This portable, self-powered water and sanitation station has many sustainable features, including a composting toilet, rainwater collection and filtration system, and solar panels that, along with a battery, provide all the power the Clean Hub needs and then some. The idea came from folks at Shelter Architecture, but thanks to architecture and design students at the University of Minnesota, it will soon be put to use in New Orleans, where it will be the centerpiece of a community that will foster sustainable growth.

John Dwyer from Shelter Architecture, who also led the students in designing a prototype of the Clean Hub, describes the project:

Shelter developed the idea through a 2 year research and development process. We then brought it in to a studio to allow students to design and build a real world application of it.

The hub is totally off-grid, generating its own water through rain water collection, it's own electricity through photovoltaics, and its own sanitation through composting toilets and gray water irrigation.

The first prototype heads to a learning garden in the hardest hit area of New Orleans on June 21st, the summer solstice.

The architecture students at the University of Minnesota took the concept and ran with it, creating a low-cost solution based on a used storage container that can be easily transported to disaster-stricken areas to provide necessary infrastructure. It was built using recycled and donated parts, lots of elbow grease, and a green vision. The Clean Hub is a simple solution to a complex and common problem that is certainly more practical and sustainable than what FEMA currently uses!

The Clean Hub will be sent to the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, and will serve as a building block to a sustainable rebuilding effort supported by many local organizations. A community garden, farmer's market, and public gathering space will eventually surround it, leading to urban renewal with sustainability in mind.

Hopefully with the success of the Clean Hub in New Orleans, the idea can be continued to help provide water, sanitation, and renewable energy wherever it is needed around the globe. The design was created with urban slums and refugee camps in mind, both possible future homes of the Clean Hub.

This design encompasses cradle-to-cradle thinking, sustainable development, poverty relief, and community building as well as green design. It's not every day that architecture is used to save the planet and help the poor, but the Clean Hub was an opportunity for architecture professionals and students to do just that.

The Green School program requires a degree of involvement from the school's students in a variety of green projects in order to obtain the certification. A school is eligible for this certification if it completes at least 10 criteria from a list of programs including such obvious green steps as recycling paper, reusing magazines from the library, and holding an Earth Day event. But the list also includes more ambitious projects such as establishing a natural Michigan garden project with native plants, holding solar power presentations or experiments, such as a solar cookout, doing energy audits of their classrooms, and even making improvements to their classrooms as a result of the energy audits.

Participating in a printer cartridge recycling program or a cellular telephone recycling program (both of which can also help the school to earn money) are also suggestions on the list.

All of these programs help to bring environmental awareness to the classroom, and provide practical examples the students can learn from. Students take leadership in getting the programs adopted in their schools.

"With all the environmental stuff that has been going on, all the rising problems, I just wanted to chip in and do my part for the community,'' Pendleton said. Individual efforts, such as recycling plastic, can add up, he said. "It's all the small things that people could do but sometimes just don't take the time to do.''

For Donahue, global warming is the thing to worry about. "We need a big focus on global warming - anything that can help that,'' Donahue said.

The state webpage with information about the program (PDF) is less than two pages long but has a list of 20 programs for students to participate in. Teachers looking for ideas for introducing some green programs to their classes may find this a useful list to work from. There are also a list of resources attached. A number of them are specific to Michigan, though corresponding sites (such as state conservation districts, state endangered plants, etc.) for other states should be easy enough to find.