Students to showcase pedal innovation for Off-Grid Living Festival

BICYCLES lit up with LED lights for sustainable safety on the road at night will be an innovative project on the horizon in the Off-Grid Living Festival’s pedal-powered invention competition for high school students at its April event in Chiltern. Pedal power – often referred to as a bike generator – is a form of energy generation where human effort is converted into electricity or mechanical power. Beechworth Secondary College (BSC) year 10 student Lilly Dobson, along with a small team of classmates, came up with the idea with a little help from technology teacher Martin Hendriks. Project ideas have been tossed around in brainstorming sessions among a combined class of 22 year 9 and 10 design and technology engineering students from the festival’s challenge wrapped around creativity and sustainability. “It's just cool to see what ideas everyone comes up with to be sustainable and just creating things,“ Lilly said. Mr Hendriks said recycled bikes are being used too. Another inventive project idea in the making by a student team is a 12-volt fridge on the back of a bike with pedalling to keep the fridge running while yet another by students is a pedal-powered winch to be used for rides on Lake Sambell. The LED light, winch and fridge projects are among two others in the design stage with six key elements of a design process for years 7 to 10 overall from start to finish stretching from identifying the challenge to research and generating the design. Others include a redefine of ideas, creating the final design and producing the product with product evaluation at the end. Mr Hendriks said around two projects from five will be selected for the competition. The Off-Grid Living Festival’s challenge given to students has been to design and build pedal-powered machines showing incredible potential of human energy. Its mission for students is to blend ingenuity with eco-friendly principles with skills and innovative thinking showcased. Students have been given the chance to explore green technology and its impact on the future too. Mr Hendriks said it’s good to educate a younger group to think about sustainable products and how energy is used. “It helps the environment and future generations,” he said. “Any little bit that we can do to encourage our younger generation to think about a change in the way we use energy and to prevent pollution in our environment is a plus.” BSC principal Patricia Broom said the competition is a good challenge for students while also supporting a local event. “It's a really good way of applying skills they learn in woodwork and engineering and systems at school,” she said. “They're excited about doing the challenge as well. “Students love the opportunity to use their skills and work out real world challenges, and it’s good for the planet. Festival coordinator Arabella Watson said young people are the way of the future. “They're the ones with all the ideas and watching them turn raw pedal power into practical solutions is truly inspiring,” she said. The Off-Grid Living Festival will be held on April 12 and 13 at Chiltern. For more information about the festival and the pedal-power challenge or to enter your school in the competition visit www.offgridevent.com.au/pedal-power.

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