Team:WashU StLouis/Public Engagement
Our team worked on developing an educational pamphlet to help curb the negative effects of advocating for the use of pesticides. After meeting with farmers and NGOs we realized that our project could have negative health implications to the environment and the user if they spray pesticides incorrectly or in an unsafe manner. We met with several farmers and NGOs in Uganda and Ethiopia where pesticide application is notoriously poor. They provided suggestions on what to cover in our pamphlet. After talking with Dr. Parikh in the anthropology department at Washington University, we decided that it would be best for local students and community leaders to communicate these important ideas to farmers to improve the pamphlets effectiveness. We also will be presenting our work to several high school students at our alma maters and a middle school in St. Louis through the Studio Tesla program.
Components to be included in our educational pamphlet are included below. The subjects or topics listed below were suggested by farmers, NGOs, government officials, safety equipment manufacturers, and researchers. This section is something that is imperative to effective and appropriate future implementation of our hardware and project.
To be included in safety section: