Overview
Throughout our project, we have tried to share with as many people as possible the ideas of ecology and circular economy carried by our project. We met with students and gave several interviews in order to raise awareness among a wide audience on the various issues we are facing or will soon face (lack of resources, pollution) as well as the solutions that biotechnology can provide to solve these problems.
In order to reach as many people as possible, we have published various documents in the form of popularized articles about our project, an activity for young students, or a more scientific conference for science students or teachers. We have also committed to continue our awareness-raising activities after the end of the competition or to continue if a real application of the system is possible.
Sharing our knowledge is also a point that is close to our hearts, in fact, science may seem inaccessible to some because it is very technical. But, by popularizing our words, we have managed to reach and interest many people on our project as well as on the aspects of creating genetically modified organisms (here a bacterium) in order to answer a given problem.
Quentin and Alexandre interviewed by Mr Kerim from Radio Campus
Why we get engaged into ecology and bioremediation ?
Ecology was an important subject in the 20th century. The world has become aware of the stakes and consequences of pollution and it is enough to look at the news or around us to realize that it is an omnipresent subject. Indeed, it is addressed in politics, industry,... But are there any real measures taken to combat this scourge? Not enough anyway!
As scientists, we thought we could help fight this pollution problem by modifying a bacterium so that it could clean up sewage sludge while producing bioethanol and this became The METAL’OSE Project.
Playful activity for teenager
Children and teenagers are the generations of tomorrow, so it seemed important to us to make them aware of current environmental problems and to show them the importance of science and the possibilities it offers to respond to these problems, particularly through biotechnology.
To this end, we have set up an activity to have students work in small groups to reflect on one of the most important and imminent energy problems: oil. In this activity, students will learn what sugar is and the possibility of transforming it into ethanol, which could then substitute oil as a biofuel. This activity can be done to playfully address the oil problem or as an introduction to a practical session on sugars, such as the production of ethanol through the mechanisms of alcoholic fermentation.
Public popularization
In order to reach a wide audience, popularizing scientific elements is essential in order to allow everyone to understand them even without having any knowledge in biology. We met several journalists who conducted interviews about our project in order to relay it in the press or on the radio. Thus, we were able to have an article with Mr Schneider from the newspaper La République du Centre and appear on Radio Campus with Mr Kerim or with Mr Deleplace on France Bleu Orléans.
Quentin and Alexandre with Mr Deleplace at the radio France Bleu Orléans.
Example of object you find in the station and who have impact on the treatment of sludge (toys, cars keys, phone, plastic wastes...)
Scientific seminar
On our campus, we organized a seminar to which we invited students (mostly scientific) as well as teachers and external collaborators to explain our project and show the potential of biotechnologies in the field of ecology and bioremediation.
During this conference, the public was first made aware of the concepts of soil and water pollution by heavy metals and the development of renewable energies such as bioethanol as an alternative to oil. In a second step, the molecular biology aspect was developed, on how to transform a bacterium in order to bring it a new gene with the case of our bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans in order to demonstrate the potential of biotechnologies and the capacities of bacterial systems while raising public awareness about the safety of genetically modified organisms if they are used in a conscious and regulated way.
After Jamboree
Once the competition is completed and closed by the Giant Jamboree, our commitment continues. Indeed, we kept in touch with the various media we contacted in order to continue to broadcast content on their platform to talk about the results of the competition but also about the future of the METAL'OSE project. A conference is also planned with retirees from Orléans la Sources to discuss the importance of wastewater treatment in the city and the dangers of heavy metals.