacles the mycelium-straw mixture will be in, and placed that mixture in a plastic rectangular container with air holes on top. Not much has changed in the container; we're going to have to wait two or three weeks for changes to really appear (if they appear at all). For now, we'll keep our fingers crossed. Here's the container so far, with some condensation on the sides: To fill up the time between the planter project and mycelium, we made a table with a weaved newspaper top and plastic water bottle legs with cardboard between them for structural support. This is it: __**Thursda****y** **3/2/2017**__ As of now, we're still pondering our options and the time span of perfecting mycelium cultivation. The mycelium would arrive within a couple weeks, so the wait wouldn't be grueling, but the process of getting the system right may take time we don't have. Still, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot and learn about the experimental process. Ben came back from the Mexico exchange this week, so when he's back in class next week, we can all discuss together. We are also looking for potential side projects we could do while we wait for the mycelium and when we cultivate it. __**Wednesday 2/15/2017**__ Today is the first day of class since we had our five day weekend (due to the immense amount of snow mother nature decided to dump on us). Coming in, we found that all the plants on the window ledge had unfortunately wilted. A few had dried up, but the majority of them had just slightly wilted. We're hoping to revive them by pouring water in the planters. We didn't come to a conclusion for our watering system, but we've decided to postpone it until the spring, when we build more planters. With our finalized list of items, we are trying to find suppliers to buy our stuff from. This is our list right now: The things crossed out are items that we already have [|__http://www.fungi.com/product-detail/product/the-mycelium-running-oyster-mushroom-patch.html__]
 * 1) Spawns (Mycelium running oyster mushroom)
 * 1) Pressure cooker (nitrogen supplements)
 * 2) Nitrogen sticks (supplements) (Home Depot)
 * 3)  Hydrogen peroxide (3%)-sanitation (drugstore) __ [] __
 * 4)  Five gallon bucket (soaking/sanitizing substrate) -Home Depot __ [] __
 * 5) For Inoculation:
 * 6) Plastic bags(to hold substrate and spawns) (Grocery bag/ trash bags)
 * 7) gloves
 * 8) Airtight container (plastic bags)
 * 9) Twistie ties (to tie bags) ?
 * 10)  Pan for boiling water - will be used to prepare substrate
 * 11)  Lime (For pellets or other substrate) (for example: [|__http://www.homedepot.com/p/TXI-50-lb-Hydrated-Lime-5195/202080968__] ) DON’T BUY THIS YET WE AREN’T FULLY SURE OF IT’S PURPOSE
 * 12) Portable electric stove (to boil water)

__**Wednesday 2/7/2017**__ Sorry it's flipped :( Here's our water system though ^^^) Here are some links that we looked at for Mycelium: [|__http://mushroomersclub.blogspot.com/2012/09/grow-mushrooms-with-hydrogen-peroxide.html#.WG5GSFMrLcs__] [|__http://mycomasters.com/__]

[|__http://mycomasters.com/NonSterile.html__] [|__http://www.ecovativedesign.com/__]

__**Monday 2/6/2017**__ It's been a while since we posted. The past two weeks have been focused solely on creating a better water system. At the moment it is a work in progress (pictures will be posted sometime this week). We're still looking at mycelium, and as of now, we need to look around to find if the classroom has some of the supplies we need. __Goals for Mycelium:__ To come up with a successful, convenient, and easy system to grow mycelium Create enough material to start experimenting with replacing other materials used in every day objects. __Finalized list:__ 1. Spawns (oyster mushrooms) 2. Pressure cooker (for nitrogen supplements) 3. Nitrogen sticks (supplements) 4. Hydrogen peroxide (3%) 5. Five gallon bucket (for soaking/sanitizing substrate) - Home Depot 6. For inoculation: Plastic bags (to hold substrate and spawns), gloves, Airtight container (to put plastic bags in), Twisty ties (to tie bags?) 7. pan for boiling water (to prepare substrates) 8. lime (for pellets or other substrate) 9. Portable electric stove (to boil water)

