POWAR CS (Climate Simulator)

1. Introduction: Simulating the Future of Food and Climate with POWAR

WEBSITE:

https://www.powarsteam.com/powar.html

Hackster.io Documentation:
POWAR v2.0 - WIO Terminal - Hackster.io

According to a study by ETH Zurich, by 2050, London will experience a climate similar to Barcelona today, and Madrid will face conditions resembling Marrakesh. This raises an important question: Can we grow the food we cultivate today in the climate we’re predicted to experience in 2050?

The POWAR Climate Simulator allows students to explore this question by replicating future climate conditions and observing how crops like wheat, lettuce, or tomatoes might grow under warmer, drier scenarios. This hands-on experience doesn’t just enhance learning—it provides insights that could help small-scale farmers adapt to climate change and adjust their agricultural practices for future resilience.

By engaging students with real-world climate data, POWAR helps them develop GreenComp competencies like systems thinking and sustainability action, ensuring they are equipped to address the complex environmental challenges of the future.

2. How POWAR Works in Practice

POWAR allows students to simulate the climate of any city in real-time, helping them explore the future of food cultivation under changing weather conditions. By selecting a city and desired climate through a digital platform, students can access real-time weather data, including temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels. Inside the POWAR simulator, sensors continuously measure these parameters and compare them to the external data.

When discrepancies arise between the real-time city data and the current environment inside the POWAR box, the system adjusts its heating, cooling, irrigation, and humidity systems accordingly. For example, if the platform is simulating Marrakesh’s future climate for Madrid, and the temperature inside the box is lower than expected, POWAR will activate the heating system to raise the temperature. Similarly, it can trigger irrigation to simulate rainfall or adjust humidity levels for plant growth.

By controlling these factors, students can monitor how plants react to future climate conditions and explore key concepts like water stress, temperature adaptation, and seasonal variations. This real-time simulation enables students to conduct meaningful experiments on food resilience, learning how crops like lettuce, tomatoes, or even cereals might adapt to a future climate.

3. Learning Scenarios: Growing Food in a Changing Climate

1. Can Basil Thrive in Different European Climates?

• Region: Southern Italy, London, Amsterdam
• Plants: Basil
• Question: How does basil, a Mediterranean herb, grow in different European climates?
• Activity: Students grow basil in the simulator under Southern Italy, London, and Amsterdam climates, comparing growth rates, leaf size, and water needs. They compare these plants with basil grown in the classroom, discussing how climate influences herb cultivation. This scenario develops critical thinking and sustainability action by exploring climate adaptation in common crops.

2. Lettuce Growth Under Different Light Exposures

• Region: Stockholm, Barcelona
• Plants: Lettuce
• Question: How does the amount of daylight affect lettuce growth in different regions?
• Activity: Students simulate Stockholm’s short winter days and Barcelona’s long summer days, measuring how lettuce grows under different light intensities. They compare these plants to lettuce grown in natural classroom light, analyzing how light exposure impacts growth speed and leaf quality. This scenario encourages systems thinking and exploratory learning.

3. Spinach in a Future Warmer London vs Present-Day London

• Region: London (2050 and today)
• Plants: Spinach
• Question: How does future climate change affect spinach production in London?
• Activity: Students compare the growth of spinach in London’s current climate versus the projected climate for 2050 (Barcelona-like). They analyze leaf health, water needs, and growth rate, determining whether spinach can continue to be grown in a future warmer London. The scenario helps develop future literacy and problem-framing.

4. Growing Mint in Classroom vs POWAR’s Real-Time Barcelona Climate

• Region: Barcelona (real-time simulation)
• Plants: Mint
• Question: How does real-time climate simulation affect mint growth compared to classroom conditions?
• Activity: Students simulate Barcelona’s current climate in the POWAR box, growing mint and comparing it to mint grown naturally in the classroom. They monitor humidity, light, and temperature differences, and propose which environment is most suitable for mint. This encourages problem-solving and adaptability.

5. Comparing Plant Growth in Humid vs Dry Environments

• Region: Singapore, Madrid
• Plants: Parsley
• Question: How does high humidity versus a dry climate impact parsley growth?
• Activity: Students simulate humid Singapore and dry Madrid climates in the POWAR box, observing how parsley responds to different humidity levels. They compare these plants to parsley grown in the school garden. This scenario builds an understanding of how water availability impacts growth, fostering critical thinking and sustainability action.

