The Westerville City Council recognized Genoa Middle School’s Future City team, whose project in the January competition was focused on building a city for a nomadic African community of 200 households who want to settle in one place but have limited access to food, water and housing.
During the March 7 meeting, Mayor Diane Conley and Council Member Dennis Blair presented certificates to several members of Genoa’s team.
Genoa’s team placed second overall in the Future City competition, earning first in the ceramics and infrastructure categories and a runner-up in recreation.
As part of the Future City competition, students had to design sustainable cities of the future that showcase their solution to climate change. They researched technologies, presented plans and models, wrote 1,500-word essays and designed an innovative and futuristic climate adaptation and mitigation strategy to keep their residents healthy and safe.
Meanwhile, Genoa’s team deepened their understanding of the Maa community’s needs and available resources thanks to international, state and local partners. They met virtually with representatives from Globally Reconnect, which serves as a facilitator for mission-driven work across communities. The U.K.-based group supported their Kenyan team to survey members of the Maa community and shared the results, offering insight on the community’s priorities for their new home.
They’ve connected with Ohio State University’s Engineers Without Borders students to learn more about accessing reliable water sources and building sustainable housing for the Maa tribe. They interviewed Kira Barr, a doctoral student at Ohio State who was published in a research journal when she was a student at Olentangy Orange High School about plant species native to Africa that can help replenishing the soil and adding vitamins and nutrients for a healthy diet. While in high school, Barr spent a summer in Malawi volunteering at an AIDS orphan rescue and drilling a well.
The group now plans to meet twice a month through the rest of the school year to continue their work with the Maa community as well as bring their inventions conceived during their Future City competition to reality.
Watch the presentation here at the 6:33 mark.