__**Tuesday 1/25/2017**__ The planters are now up on display, but we aren't officially done with the project yet. We are trying to come up with a new water system to replace the EWJ because there have been many problems with our original system. We are also hoping to expand the project during the spring. We want to have planters on all the window ledges. And, with more planters, we will try to partner up with the Tiger's Loft. However, for now we are working on researching mycelium. We've been discussing different methods but have settled on a peroxide method. This week we have to present our goal and method for mycelium so we are trying to complete a powerpoint presentation. Our goal is to have a successful, low maintenance, and convenient method of growing mycelium. We'd also like to be able to use mycelium as a substitute for styrofoam or other materials. Mycelium is known to be a better alternative for Styrofoam because it works as an insulator but also can decompose, thus,not being harmful to the environment. From now on, all of our research about mycelium on this page will be in a red. Here's some exciting news related to the Plastic Planters Project: Sometime during an A-block class, we'll be interviewed by the Newtonite. We are very excited and honored to have this opportunity. __**Wednesday1/18/2017**__

To the left we have a few sprouts that were donated by a fellow member from another group. To the right are the planters that we'll be displaying. We grew sprouts in them before the long weekend and they have already started growing. As soon as the leaves are more visible, we'll have them up in display __**Monday** **1/9/2016**__ Today, we started working on our water bottle project because we received approval for it. Hopefully we'll have the system up and running by the end of this week, hopefully sooner. The plants that we planted a while back (Chia sprouts) are starting to die. However, they had a lifespan longer than we expected. They've lived for over a month. Now, we're planning to replace the plants with new seeds. The water jug below will be used to fill up the EWJ because of the Greenengineering sink's tendency to have warm water. __**Thursday** **1/5/17**__ Ben and I have been researching mycelium cultivation and came across the peroxide method. It seems easier and more feasible than the pressure cooker method, so we plan to try that out as soon as we get the materials and mycelium itself. Joelle found the idea of a newspaper bench, stretchable and made in a honeycomb pattern, so she's looking into the process of constructing something like that. Hopefully, we'll have the mycelium ordered soon. __**Wednesday 1/4/2017**__ Today we met with Mr. Turner and gave our presentation. He wasn't able to give us the okay yet because he needed to discuss with Ms. Winston first. We also talked to the head janitor very briefly and at he said that the window ledges were cleaned during summer break and any other vacations. Basically, they weren't washed that often which is great. He also brought up another factor we didn't talk about which was the draft and the cold that passes through the windows and the doors at the location we chose. It was a very good point that he brought up, but we decided to just put the planters at the opposite side of the door because of the direction of the wind. Overall, the meeting was definitely successful. __**Monday 12/19/2016**__ Here is the final look for our prototype. We will be presenting to the class sometime this week and hopefully, when we come back after break, we will present to the principal, vice principal and the janitor. We also decided to go with the perforated cloth, as it allowed the roots to grow through and soak up water at their own rate. . __**Tuesday 12/7/2016**__ Last Friday, we decided to place our planters in Ms. Brookes' design and communication classroom. She had a window ledge behind her desk that we placed our planters on. We haven't had a chance to analyze the plants but a brief check showed that the soil was still moist. These pictures were taken last Friday. Tomorrow we will have more recent pictures. __**Friday 12/2/2016**__ Today, we put our planters in place and measured the seedlings. We have four planters. They all are made from plastic bottles cut in half, with the top half inverted into the bottom half. For two of them, we clogged the hole with cloth secured by a rubber band. For one, we used a sponge, and for the final one, we used perforated cloth. Finally, we covered two with plastic wrap either as a sort of lid or shredded. What this does is turns the planters into a mini greenhouse since water vapor gets caught during the day, and falls at night when it condenses. We measured the plants, from left to right, at 1 in, 7/8 in, 0.5 in, and 0.5 in. We poured water into the lower half of the system and, once we placed the sprouts, into