Fifth Graders Explore Bark House Shingles as an “Eco Friendly Building Material”

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.

A good teacher knows that “getting the chance to see, touch and feel the [world] brings learning to a whole other level!”  This is the essence that motivated teacher Casey Deaguero from Quincy, Massachusetts to create a project-based learning opportunity for her advanced placement students.   Casey shared some of the comments made by these remarkable ten- and eleven-year-olds:

    Student:  So cool! I thought it was going to be different for some reason.  Like a little smaller, thinner and not as sturdy.

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.Teacher: What do you think tree logging companies do with the bark from trees?
    Students:

  • Throw it away.  [This is true, at least for those loggers who don’t know to bring it to the Bark House.]
  • Put it in forests. Maybe it decomposes. [This is true.] Animals/Insects eat it or use it for shelter. [We’d like to believe that animals and insects will use bark waste for shelter, but bark isn’t something that either species will use for food.]
  • Sell it to people to make jewelry. [Or Christmas ornaments, or picture frames, or appreciation plaques…]
  • Sell it to make wall coverings like this company does. [Ha!  We like this kid.]
  • I think boats or canoes can be made from tree bark.  [This is true.]
  • Maybe some type of paper can be made from it.  [Has an artist tried adding bark to their papermaking?  We’ve certainly seen flowers in hand-made papers.]
  • Chop or shred it but I’m not sure for what.  [Mulch or biofuel.]

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.Teacher: Do you think it is used inside or outside of the house?
    Students:

  • Both!! It could be used for either application.  [This kid gets it.]
  • I think it would make sense of an outside wall covering but it could create a really neat natural vibe inside the house.  [And this one does as well.]
  • I bet it holds up good for a material that goes on the outside of a house because if you think about it trees withstand SO much intense weather and they barely weather so this material most likely will hold up the same.  [This kid will give Marty a run for his money in ten or fifteen years.]

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.Teacher: Besides the environmental factors, why would someone want tree bark siding in their home?
Students:

  • It looks cool!  [We agree.]
  • It’s a natural look.  It doesn’t look fake at all. You can absolutely tell it is tree bark.  [We agree.]
  • To feel like you are camping.  [Oh, we like this.]
  • They don’t like flashy colors.  [Or they can use bark wall coverings as a great background for their flashy colors.]
  • To add some texture to their flat walls.   [Something we’ve been known to say.]
  • So that tree bark isn’t wasted.  [We definitely like this kid.  This is one of our driving tenets.]

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.

5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.5th Grade students in Quincy, MA learn about eco-friendly building products by using Bark House Shingles.

 

Thanks, Casey, for taking an extra step in reaching out to develop the minds and support the hearts of our children today.

 

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