STEM-In-Action Fall Follow Up: Oh, Deer!

New week, new STEM-in-Action team to catch up with and this week, we talking to Oh, Deer! Not only was this team a SIA recipient but they took home the national title for 7^th grade. If you’re just tuning in, the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) STEM-In-Action Grant awards eCYBERMISSION teams up to $5,000 to develop their projects into mature and scalable solutions in their community. We are checking in with teams after a few months since they received the grant, to see how their projects are turning out and what’s next for them. Can’t wait to hear what kind of amazing progress these projects have made!

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Deer + vehicle collisions are costly and more prevalent in Texas than in any other state. It was this fact that inspired our team to find an innovative solution to this community problem affecting urban and rural areas across the U.S. – likely impacting even YOUR hometown as well. As 7^th graders from Southcrest Christian School in Lubbock, Texas, we formed an eCYBERMISSION team for the second year after having competed as 6^th graders the previous year and loving it! For 2018-2019, we worked during science class and after school to save lives of people and wildlife. This year as 8^th graders, we are all on eCYBERMISSION teams and already working on our new projects, while also being sure last year’s solution is sustainable in our community and beyond!

When vehicles hit deer, there is a risk of injury or death to not only the wildlife, but to people as well. This is an old problem and solutions such as whistles, reflectors, bridges, and warning signs have been proposed and tested for decades. Why should we tackle a problem that seems neither unique nor able to be solved? Because in 2018, there were more collisions than ever recorded! The so-called solutions do not work! We are a team of creative, outgoing, and extroverted young men who are not afraid of a challenge. were on a mission!

There must be something we could do to make a difference for people driving through deer country. Research taught us the number one issue (it may seem obvious) was lack of light on the road. We thought, “Well, DUH, if you can SEE the deer, you have a better chance of not HITTING the deer!” The roads needed more light. With 300,000 miles of roads in Texas and 4 million miles across the U.S., installing lights was not going to be the answer. Caleb thought back to when he lived near a grove of poplar trees which are white-barked. He remembered how much light would reflect off those white trunks and onto the road. Could flora illumination be a simple answer to an old problem? Months of testing the reflectivity of plants and being sure those plants could survive on the roadsides and were unpalatable to deer, led us to a variety of grasses that would be useful. Lab testing became field testing and the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) partnered with us and thought we might be on to something! Sure enough, the grasses DID reflect light onto roadways and provided enough illumination to make a considerable difference for drivers.

 With our grant money, Oh, Deer! Is working with TXDOT to seed highways near Lubbock using grasses proven to cast more light on the roadway and improve conditions for drivers. Reflectivity tests are being conducted and compared to deer-vehicle collision rates with the hopes that lives will be saved and other states could easily copy this solution. Our grant money is being used for labor fees and the cost of seed, as well as presentation models to share with the DOT in neighboring states. We expect to report great results to you all in our second blogpost next spring! Good luck on your projects this year!

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When participating in eCYBERMISSION, students’ main goals are to try and solve a problem affecting their community. What this team has done spans further than just their Texas hometown, but can help people across the country. We love that eCM students continue to make their mark in the country and cannot wait to see what’s next!

-Mission Control