Monday, July 13, 2015

SRO: Ups and Downs

Over the course of the past week and a half my internship with SRO has been going in full swing. Unfortunately we found out that the data for farm equipment decon could not be used due to flaws in the experimental procedure. This was an extremely unfortunate turn of events due to the amount of time and effort the company has put into the tests in order to better understand the functionality of the "sauce" in real world applications. Plus the mishap was not on our hands but rather on CSU's head of agriculture who designed the experiment. Rather than this upsetting piece of information, other side events occurring at SRO include me being able to create my own experiment in order to test the effect that the elctrobiocide has on the growth rate of crops. I am still in the mists of finishing up the procedure but am excited to get the show on the road. As far as preparation for the experiment I designed and built three simple 10 ft x 4 ft x 3.5 ft soft top greenhouses, which has been my main focus for the past week. These greenhouses will hold the different test and control groups for my experiment. I am very excited to see the effect that the biocide has on the plants, which is rumored to increase the growth by as much as 40 percent. I guess I will have to wait and see!
On a side note I have been working with John at his personal residence in order to help him and his wife Julie take care of their numerous sustainable projects. From planting and maintaining their vast gardens to taking care of the over thirty chickens and collecting eggs there is always something to be done. Being able to work on and see different ways to be personally sustainable has been a highlight of my summer and is a nice escape from the SRO office.

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