A few weeks ago in Science 9 Honors course, we were assigned to create a “Dragon’s Den” project in combination with our COL course, Solution Fluency, for our electrical unit. For this project, we were assigned to solve any problem, big or small, and in the end, our group agreed on tackling the problem of squirrels eating homeowners’ veggies. This problem was especially important for us to tackle, as we agreed on the fact that although it is a seemingly minor problem, it affects garden owners all over the world for squirrels are found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. Squirrels and other rodents are a hazard for pathogens in their fur that can cause gestation problems as well as common bacteria, diseases, and feces. Although people know better than to not wash their food homegrown or not, it is inevitable that all material is harmful or not be washed off 100% of the time.

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To find out how we can solve this problem using an electric circuit, we first had to research what solutions there were already on the current market. When simply typing the keywords Squirrel Radar, Garden Alarm, and Garden Rodent in the search bar, we realized that either A: The prototype that is available is not humane, as in it utilizes poison, or B: the prototype is too expensive (500+) as well as unpopular by bad reviews. So, we figured, why not just invent something from scratch? Here are the questions we used to find a solution to our problem, and the following answers:

How is our product going to be better than the products already on the market?

• Our product will be better than other products, for it is easy to use, relatively cheap, and effective in comparison to the current products on the market.

How are we going to make a device that is suitable for scaring away squirrels while also not being a major annoyance to the neighborhood?

• We set the device to make a noise that is faint to humans but very loud to squirrels and other rodents.

How will the device be placed on the surface we wished it to work on?

• We figured out that placing the Microbit in between two “nets” made from wood is the ideal placement for the motion sensor for when the platform moves, the Microbit also tilts and is triggered.

As a matter of course, we ran through many ideas and light bulb moments during the process of making our ultimate product, mainly when it came to its design it and efficacy. For example, at first, we thought it would be best to have the Microbit under the soil, however as mentioned before, we soon realized lots of complications came with such a prototype, and so we came up with the idea of having the net where the Microbit is right above the soil so that although the motion sensor would work just as well, it would not risk getting dirty.  Finally, despite our best efforts, we were unable to make the torchlight which we intended to turn on whenever the motion alarm was triggered along with the speaker. We concluded that although it would have been a cool feature for squirrels can get blinded and disoriented by the light if triggered at night, we would 1: not be able to maintain the light sensitivity to be reliable with the resources we had and 2: it’s not as effective as the sound that the speaker makes.

Then finally, at long last, we came up with our final product; The Garden Guarder! The Garden Guarder model I is the ideal device, for when the motion sensor is located right above the planter box soil, a 113-hertz alarm goes. For context, the speaker is set to be at 113 hertz because although humans can only hear it faintly, it sounds like a loud dog whistle to the average squirrel. A study done in the University of Tolbero stated: “that squirrels are only comfortable hearing between 113 hertz to 49 hertz”. We set this setting for we want to scare off the squirrels whilst also keeping the interests of the neighbors to not be disturbed.

Here is a list of the materials we used from Riverside’s Makers Space and/or brought from home to build our prototype:

• 1 Microbit
• 1 Monk Makes Speaker
• 1 battery
• 4 crocodile leads (chords)

For the model garden

• Lego pieces for squirrel model
• 1 plastic container
• Dirt
• 2 plant models made from pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks hot glued together
• 2 “nets” made from popsicle sticks hot glued together

Here is a video of our Dragon’s Den presentation as well as the dragons’ reviews

As you can see in the video above and the dragons’ reviews, everyone was interested in our product!

Nonetheless, there were a couple of things we know we can improve on. For one, we need to replace the Microbit with a sensor, for it to be more precise. Other things we were told to improve/change and that we came up with are to improve the capabilities of our device such as waterproofing it, setting different frequencies for different sizes/masses of the animal triggering the Microbit, and perhaps improving the visual aesthetic of the device.

Overall, I am very proud of our final product, for at first, I must admit the idea of making a squirrel radar seemed extremely tasking and difficult. While making and developing our prototype, I developed a good working relationship with my teammates, whom I had never worked with prior, as well as learned more about circuits using a Microbit.

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My Core Competencies Reflection

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Sources:

• Baldwin, M. Squirrel Senses. Wildlife Online. https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/squirrel-senses.
• Phillips, N. (2020, July 20). Get Rid Of Squirrels In Your Backyard In 48 Hours Or It’s FREE!. Lifehack Report. https://lifehackreport.com/get-rid-of-squirrels-ca/.
• Wiegel, G. (2017, August 10). How To Keep Animals From Eating Your Harvest. Patriot-News. https://www.pennlive.com/gardening/2017/08/how_to_keep_animals_from_eatin.html
• Which Critters Are Bad For Your Plants? Havahart. https://www.havahart.com/articles/critters-bad-plants.