the dirt. We have not re-watered the sprouts in the Tupperware. __**Friday 12/2/2016**__ Today, we put our planters in place and measured the seedlings. We have four planters. They all are made from plastic bottles cut in half, with the top half inverted into the bottom half. For two of them, we clogged the hole with cloth secured by a rubber band. For one, we used a sponge, and for the final one, we used perforated cloth. Finally, we covered two with plastic wrap either as a sort of lid or shredded. What this does is turns the planters into a mini greenhouse since water vapor gets caught during the day, and falls at night when it condenses. We measured the plants, from left to right, at 1 in, 7/8 in, 0.5 in, and 0.5 in. __**Thursday 12/1/2016**__ SPROUTS UPDATE: Day 4: We already see tiny sprouts growing in the cubes. These plants are definitely ideal when one needs to grow a plant quickly. The system are also low maintenance and we have not water them since we first planted them. __**Wednesday** **11/30/2016**__ For this week, we put the final touches on an extended water jug for our plants. We then practiced watering the planters by putting them on a shelf and pouring water from the extended water jug (EWJ) onto them. Even though it worked well, the EWJ is very unstable since it is top heavy with all that water. In order to make the EWJ easier to pour and contain more water, we fixed the spout so that it could be poured both sideways and at an arc. This is the first practice: This is the second practice. The planter is 100 inches from the ground. This is the first practice __**Monday 11/28/2016**__ Last week, we quickly finished building a prototype of our water bottle planters. Today we are planting Sprouts-Sandwich mix. These are expected to grow in four to six days. We placed them on little dirt sponge sheet that's divided into cubes. The sheet is inside a container and we filled the container with water. We filled it up until the water touched the surface of the cubes. Once the sprouts have grown we will cut the cubes out of the sheets and place them in the planters. The planters will be filled with soil and water before we place them. The dirt sponges are suppose to break down and mix in with the soil. Right now, we aren't giving them any natural sunlight because they won't need it until their leaves come out. __**Monday 11/21/2016**__ Last week, we researched mycelium cultivation and potential plants to go on the Rooftop Garden. We're working on finalizing our design for the plastic bottle planters, which once we complete it, we will talk to Ms. Winston, the vice principal about getting the idea approved. We must come up with a final plan to propose. At the moment, we idealize making planters out of plastic bottles, in which it is cut in half, and the top half is inverted and put into the bottom half. To start with, we would water it with a bucket on a stick, but we plan to design a better watering system. __**Friday 11/18/2016**__ For the last few days, we've been discussing the ideas of having planters to decorate the school. The planters would be made of the plastic bottles we've been trying to collect since last week. We've haven't made that much progress with collecting the bottles Our group came up with a few ideas involving the plastic bottle planters: 1. Hanging planters 2. Shelves that hold the planters 3. Window ledge planters We decided to settle with the window ledge planters on the windows that parallel the hallway which connects the theater wing to Main street. Ideas are still a work in progress, but we have already emailed Ms. Winston to get more information about whose approval we need to have to make this project a reality. __**Friday 11/4/2016**__ This week was basically all about research. First, we brainstormed the We decided to create a Pinterest board to save and view all the inspiration. This week, our main focus has been observing various plant-growing designs we may potentially model our plastic bottle structure after. We have created a Pinterest to view and save different inspirations. Some information about us: Ben: I am a sophomore at Newton North. I chose to join Materials because I want to make a Rooftop Garden for NNHS and reuse plastic for practical uses. Sarah: I'm a junior at North. The versatility and uses of Mycelium, idea of creating biodegradable substances, and building a structure or object out of reused items drew me to the Materials group.

Joelle: Sup guys, I'm currently a sophomore at Newton North High School and I joined the Materials' because I believe that we have used resources from the planet and taken it for our own needs. I think that it is necessary to give back to the planet. One of the solutions I have is to create everyday objects that can be thrown out and decompose faster. By next Friday, we aim to have enough plastic to start making activism art.