Guided by encouragement from Lego Master Andrew Tuppen, a café, a car shop and a museum – all with solar panels and gardens - were built out of lego by students from local schools.

Their colourful creations were all part of the Green Innovation Awards, in which students were asked to come up with innovative solutions to environmental problems and create a new, future sustainable City of Lismore.

Held at Southern Cross University, students from St Joseph’s Maclean, Dunoon, Bexhill, Wyrallah Road, Goolmangar and Albert Park Public Schools strutted their ideas yesterday – with more schools taking part today.

Bexhill Public School

Bexhill Public School students Djidji Maya-Bertram and Ayla Joankowalezyk have come up with an innovative solution to the school’s mozzie problem.

Djidji said in taking on the ‘Future Cities’ challenge, their school team entered the science and environment competition to create a more sustainable and environmental future.

“We first interviewed other students at the school and asked them how they thought they should repel the mozzies,” Djidji said.

“Then we formed two teams and one team made a microbat box - because microbats eat mozzies

“We also made a frog pond with fish in it, because they eat the mozzie larvae too.

“It will be in our bush garden and we will put a metal net cover over it, because the birds could eat them.”

Ayla said the plan was to actually build the pond and microbat box at the school.

“Next we will make a movie and enter it into the competition and say what we will do,” Ayla said.

“The other school team has created ‘mozzie busters’ to help work out ways to repel mozzies in an eco friendly way.”

Change agents

Chiropractor Dr Bridie Cullinaene is the founder of the Green Innovation Awards.

She said it was all about getting young change agents to be passionate about the environment, as well as encourage them to develop their ideas for sustainability.

“I wanted them to see they can have a successful future for themselves being involved in green innovation and taking science and technology pathways to build the future,” she said.

“Young people will be the ones in the future who are calling the shots. Unfortunately, adults don’t always have such free flowing ideas for innovative solutions.

“Young people are more open to what they think is possible. Give them a problem and they will come up with all sorts of solutions, and then they can implement it in their community.

Prototypes

“Today, the schools are building and prototyping their ideas and they get to build a model of a sustainable future for Lismore.”

“The students got the opportunity this morning to present their ideas to experts who mentored them through the prototype process.

What did they build?

While they were building, students needed to consider what will their building will be used for, who will it benefit and what qualities about it contribute to the rest of the city

Common themes in the built structures were solar panels and gardens.

St Joseph’s students built a garden with solar panels and a fish pond where water feeds the trees.

Albert Park students built a museum with solar panels, wind turbines and trees – because history is important.

Dunoon Public School students built a car shop with solar panels on the top.

Goolmangar Public School students built a café with solar panels on the top, as well as a rooftop garden with edible plants.

The future City of Lismore

Once they were finished, the students put all of their structures together into one connected city and were asked how could they connect up each of their separate structures.

The students added gardens and green walkways and created a cohesive and colourful, sustainable new Lismore.

What’s next?

Dr Cullinaene said at the end of term two, the students will present all of their protoypes and videos.

“Then finalists will be selected and a winner will be chosen in August by a panel of expert judges,” she said.

“It’s all about solutions for the future– not about what’s wrong with it.

“It’s about what can we do - and empower young people to make change.

The two day event will be attended by over 100 students at Southern Cross University, who partnered with the Awards to put the event on.