Vail H.S. Builds A Green Doghouse

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Jeff Beamish - View Bio

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You could say this project at Vail High School has gone to the dogs. Three students are building a green doghouse and unleashing its earth-friendly potential! Student Xulio Castillo said, "It's completely built out of recycled materials. Inside we've got insulation using Styrofoam which was recycled".

 

The wood, siding and even the carpet inside are also recycled. In addition, their pooch-friendly pad can harvest rainwater! "We're going to build a tube and pump system that will pump water into that bucket that will put water into a planter that will soon have plants inside of it", said Castillo.

 

Perhaps being in the doghouse isn't so bad after all, because a solar panel is going to power fans to keep Fido cool. The design itself is also giving shade. Student Scott Thrall said, "When the sun is right about here is when it's hottest, so we made our southern wall lower to reduce the heat".

 

These students are not only doing this for man's best friend, but for a state-wide competition called Desert Doghouse. Student Caleb Rugel said, "Arizona State University sent invites to all the Arizona school districts and I found out about it and I thought it would be a fun thing to do". Out of the 14 schools in this competition, Vail High School is the only one from Tucson competing. "We're going to show everyone in Phoenix how to do this", said Rugel.

 

It's only fitting the Boxers of Vail High are trying to be top-dogs of going green.

 

The Desert Doghouse Competition will take place Saturday, October 24th at 11 am on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. To learn more about this competition, visit: http://desertdoghouse.asu.edu/