The Science Project That Changed Birch Lane School

It started out a simple, easy to understand sixth grade science project.

It turned out to be an award winner that has changed the way the Birch Lane Elementary School does business.

Samantha Montello, a sixth-grader at the school was recently named a nationwide finalist in the Igniting Creative Energy competition.

The contest sponsored by Johnson Controls and the National Energy Foundation asks students to try to find ways to save energy.

Samantha's project, entitled "My New Water Bottle,"  showed how making a small change, such as switching to an aluminum water from a plastic one can yield big results.

"I had just gotten my new water bottle," Samantha said. "I asked my mom, 'How much energy does a plastic water bottle use?'"

Samantha's mother, Nancy, encouraged her to look for an answer on the internet.

"I didn't know water bottles needed oil," Samantha said.  It turns out a that a 20 ounce plastic bottle uses five ounces of oil.

That translates to about 17 percent of a barrel of oil if you bring a plastic water bottle to school every day.

Samantha decided to use the research as the basis of her project, a power point presentation that demonstrated how much oil she saved each month. 

"I just stressed to her that it was a contest and that she should really read the guidelines," Nancy Montello said. "One of the things said that you have to inspire somebody with your project." 

Samantha responded by presenting a convincing case that changing bottles could save many barrels of oil if others joined her.

"The second I saw it, I knew we had a great one," said  her teacher Brian Mulcahy, who won a teacher award for his work on the contest.

Mulcahy said the project won't die now that the school year is over.

"The student government has adopted her recommendation," he said. 

Birch Lane will now sell aluminum water bottles just like Samantha's and hundreds of barrels of oil will be saved. 

The award winning student said she owes a lot to her teacher. 

"He inspires me because he makes us do a lot of fun projects, and he helps us think about things like the oil spill in the Gulf," she said.

"It's very sad. I wish there was a way to fix it." 

Samantha's work is certainly a step in the right direction.