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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend July 27, 2005 David Ward has developed a way to turn waste straw into a building material. He just got a grant to involve youths in refining the machine and developing other environmental technology. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Grant aids young inventors The Ashland School of Environmental Technology will work with youngsters ona machine that turns straw into building materials By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Ashland inventor David Ward wants to see kids learn while they solve real environmental problems. His nonprofit organization, the Ashland School of Environmental Technology, has received a $9,000 grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust to launch a Young Inventors Program this fall. The pilot program will bring high school and college students to work on the development of Ward’s invention — the StrawJet. It’s a machine that gathers waste straw from fields and binds it into bundled "cables," which can then be used as building material. The straw cables are clustered together and coated with an adobe-like substance to create blocks and beams. Students will have a chance to help refine the machine, test coating materials, research building codes, develop a workshop and assist with other tasks, said Shavana Fineberg, an education coordinator hired with the grant money. They can earn academic credit through their schools for work with Ashland School of Environmental Technology. "The product itself is unique, as is the process of involving young people," she said. Advertisement For the Young Inventors Program to work, however, it needs adult mentors to guide student teams, she said. In the weeks since she was hired, Fineberg has contacted local schools, engineering firms, home builders, environmental groups, retirement homes, service clubs and newspapers looking for volunteers to serve as mentors. The volunteer mentors will get guidance from Ward to oversee the youth and their projects. Fineberg said the school needs mentors with a variety of skills from structural engineering and carpentry to teaching and mudpie making. Teachers can take on tasks as class projects, too, she said. "This is an exciting and rewarding way to contribute to the future," she said. Ward, who quit a career as a commercial construction supervisor 15 years ago to be a full-time inventor, started mentoring teens from Ashland High School’s Wilderness School in 2001. "The kids were so great," he said. "In research and development, people always say ‘think outside the box,’ but with kids there is no ‘box.’ " He also liked combining education and research because even if the gadget the team made didn’t work, the kids still learned. He founded the Ashland School of Environmental Technology in late 2002, and hopes to eventually make it self-supporting through the inventions students develop. Mentors and students also can develop their own inventions instead of working of StrawJet projects, Ward said. In March, the school and Ward’s StrawJet Inc., a separate company that’s working on his main invention, moved from his backyard shop in Ashland to a 6,000-square-foot building at 5765 Colver Road, Talent. "We have low overhead here and a place and system for volunteers and students to work in," Ward said. "The chance to do research is terrific." In addition to the funds from the Meyer Memorial Trust, the school is collecting donations from individuals, its online newsletter said. The Meyer Memorial Trust is the Portland-based foundation created in the will of Fred G. Meyer, founder of the regional retail chain bearing his name. To volunteer at Ashland School of Environmental Technology’s Young Inventor Program, call Shavana Fineberg at 846-6426 or e-mail her at [email protected]. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Grant aids young inventors ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s