Kent-Meridian High School sophomore Devin Moss has won a $1,000 Planet Connect grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation to revitalize undeveloped land in Kent to make it more amenable to plant and animal life.
Moss’ efforts will involve a wide array of development initiatives, ranging from seeding the growth of native flowering plants in order to diminish the disappearance of honey bees to developing plans for a birdhouse that will attract birds into the Kent-Meridian school yard, according to a May 3 media release from the National Environmental Education Foundation, based in Washington, D.C.
The centerpiece of the development will be a bird house designed to slowly release seeds that would attract certain species. The seeds will be mixed with bird feed which the birds will eat. After the seeds go through digestion, they are released and will grow plants that will encourage native species such as bees.
Moss envisions a group effort in which he works with the school’s wood shop to develop the bird houses and with a group of five friends to place the bird houses on the property in specific locations to maximize their attraction.
“The plants that are seeded will spread more seeds after maturing, increasing the effects of the project,” Moss said. “It will have a lasting effect on the community and the environment, because once the project is completed, the continuation of the solution to the issue will be natural. Each plant will spread its seeds in the appropriate way and the effects will grow exponentially until the natural limit is reached.”
Moss added that he is initiating the project, which he calls “Bio Build,” because “I am interested in learning about biodiversity and becoming a conservation zoologist.”
Planet Connect, an online resource and social network for environmentally conscious teens, selected a total of 10 high school students from a national pool of impressive student-submitted proposals for projects to help protect local wildlife and educate their classmates, schools and communities about conservation issues. The award provides each student with $1,000 to fund their proposals and an accompanying summer internship.
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