A garden watering system designed by pupils from Plymouth College has been named runner up in a closely-contested innovation category at the Plymouth School's GO4SET Awards.
Members of Plymouth College's Future Council designed the device, Gutter Grow, to capture rainwater and channel it into an automatic watering system for plants in the school garden - the garden is on the roof of the school dining hall where there is no soil. The team worked for 10 weeks to complete the prototype and demonstration design in time for International Biodiversity Day and the GO4SET Awards deadline. As well as the practicality of building the Gutter Grow, the team had to write a 32-page report and practice a presentation which was made on the day to the panel of GO4SET judges.
Sponsored by Babcock and run by the Engineering Development Trust, the aim of the GO4SET project is to encourage young people to consider engineering as a career and to promote science technology and engineering solutions to sustainability issues. The Awards event was held at Plymouth University.
Plymouth College Physics teacher, Clare Smith, said: "The students had a great time taking part in this project. They also learned how to plan and project-manage their work. This was an excellent experience for them."
