The education and outreach portion of this project will be continuous and largely unfunded. The report and outreach material will be conducted mostly by myself in writing the report and contacting the mentioned groups, something that is a byproduct of the feasibility study. The UW Farm staff will be educated about the new lighting systems upon the completion of the feasibility study, and will thus be able to provide details about the new lighting systems to tour groups as part of the routine tours given. Maintenance of the IUNU Dual Plasma systems is incredibly simple and requires very little attention. The majority of the attention required will be the actual tending of the plants that are grown from the supplemental lighting, which is an action already done by the UW Farm staff. Furthered implementation of more lighting systems and retrofitting current greenhouse lighting systems around campus would be greatly encouraged and this operation could be funded by future CSF grants or money from the different departments hosting the various greenhouses. Furthered study of the plants is also greatly encouraged and this will be taken under control by the hosting department of the research study. All-in-all, the continued management of the education and outreach materials is what provides longevity for this project, and this is maintained by the trickle-down knowledge of the lighting systems from person to person.
Photo Source:
UW Farm
Year:
Amount Awarded:
$3,818
Potential Funding Reductions:
Cuts to the funding request would require shortening the amount of time to the feasibility study and the amount of data that could reported from the feasibility study. A 5% or 10% cut to the proposal request would require cutting back the feasibility study significantly in order to allow for enough money to purchase the lighting systems in Phase Two of this grant's implementation. This would mean fewer varieties of plants to be studied, as well as decreases in the products for monitoring the plants' growth.
A 20% reduction in the funding request would require removing a lighting system from the proposed implementation of the lights in Phase Two, allowing for the purchase of only three lighting systems rather than the total of four that has been requested by the UW Farm in order to provide supplemental lighting for the space provided. UW Farm has requested a 16' x 4' area to be lit by supplemental lighting and being that each of the IUNU lighting systems optimally illuminate a 4' x 4' area, this requires four lighting systems. If a reduction in the funding amount were had to be made, this would mean that a smaller area would be able to be illuminated by the lighting systems in the UW Farm greenhouse.
Project Longevity:
Project status:
Completed