What gets you up in the morning?
That steaming cup of coffee that awaits you? Your dog that needs to be walked? The joy of going for a run at the crack of dawn? The chance to make a difference in the world?
If you chose the last one, here’s something to ponder: Upcycling.
Wait what? I’ve heard of “recycling” you say, but what’s this upstart upcycling?
Unlike recycling, which takes consumer products and breaks them back down to their basic constituents, upcycling is a process of taking materials in a used item like clothing or furniture and makes them into new fully functional items.
The quality of upcycled items tends to be the same as, or better, than the original item.
More broadly, I would say that “upcycling” represents breaking out of the downward spiral along with the second law of thermodynamics.
As I taught one of my botany recently, the second law of thermodynamics is how energy always runs downhill in the universe.
Faced with this “downhill” law, what hope is there?
Life itself is the hope.
As I told my class, “chlorophyll is the essence of life” – a phrase that my wife Deb, herself a plant scientist, repeats often.
Life effectively breaks the second law (at least temporarily) by using energy from the sun to convert to usable energy via chlorophyll, bringing energy and order to the rest of life on earth, including penguins, porcupines, porpoises, platypuses, and peacocks.
Along with three of my students (Sarah Demian, Rea Klar, and Lauren Mckenna) I recently received a $4,900 USD grant from the Faith.Science.Action. program at Westmont College after attending a workshop there this past June.
We are using the grant to propel a Trinity Western University project called “Upcycling TWU.”
What are we are upcycling?
1. Solar panels. It has been a dream to tap into solar power at TWU for many years, and we will install the first-ever solar panels on campus.
2. Drying racks. Electric dryers – who needs them? We will be installing drying racks in TWU residences to save energy.
3. Bicycles. We will multiply the fleet of approximately one currently available on loan from the TWU student’s council to 10 bikes, maybe more?
4. Education. Showing the TWU community and beyond that there is so much more we can do to fight the second law of thermodynamics on campus.
We are launching Upcycling TWU at an event Feb. 5, from 7 to 9 p.m., in Block Hall in the Neufeld Science Centre, featuring speaker and awesome upcycler Tim Stephenson.
Stephenson is a Langley educator based at Walnut Grove Secondary School, whose podcast "Science 360" features many experts on science and caring for the planet.
Tim won the Prime Minister’s Award for teaching excellence in 2018.
In his 2018 TedTalk, “No place like home,” Stephenson concluded that the best solution to the climate change crisis is education.
So upcycle your life, come to TWU Feb. 5, and get educated!
– David Clements PhD, is a professor of biology and environmental studies at Trinity Western University
