Poly students to build tractor, donate to South Central Farmers
Poly seniors Hayden Betts and Daniel Leon are spearheading a project that will result in the construction of a tractor which will be constructed and then donated to the South Central Farmers Cooperative for use on their 120-acre farm in Shafter, CA. With assistance from some of their classmates, as well as two students from Blair High School, Betts and Leon are raising $8,200 to put toward materials that will be used to construct a LifeTrac tractor from the plans of Open Source Ecology, a network of farmers, engineers, and supporters who are working to create a “Global Village Construction Set.” Betts and Leon's project was mentioned in this recent Open Source Ecology blog post.
On Feb. 2, the students presented their project to the entire Upper School, and in the first four hours following their presentation, they had already raised more than $1,000 in donations and pledges via their website.
Faculty member Dominika Watson, who taught the Engineering class in which the students launched the project, commented, “Daniel and Hayden are two of the 18 students who took the Introduction to Engineering elective that I offered last semester. Those two worked together as partners on the design project that was part of the class. The final project for the engineering elective was very open-ended, and Hayden and Daniel decided to take it to another level—the idea of building a tractor was born and the movement started.” Although the semester (and thus, the course) ended, because the students are still working on the project, Watson made a commitment to stay involved. “I am very proud of Hayden and Daniel,” she explained. “It is a pleasure to work with them. For those two, the sky is the limit, and their ability to involve the community in their movement is inspiring.”
To raise the funds, Betts and Leon are selling t-shirts, tank tops, bumper stickers, and hats, as well as pursuing larger donations. They also are being supported by some of their classmates and others associated with the Upper School:
Poly parent Boris Beljak has offered to provide the necessary machining and welding at his Irwindale-based A&M Engineering;
The Upper School Mandarin program is donating a portion of its fundraising Chinese New Year festivities;
Poly’s Men’s Service League is going to donate a large percentage of its year-round proceeds;
The Memoir and Social Change senior English elective class, taught by Julie Davis, which chooses one cause to support per year, is organizing a fundraising drive for this project;
The senior class cabinet plans to make a donation;
Polytechnic's Boy Scout Troop 5 will assist as the project’s ambassadors to the Lower School.
On the evening of March 17 in Garland Auditorium, the Memoir and Social Change class will be hosting the main spokesperson for the South Central Farmers, Tezozomoc, for a short talk and a screening of the The Garden. The event will include a substantial silent auction to benefit D & H Tractors.
Betts and Leon hope to have the tractor completed and donated by their June 7 graduation. It is also significant to note that through the Poly-Blair tutoring program, Betts and Leon were able to connect with two aspiring engineers from Blair High School who are going to assist with construction.