6. Urban Heat Island Effect on Small Leafy Greens

• Region: Paris (urban centre vs rural outskirts)
• Plants: Arugula
• Question: How does the urban heat island effect influence leafy green production?
• Activity: Students simulate urban Paris and its rural outskirts, growing arugula under both conditions. They compare how temperature differences affect growth and water needs, proposing solutions to mitigate the negative effects of urbanization. This scenario develops systems thinking and collective action.

7. Testing Radish Growth in Short Daylight Conditions

• Region: Northern Finland (winter)
• Plants: Radishes
• Question: Can radishes grow in a climate with minimal daylight?
• Activity: Students simulate Finland’s winter, with only a few hours of daylight, and grow radishes under those conditions. They compare this with radishes grown in the school garden during spring, analyzing how lack of sunlight affects plant development. This scenario builds future literacy and exploratory thinking.

8. Can Coriander Survive in Drought Conditions?

• Region: Cairo, Egypt
• Plants: Coriander
• Question: How do coriander plants adapt to drought conditions?
• Activity: Students simulate Cairo’s dry climate and grow coriander while restricting water access to simulate drought. They compare these plants with coriander grown in the classroom with adequate watering. This experiment explores water conservation and develops problem-solving and sustainability action skills.

9. Studying the Effect of Rainfall on Indoor Herb Gardens

• Region: Dublin, Ireland
• Plants: Chives
• Question: How does high rainfall affect herb gardens?
• Activity: Students simulate Dublin’s rainy climate and grow chives, monitoring how frequent rainfall impacts growth. They compare these plants with chives grown under regular irrigation in the classroom, determining how excess water affects soil quality and plant health. This scenario promotes systems thinking.

10. Can a Cactus Survive Flood-Like Conditions?

• Region: Sonoran Desert (Arizona, USA) with heavy rainfall
• Plants: Cactus (e.g., Saguaro)
• Question: How does a desert-adapted cactus respond to unexpected heavy rainfall?
• Activity: Students simulate Arizona’s desert climate but introduce periods of heavy rainfall, mimicking flood conditions. They observe how a cactus, which thrives in arid conditions, adapts to excess water. Students compare this to cacti grown in more stable conditions, analyzing the effects of overwatering on desert plants. This scenario encourages critical thinking and explores adaptation to extreme weather events.

4. POWAR's Control Platform: Real-Time Climate Simulation at Your Fingertips

The POWAR control platform is the core interface that allows users to manage and monitor the climate within the POWAR simulator. With a simple authentication process, teachers and students can connect the POWAR device and begin real-time simulations. The platform's features include:

• Real-time climate data: Users can select any city worldwide, and the platform retrieves live weather data, including temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels. It then syncs these external conditions with the internal environment of the POWAR box.

• City presets and future climate: The platform offers a variety of city presets to simulate different environments or project future climates (e.g., Madrid in 2050 resembling Marrakesh). The future climate simulation section provides projections of how climate conditions will evolve in specific cities, including annual temperature changes and seasonal variations.

• Manual control: Instructors or advanced users can override the real-time climate simulation to adjust heating, cooling, lighting, or irrigation settings. This allows for custom experimentation and testing of specific scenarios.

• Sensor overview and actuators: The platform displays real-time data from the humidity, moisture, temperature, and light sensors, with visual gauges for easy monitoring. It also shows which actuators (heating, cooling, water pump, etc.) are activated to maintain the target environment.

• Project creation and management: Users can create projects for specific plants and climates, document comments, upload photos, and track growth patterns over time. These projects can be shared or revisited to compare results.

This platform is essential for students and educators to explore how climate variables affect plant growth, allowing for controlled experimentation with real-world relevance.

Join Us in Shaping the Future of Climate Education

We are on the verge of launching the third version of the POWAR climate simulator, designed to enhance the teaching of sustainability, food security, and climate resilience. By simulating real-time global climates, POWAR empowers students to explore how environmental factors affect plant growth, sparking critical thinking about our shared future.

We invite schools to follow our journey and take part in our trials. Reach out to collaborate and bring this innovative tool to your classroom:

• Email: info@powarsteam.com
• Website: www.powarsteam.com