The University of Guam’s Conference on Island Sustainability this year was all about ‘Solutions for our future.’  With climate change and rising sea levels, the next generation stepping up to face the challenge head on using science, creativity and recycled goods.  George Washington High School students present The Incredible Sinkable House. 

It may look like a miniature house, but to several students, it represents a real-world solution to a global crisis.  Niyah Blas said, "We basically created a project due to climate change and ice caps melting. The waters are rising. Instead of creating a solution where people have to move from their homes, we created a solution where they are able to live on the island but also live on the water."

Blas and fellow 11th graders Khloe Gallo, Terince Leon Guerrero, Nathaniel Mesngon, along with 10th grader Marvyna Atin, are raising awareness about climate change and the impact of rising sea levels. ‘The Incredible Sinkable Houses’ were on display at UOG's Conference on Island Sustainability at the Hyatt in Tumon. 

Gallo said, "We had to include like eight steps. So we have one satellite dish, two energy sources. We also needed a water catchment, a control center, at least four rooms, ballast tanks which are what keeps the house stable on the water, your waste for your sewage, and a propeller."

In Gallo’s house, she has a windmill to power energy that actually works, as she demonstrated, "When you spin it, the light comes on in the middle," adding that it's something she herself would live in and that she worked on the project for the past several weeks.

And of course, no house is the same.  Atin gives us a tour of hers, saying, "My house is mostly made out of cardboard. It’s kind of like a two story. There’s one bedroom, a lounge room and the kitchen is down here."

Though the school year is almost over, it’s their first project for the class and for a reason that’s left them grateful for their teacher, Tom Renfro. 

Mesngon said, "The past semester we never had like an actual teacher. So Mr. Renfro stepped in. Thank god that he did. Now we’re learning about the sea levels and all these stuffs."

"I came back because I was promoting a book that I was writing. I gave Mr. Fullo my book. He was my old principal. He said ‘Tom, we really need a science teacher.’ I was like ‘oh, I don’t know if I can do this again’ but these guys have been wonderful and it has been a tremendous experience. I’ll never forget it."

We asked Renfro what prompted him to assign this project, and he replied, "There was a Chuukese girl I will never forget. She was about 12 years old and she goes ‘Mr. Renfro, I used to swim out in Chuuk to this rock, but now this rock is gone. Where did the rock go?’"

It’s a sinking reality that low-lying island nations are at risk.  And why these young innovators are making a big statement with these small houses. Gallo said, "It’s not typically for Guam. It’s for islands that are soon to sink due to rising waters, such as Kirabati, Tuvalu, Fiji, the Maldives."