Environmental Day for high school students welcomed over 100 visitors to learn how “sustainable is obtainable”

The Cincinnati State Environmental Engineering Technology (EVT) program hosted over 100 students and teachers from area high schools for “Sustainable is Obtainable” Day on Clifton Campus, on November 8, 2023.

“Sustainable is Obtainable” days were offered for 21 consecutive years until 2019, and then halted because of the pandemic. The Fall 2023 event was the first full-scale Environmental Day for high school visitors since 2019.

EVT Program Chair Dr. Ann Gunkel said the Environmental Day provided a series of hands-on activities in EVT labs and classrooms, and highlighted personal efforts and actions students can take to make the world more sustainable and preserve the Earth’s capacity to support human life.

“Throughout the day, students explored environmental issues and their effect on global, local, and individual levels,” Dr. Gunkel said. “Activities such as small group experiments, discussions, and exercises helped students gain greater knowledge of environmental problems and how students can make changes that matter.”

“The visiting students also learned about many environmental careers available to them,” Ann said.

Dr. Gunkel and Professor Ann Fallon partnered with local business, industry, and community organizations to provide students with practical examples of how to move toward a sustainable lifestyle.

Presenters and their topics included:

• Nick Callahan, Foundation for Ohio River Education – Fish of the Ohio
• Mark Deacon, Cincinnati State Horticulture Program Chair – Sustainable Horticulture
• Johnny Dwyer, Mill Creek Alliance – Is this Water Swimmable?
• Erin Ford & Celestin Cimalamungu, Cincinnati State EVT students – OSHA 40 Dress-out (protective equipment for workers in scenarios involving hazardous substances)
• Craig Frye – Metropolitan Sewer District – Managing Stormwater
• Jennifer Geiger, Cincinnati State Co-op Coordinator – Minerals of the World
• Kymisha Montgomery, Civic Garden Center – Who Grows Your Food?
• Gail Quinlan, Cincinnati State Senior Lab Technician (retired) – Chromatography (using instrumentation to detect chemicals)
• George Schewe, Trinity Consultants – Air Quality
• Doug Woodruff, Cincinnati State Co-op Coordinator & Kevin Saunders, Clermont County Water & Wastewater Resources – Environmental Careers & Co-op